1 CHARLES SEYMOUR otherwise MOORE proceedingsdefend was indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 21st day of November last, two woollen cloth coats, value 3 l. one sattin waistcoat, value 10 s. one silk and cotton waistcoat, value 10 s. one woollen cloth waistcoat, value 5 s. two pair of woollen cloth breeches, value 20 s. one pair of shag breeches, value 10 s. one pair of silk breeches, value 10 s. six pair of silk stockings, value 20 s. one pair of thread stockings, value 12 d. six linen shirts, value 40 s. three linen handkerchiefs, value 3 s. one pair of leather boots, value 5 s. one man's hat, value 8 s. two leather pocket books, value 5 s. the property of Edward Poore proceedingsvictim the younger, Esquire , in his dwelling house .

A second count, For feloniously stealing, in the dwelling house of the said Edward Poore < no role > , the younger, Esq; one promisory note, called a Bank Post Bill for 48 l. marked No. M. 7985, dated 18th of August, 1785, signed by John Greenway < no role > for the Governor and Co. of the Bank of England, by which at seven days sight was promised to be paid that his solar Bill of Exchange to Edward Poore < no role > , Esq; value received of Thomas Herne < no role > , indorsed by the said Edward Poore < no role > the elder, the same being the property of the said Edward Poore < no role > , the younger, and then due and unsatisfied to him the proprietor thereof, against the statute.

EDWARD POORE < no role > sworn.

When I am in town, I live in chambers, there is but one stair-case to the chambers, and they do not communicate, there are two keys, a separate key of each room, there are no duplicate keys of either room; the prisoner had been in my service occasionally for six weeks at Salisbury, not in my house, but at London, I took him to sleep in the chambers, he lived there a fortnight: on Monday the 21st of November, at six in the evening very nearly, I left my chambers, and left him in the chambers; I had at that time, put into my cupboard by the side of the chimney, in which I usually kept valuables, two pocket books, one including the other, and the inner pocket book including a Bank post-bill, value forty-eight pounds, which will be produced and sworn to, which I had received about a week before in a letter from my uncle in Wiltshire, who was the indorser; and there was another bank bill that is not in the indictment; I had taken out the pocket book that morning and examined the contents, I had not taken it from my person till I put it into the closet, I left the prisoner at six and told him I should return about eleven; I did not return till some time towards twelve, upon my return, I found the door of my own chamber fast, nor could I find the key; I found the door of the upper room fast, the outer chamber door, and after some search I found the key of that upper room (there was only one key to it, which was in the prisoner's custody) and I found that key thrown into a window of the staircase; I then proceeded into his room, and looked for his box where he kept his things.

Was his door also fast till you found that key? - Yes, I found his box was removed, that gave me the first suspicion of a robbery, I sent the porter of the Inn to call up a smith to force open the door of my own apartment, that I might get in; he easily forced the outward door, it was only once locked, I then went into my room; I observed first that my cupboard door was forced, the lock was forced from the door so as to hold by only two of these screws; it had not been unlocked, but was intirely forced out, and so opened; I discovered that my pocket-books had been taken away from the shelf upon which I had left them; I examined my drawers, of which the prisoner usually kept the keys, and the drawers were opened, they were usually locked, and the key in them, and a considerable quantity of clothes and linen were gone, and on a small table near my fire-place, I found this iron chissel, and at the same time I found a hammer, which I believe belonged to my chambers; I found two or three papers of no consequence, but I knew they had been left in my pocketbooks that were in the cupboard; one was a card to see my Lord Bute's house, the other was a paper of no consequence, which I knew, which appeared to have been separated from the pocket-book, and it was in the outer pocket of the book; the next morning I made the earliest application to the public Office, and as I had a compleat description of my bank post bill, I went to the bank, and stopped the payment; and I went with some officers on Thursday the 24th, in search of the prisoner to Bath, and at about eight in the morning at the three Tons at Bath, I found the prisoner with two men sitting in a room there, he was dressed in my coat and waistcoat, one of the officers pulled off his neckcloth and shewed me which was mine, he had a shirt on which appeared to be mine, and Jealous found upon him a pocket-book which is not mine, but which did contain this pocketbook which is mine, and which I swear to, that did contain my notes; in my presence also were taken from the prisoner twenty-one guineas, and two shillings and sixpence, which were then acknowledged before the magistrate to be part of the cash for the notes; the remainder of the property will be proved.

Court. I need hardly ask you, Sir, knowing your professional knowledge and caution; whether before he said that, you said anything to him? - I said nothing to him, and I take it for granted the officers are too much used to propriety in business, to do anything of that kind.

CHARLES JEALOUS < no role > sworn.

I went with Mr. Poore to Bath, and at the three Tons I found this coat and waistcoat on him, and one handkerchief round his neck, and the other in his pocket; I then asked him before Mr. Carpmeal, where the remainder part of the things were, and the young man told me he had sent them to Staines, at the Red Lion, and we came up in the mail coach in order to call for them, and found most of the property at Staines; he told us, that a pair of boots of his master's and his own coat were at the Golden Cross, Charing-Cross, and in his own coat was found a key which I believe to be the key of the chamber door.

Mr. Poore. It is the key of my chamber door, this coat and waistcoat were on his person when he was taken, they are my property, this coat I swear to.

What do you take to be the value of the things you lost? - I suppose ten pounds.

Jealous. Mr. Carpmeal searched him, and the money that was found upon him he acknowledged to be the produce of the note of forty-eight pounds.

THOMAS CARPMEAL < no role > sworn.

I found the money upon him, which he owned to be part of the forty-eight pounds that was stolen, the money was twenty-one guineas and a half, and two shillings and six-pence; he acknowledged that to be part of the forty-eight pounds note that he had changed of Mr. Poore's; he said he took the note out of Mr. Poore's room.

Did he give any account of the remainder of the forty-eight pounds note? - He had bought a horse at Bath, the night before we got there, which he had given twenty pounds or guineas for.

ISAAC PADMAN < no role > sworn.

On the 22d of November which was the Tuesday, Mr. Poore came to me, and acquainted me with this robbery, and likewise described the post-bill that was taken away, and desired me to stop it, for it had not been accepted; on the Wednesday about eleven, perhaps near twelve, I cannot precisely say, it was brought for acceptance by Mr. Holt, and I caused it to be stopped, this is the identical bill.

(Deposed to.)

Read. Signed J. Greenway.

Court. This bill varies extremely from the bill described in the indictment, it is signed J. Greenway.

Mr. Chetham. We lay it to be signed and subscribed by John Greenway < no role > , not with the name of John Greenway < no role > .

RICHARD WATKINS < no role > sworn.

On the 14th of November, about nine or ten at night, the prisoner came to me to open the lock at Mr. Poore's, No. 23, in the New Inn; I went with him, and I could not open it, and he said his master wanted the tea things out, and I bent some of the wards of the lock so that Mr. Poore's key would not open it, and in the morning he came to have something to straighten the wards of the lock, and he called me a puppy, and said I had spoiled the lock; on Monday night the 21st of November, between nine and ten at night he came and asked me for a chissel, I fetched him my master's chissel; I offered to go myself, he said it was of no use, for I could not do it; I lent him this chissel, I am sure it was this chissel, here is a piece broke off.

PRISONER's DEFENCE.

My Lord, according to the laws prescribed by my country, I have pleaded not guilty, to a crime of which I am certainly guilty; perhaps to the bench, and the surrounding audience, it might appear a subterfuge, was I to affirm, that at the commission of the crime I was totally deprived of my reason; about six days before that, I did come to that boy desiring him to open a lock, for I knew that there were valueables enclosed in a closet, which I opened afterwards; he could not open it then; afterwards Mr. Poore's key would not open it in the morning; he accordingly desired me to go and have the mistake rectified; I went, the boy came, or at least the servant ; they opened the lock, it was then in my power to take the things that were there, but returning reason told me it was wrong; on his going out he left the pocket-book, I saw him put it in; I cannot account for it, I was wholly deprived of reason, justice, and every thing; but after the commission of it, when I reflected, I was then prompted to restore the book to its primitive state; and I would then, if it had been in my power have restored the notes, but I found it was impossible; I knew the attempt would loose my character, and I was then tempted to proceed as I did; I fled, I knew not where, I went in the very mouth of justice, I took no precautions that the most uneducated thief would have done, and the moment I was taken into custody, remorse of conscience told me I should immediately disclose the whole, I did so, as far as was in my power. This morning I was surprised at my trial coming on, or I should have desired a gentleman to have attended to my character, which has to this moment been totally untainted, and has been always regarded, not only in a proper but an estimable light: at present I have nothing more to say.

GUILTY , Death .

Tried by the first Middlesex Jury before Mr. Baron HOTHAM.