180. + Henry Cutler proceedingsdefend , of London, labourer , was indicted for stealing a piece of Portugal gold coin, value 18 s. and 19 guineas in money, two yards of sattin, value 3 s. and thirty pound weight of indigo, value 6 l. the property of Miles Dalton proceedingsvictim , in his dwelling-house , Nov. 13 .

Miles Dalton < no role > . On the 30th of October last I put 5 guineas and an 18 s. piece to some other money (about fifteen or sixteen guineas) in my bureau. I live in Little Bell-alley in Coleman-street , in a large garden, where there are two tenements. Henry Cutler < no role > lived with me at that time as a servant : he came to me about a month before: he lay in the kitchen just by the parlour where the money and goods were. I had no servant in the house but himself. When I came down in the morning about seven o'clock, I opened the parlour door, and the first thing that presented itself to me was the parlour window broke open and entirely taken away, and the bar was cut at the bottom. I was vastly surprized, turned to the bureau, saw that broke open, and all my papers ransacked and turned reply turvy. My man was then in the kitchen putting up his bed. I called out to him, Harry, I am robbed and ruined. Is it possible you can lie here, and know nothing of the affair? He made his excuse, quivered and shook. He said, he heard a little noise in the night, and got up, and a cat came and purred about him, and he went to bed again, and did not hear any thing of it. This pistol was loaded and primed, and lay upon the outside of the bureau. The thing was very artfully managed: there were marks of clay upon the bench, and the mark of a man's foot upon the lock.

Q. Not the mark of a man's foot upon the lock?

Dalton. There was some clay, not the mark of a man's foot entirely (as if he might put his toe there) the same mark upon a chair: there was a bundle of linen tied up in order to be taken away; there was a great deal of linen in the kitchen, which was untouched; this silver medal and this copper medil lay in the drawer where my money was untouched. In short, my Lord, there was no individual thing that I missed at that time, but the guineas and the Portugal piece. On the inside of the garden wall there is a support of brick work; those bricks were loose, which I suppose was done to favour the notion of somebody's coming over the wall: this was in the height of the street robbing, and I concluded it must be some of those creatures, and did believe somebody had broke into the house, and should have believed so till this day, if it had not been found out in a very odd manner. I went to the City Marshal, and did my endeavour to find out who the people were. I sent this very man (the Prisoner) he brought me several messages, and seemed most industrious to find out the rouges; and one favourable message that he brought me from the City Marshal was, that there was a scent of the rogues, and that twelve men were gone after them, and that they had set them in a wood, but they got from them. I spoke to Mr. Jones about this formal story, and he said he did not tell him so.

Q. Tell how this was discovered.

Dalton. The Prisoner continued with me very near five weeks after this, and asked to go into the country to see his friends. I gave him leave to go for three weeks, he did not return to his time, nor in nine weeks: in this interval one Mary Harris < no role > came to enquire for him at my house; I told her he was gone into the country, that he promised to return in such a time, but had not. She said he had told her a very great lie, for he had got her to buy three pound of tea for him, which he said he would pay her for the next day, and had sent her word he had his leg broke the day before. Her telling me that he had wronged her of three pound of tea, opened my eyes, and made me believe he was the person that did this, and then I made my enquiries. He said he was going to Sheffield in Yorkshire. I got a recommendation to a gentleman, and found he had been there: upon examination I missed half a chest of Florence wine, thirty pound weight of indigo, which stood in a cask in the parlour open. He stole as much sattin as made him a waistcoat, - two yards of sattin; mine was a yellow sattin, but he has got it died green (he had nothing but a frock when he came to me) he bought a new suit of clothes, a black coat, a pair of buckles, which cost 28 s. some china, which he sent into the country. Here is his box, it was by this box he was found out: the box is directed. To Henry Cutler < no role > , to be left at the Bell Inn in Wood street till called for. I saw it opened, and the waistcoat, which I believe to be my sattin, was in it - Mr. Jones stopped it, and ordered whoever came for it should be secured. On Tuesday sev'night at night one William Cord < no role > , a waterman at Greenwich, came for it. The Prisoner wrote me a letter about a fortnight before, and said he was coming to town, and would make me sufficient amends for staying so long. When he came to town, he was hankering about the house three days, and then sent a person to me. I secured the person, and he directed me where to go to the Prisoner. I sent a couple of men down to Greenwich, and had him taken there.

Henry Clapcot < no role > . This green sattin that this waistcoat is made of is of my dying, but I cannot swear the Prisoner brought it to me; it was yellow before: it is the same breadth and same selvidge as this bit of yellow, that Mr. Dalton has here. The latter end of November there was some indigo brought to me to be sold, and he has confessed since, that he was the person who sold me some indigo, but I cannot swear the Prisoner is the person, for I was sick in bed then. I gave 3. or 3 s 6 d. a pound for it - it was French indigo.

Prisoner. I have received several sums of money for my master, and never wronged him of any.

Dalton. He never received but one sum, that was 35 l. He brought it to me honestly. It was before this happened. I never suspected him before I found this out.

Jacob Stokes < no role > . Last Wednesday was sev'nnight Mr. Dalton's servant and I went down to Greenwich, (the Prisoner was in custody) and the Prisoner said, master, forgive me, and I will confess all. Mr. Dalton said I will have nothing to do with you, I will have you to London: we went to a house in Clement's Lane, and there he confessed he took a chest of Plorence wine out of his master's warehouse, and carried it to the Castle in Wood-street, and that it was directed, A. Cutler Sheffield < no role > . I asked him about the indigo; he said he sold seven pound of it to a dyer at the Angel in Holborn: he said there was a bit of sattin, that he stole. I asked him about the money, but that he absolutely denied: when he asked his master to forgive him, and he would confess all, Mr. Dalton said he could not do that, but he would use him with mercy and lenity.

Theophilus Boswell < no role > . I was sent for to the Red Lion in Clement's Lane by Mr. Dalton, Mr. Stokes told me the Prisoner had made a confession, and shewed me a paper with some particulars wrote down. I asked the Prisoner if he was guilty of taking all those things he had confessed. He said, Mr. Boswell, really I am, and then I set my name to it.

Mary Harris < no role > . The Prisoner once came to me, and asked me, if I could sell a little blue for him; I made him answer, go to the chandler's shops; he said it was for the dyer's use, and was between his young mistress and him. He came one night and pulled out some money to pay for something, and he said he had received twenty or thirty pounds from a relation abroad. Mrs. Dalton said she would not condemn him for the money, for he had received money for his master, and brought it home honestly.

Q. When did he receive the 25 l. for you?

Dalton. I cannot tell it I was to be taken and hanged.

Q. How long did he keep the money?

Dalton. Not an hour, for he was not gone above an hour.

Prisoner. I received other sums of money beside, that.

Dalton. I do not believe he ever received day other sum.

Prisoner. Did not I received fifteen or sixteen guineas of one Mr. Wetherall in Smithfield, a little before Lord Mayor's Day? I paid it you at the Bull Porters in Thames Street under the gateway.

Dalton. I cannot recollect any thing of it.

Prisoner. Here is a person can prove that I had this suit of clothes they charge me with before Lord Mayor's Day.

Thomas Cooper < no role > . I saw the Prisoner with these clothes on Lord Mayor's Day, or thereabouts.

Q. Do you mean before or after?

Cooper. I believe it was there or thereabouts; I do not know whether Lord Mayor's Day was on a Saturday or Monday, but to the best of my knowledge he was at my house with this suit of clothes on the Sunday, and told me he had them out of the country from his friends: they were much about this colour. Guilty 39 s .

+ He was also indicted for stealing twenty flasks of Florence wine, value 8 s. and a chest, value 4 d. the property of Miles Dalton proceedingsvictim , in his warehouse , October 26 .

Miles Dalton < no role > . The Prisoner has confessed that he sent this wine down in the country, and directed it, A. Cutler Sheffield - it was pricked wine; I had sold some chests at that price, so I charged no more. Guilty 4 s. 10 d .

[Transportation. See summary.]