750. MARY TIMS proceedingsdefend and JANE LEFEVRE proceedingsdefend were indicted for feloniously stealing, on the first day of June last, one silk handkerchief, value 1 s. and two half guineas, value 1 l. 1 s. the property of William Moody proceedingsvictim .

WILLIAM MOODY < no role > sworn.

I was robbed in Plough-alley, in the parish of Wapping , on the 1st of June, at ten at night, of two half guineas and my handkerchief; I was robbed by Mary Tims < no role > , she snatched the handkerchief from my neck, I was going to take it from her, and she ran to the other side of the room and put it within her stays, and the prisoner Lefevre, her landlady -

Court. At the time this robbery was committed, was Jane Lefevre < no role > in the room or not? - Not at the present time, she came up about three minutes after, and she took up a flat iron when she perceived the matter, and threatened to cut my skull open if I offered to take it from her.

Did the prisoner Tims take it from you by force? - By a sudden snatch off my neck, and the two half guineas were tied up in the corner of it; I then took possession of the door when I found I could not obtain my property, and I determined that no person should go out or come in till a watchman or constable came; the prisoners both cried out murder! and Jane Lefevre < no role > put out her head and called out Bob, who is a watchman that is kept by the people, not the parish watchman, and they took me into custody, and would not search the woman.

Court. Is this Bob here? - No, I do not see him; I went contentedly with him to the watch-house, and remained till the morni ng, and in the morning I was brought before the magistrate, with my hands cuffed in this manner across, a thing I never had before; when I came before the magistrate they said I had beat them; the Justice told me to go over the way and make it up, and they put me into the lock-up house, I remained there about half an hour, when one of the men brought me into a room where this woman was sitting at a long table, and the prisoner Lefevre proposed two guineas to make it up, I told them I had no money; I told them I was nakedless and friendless; then two men came again, and handcuffed me again, and put me into a coach, and carried me to Clerkenwell Bridewell; I remained there for three days, the vessel being gone down without me, I thought it right to write to my friends, to inform them of the matter, and of the unjustified cause that I had suffered; they took consideration of me, and found I was clearly right, and bailed me out; and now it is before you, my Lord.

So there was no prosecution set on foot against you? - Not to my knowledge.

Mr. Sylvester, Prisoner Lefevre's Counsel. So they are all leagued against you, the watchman, Justice, and every body; do not you remember offering half a guinea to make up the assault? - I never did.

Then you went to the watch-house and behaved perfectly quiet all night? - No, Sir, I did not.

Did not you break the watch-house? - Yes, I paid five shillings.

Did you charge either of these women with a robbery that night? - I did not know the meaning of it, I told the watchman I was robbed, and the Justice.

Recollect yourself? - Very clearly so.

And he committed you? - I was sent to gaol.

Did not you offer to make it up for five guineas? - No, never in my life, I have sworn to the truth, so help me God I never did.

I give you fair warning, here are people here that were present, the watchman is here; will you swear you gave the watchman a charge of these women for the robbery? - I will swear I told the watchman these women robbed me.

(The other witnesses ordered out of Court.)

Now, you swear positively you told the watchman and the watch-house keeper that you had been robbed? - I told the watchman, I do not know that I told the watch-house keeper.

When you came to the watch-house, did you complain of being robbed? - Yes, that I swear positively.

There was no warrant for taking up these women till many days after you were discharged? - Not from me.

Was you sober? - Yes.

Why, was not you very drunk? - No.

Do you know the landlady of the Dundee Arms? - I cannot say I do, I was there that night, I made no disturbance there.

Was Mrs. Lefevre much beat that night? - Not to my knowledge, I never touched her.

Had she no appearance of being beat? - No, Sir, not that I saw, she never discovered it to me.

JOHN WILKINSON < no role > sworn.

I am a headborough, I was not before the magistrate; I know of the prosecutor being in custody for the assault for two hours at the public house; I never heard him mention about being robbed; there was a talk of settling, but I did not hear him offer any thing; I heard him say it was too much.

ROBERT WHITEWAY < no role > sworn.

I am a headborough, I was not present at the magistrate's; I was at the public house when he was brought over, in order to settle the matter for the assault; there was a talk of money, he had about half a guinea in silver, and he offered that, he had no more money; they would not accept it, and he went to Bridewell.

Did he pretend at that time that he had been robbed? - Not a word.

Did your hear of any accusation against these women till after? - No, not till four or five days after: I am sure he offered them money to make it up, he took it out of his pocket, there might be eight or ten shillings, he said that was all the money he had, he would freely give that; I am sure he had some silver.

THOMAS LITHIGOE < no role > sworn.

I am watch-house keeper, I remember Moody being brought to the watch-house that night.

Did he make any charge against anybody for robbing him that night? - No, no charge, nor in the morning there was no charge before the magistrate; after the examination there came an accusation about his giving her half a guinea to go out to get some liquor, in the course of that he says, here is the charge, and he pulled out the charge that he charged her for robbing him of a guinea and two half guineas.

Court. Then the next morning he did say this before the magistrate? - The next morning before the magistrate.

Mr. Sylvester. It was after he was committed.

Court. Who did he say he was robbed by? - He mentioned these two women; the watch-house was torn to pieces, and I went to lay my charge against him for the damage; I did not see him that night, but he tore off all the bolts at the watch-house that night, and he paid me five shillings.

JOSEPH COOLEY < no role > sworn.

I was at the magistrate's when these women were taken up for robbing the prosecutor; it was left to the prosecutor's attorney, as he called him, his name is Brown; he said if the two prisoners would give five guineas, all proceedings should be stopped; I did not hear Moody mention any thing about money, he heard the offer of the attorney I dare say, as he stood close by.

That was before they went before the magistrate? - Yes.

Did the prisoners refuse the offer? - They refused it.

BENJAMIN NASH < no role > sworn.

I was at the magistrate's on the 9th, I saw Moody; she had him in custody two or three days, and he said he wanted his money, and if they would give him five guineas and drop the prosecution, he would make it up with them: then Mr. Brown < no role > the attorney came, and he said he would see it righted; then the attorney would have five guineas to settle it. The prosecutor wanted five guineas in the street before he met the attorney.

ROBERT GARBETT < no role > sworn.

I heard Brown offer to settle it it for five guineas.

EMINE FINDLEY sworn.

I was at the Dundee Arms about five in the evening, and I saw the prosecutor and another sailor together, he did not seem to be in liquor at that time, not so much as he was afterwards; he drank plenty of liquor in the tap-room before my eyes; he was in liquor when he went out, and he behaved very insolent, and the other man struck the woman Timms, she was in the public house in the tap-room; not with the prosecutor, and the prosecutor treated her with some ale to make it up with her.

WILLIAM GREGORY < no role > sworn.

The last time I was along with this man, he had no silver in his pocket when I left him between eleven and twelve at night, I left him in the street, I went down to the vessel, and I saw no more of him till the vessel came up again.

THOMAS CARETON < no role > sworn.

I am clerk to the Justice, I was present at the first examination on the 2d of June, before the justice, he never in the least hinted any charge against the prisoners of robbery.

Court. Gentlemen of the Jury, now we have heard the evidence on both sides, and to be sure, in regard to Lefevre, at all events she could not have been convicted on this indictment, because the charge against her was for stealing; whereas, by the evidence of the prosecutor, she was below stairs at the time, therefore the whole that she could have been found guilty of was for receiving and comforting. But upon the evidence itself, you see the story is the strangest that ever was in the world; to suppose a man had been robbed, and that he should suffer himself to come before the Justice as an accused person, and never make any charged the man would naturally have said, I am injured, I have been robbed. This is positively sworn by the Justice's clerk and others.

BOTH NOT GUILTY .

Tried by the Second Middlesex Jury before Mr. Justice ASHURST.