423. ANTHONY CHANDLER proceedingsdefend and JOSEPH SALMON proceedingsdefend , were indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 29th of April , six wooden boxes, value 6s. and 900lb. weight of tin plates, value 17l. in a barge, called the Greenfinch, lying on the navigable River Thames , the property of Hercules Lovegrove proceedingsvictim .

Second Count. Laying it to be the property of the Company and Proprietors of the Thames, and other Canals proceedingsvictim .(The case was opened by Mr. Knapp).

JOSEPH SILLS < no role > sworn.

Examined by Mr. Knapp. I am in partnership with Mr. Sills, my father; I was at Abingdon in April last.

Q. Do you remember any tin plates, and how many being delivered to Mr. Lovegrove? - A. Yes; Eight hundred and forty-seven boxes, to bring them to London, to the Hamburgh wharf; I delivered them myself; when we came to London, we found six boxes missing; I went to the Public Office in Worship-street, and saw these boxes.

Q. When was this? - A. About the 3d or 4th of May.

Q. Were they part of the boxes of tin plates you delivered to Lovegrove? - A. They were.

HERCULES LOVEGROVE < no role > sworn.

Examined by Mr. Knapp. Q. Do you remember any tin plates in boxes being delivered to you at Abingdon, by Mr. Sills? - A. Yes; about the 28th of April, I brought them to London, to the Hamburgh wharf, we unloaded all but six, which we could not find.

Q. When did you miss them? - A. As soon as we got them out; we were four days getting them out.

Court. Q. You came all the way with the barge from Abingdon? - A. Yes.

Q. Did any thing happen by the way? - A. No; we stopped of nights, we were about seven days coming; we have a man to watch in the night, we had always somebody on board.

Q. Might they not have been taken out at Wallingford, or any other place, by the way? - A. No, they were not taken out before; I should have missed them if they had.

Cross-examination. Q. You did not find out that they were gone, till you came to London? - A. No.

Q. You could not have missed them out of the barge? - A. I know they were not taken till we came to London.

Mr. Knapp. Q. Do you know Chandler? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you see him standing at the wharf when you came to London? - A. I saw him at the Bowling-pin, while we were landing the cargo, (the boxes were produced).

Q. If six such boxes had been taken out before you came to London, should you not have missed them? - A. Yes.

JAMES BEDELL < no role > sworn.

Examined by Mr. Knapp. Q. You were apprehended about some flax? - A. Yes.

Q. When you were before the Magistrate, you gave some account of these plates? - A. On the 2d of May, about half after four, Chandler came and called me up, and said, Jem, I have got a job for you to do; very well, says I, I will go and do it; I went and harnessed the horses, and went into the Strand, up to the Adelphi; I went under the archway of the Adelphi, to a dunghill, and there was Salmon and Chandler, and Salmon brought these six boxes from out of the arch-way, and put them into my cart; I drew them up into the Strand, they came with me, I said, I wanted something to drink; we went up into Covent Garden-market, and called at the Queen's-head, and had something to drink; Chandler said to me, lend me a guinea, my wife wants to go to market, I lent him a guinea; Salmon said, lend me a guinea, I did; they said, take these boxes home, and take care of them; I took them home to Hoxton, and put them into the stable with the horse; in the course of the day, Chandler came to my house, and said, if I would go with him, he would see what he could do with these boxes, and pay me the two guineas, and for the carriage; we went to a shop over Tower-hill, and he told a man he had some tin, but did not bargain there; coming through Long-alley, I said, here is a person deals in tin, one Ogden; I went in, and said, Ogden, here is a man has some tin, and he might have a bargain; Chandler asked him 11l. for it; he said, he would give it, if he could find a friend to purchase it; Chandler called upon me to go down to the old man Ogden; we went down, he said, he would purchase it, if he would take nine guineas, he said, he should have it, that was on the Friday; on the Sunday, he came to my house, and asked if he was to have the tin; I told him, Chandler was in trouble, I had the tin, I was frightened about it, I did not know what to do with it; on the Sunday, Salmon came up, and asked what I had done with the tin, I said, I had it, and did not know what to do with it; he said, he hoped I would not turn a rogue and tell of this; I did not know what I should do, I took it to the old man's on Monday, and when I was at the Magistrate's for the flax, I told of this.

Cross-examined by Mr. Jackson. Q. Which were you taken into custody for first? - A. The flax business.

Q. We had a little talk about the flax yesterday here, you went beyond the business of a carter, and undertook to sell the tin? - A. I only went to secure my own money.

Q. You had no suspicion about this, when it was taken out of the arch? - A. No.

Court. Q. At what hour did you carry these tin plates to Ogden's? - A. On Monday, about eleven o'clock.

Q. Salmon is a water-side porter? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you never employ him to do a job for you? - A. I never employed him in my life.

Q. What kind of porter was he? - A. A coal-porter .

Q. He plied at the wharfs? - A. Yes.

Q. You only saw the tin lying under the arch? - A. I did not see it till it was brought to me.

Q. After Chandler was in custody, did you take the tin to Ogden's? - A. Yes.

Q. Did you receive any money for it? - A. I did not receive any money for it.

Court. Q. At that time, did you know Chandler was in trouble about the tin? - A. He was in trouble about the flax and tin too.

Q. Have you been to Ogden's since? - A. I have never been to the man's house since.

Q. You never cautioned him to be in the same story? - A. No.

Q. You never sent something to those persons in prison? - A. No.

Mr. Knapp. Q. You were not the first person that gave the first information about the tin, to the Magistrate? - A. Yes.

JOHN ARMSTRONG < no role > sworn.

Examined by Mr. Knapp. I apprehended Chandler at Bedell's, in bed, on Saturday the 7th of May, in consequence of an information; I went to Ogden's house, this box of plates was open, and Ogden showed it me, the others were found by Wray.

JOHN WRAY < no role > sworn.

Examined by Mr. Knapp. I went to Ogden's house, and asked him if he had not some boxes of tin; I found the loose plates at his house, and I found, about 500 yards from his house, five other boxes, by his direction.

JOHN OGDEN < no role > sworn.

Examined by Mr. Knapp. I live in Long-alley, Moorfields, I am a tin plate worker; I know Chandler, I saw him at my house, I don't know the day of the month.

Q. Was it in May? - A. I believe it was.

Q. Was Bedell with him? - A. Yes.

Q. Was there any tin left at your house? - A. Part of a box was brought by Bedell, this is the tin in an empty box of mine, the others were in Crown-street, in a bottle-warehouse, I sent them there by Bedell; if I could get a friend, I was to buy them.

WILLIAM BLACKITER < no role > sworn.

Examined by Mr. Knapp. I am an officer belonging to Worship-street; I apprehended Salmon next door to the office, and took him to the back room, in custody with Bedell, he said to Bedell, you are a bloody rogue; he had a good mind to blow his brains out; Bedell said, he lent him two guineas.

Sills. These boxes of tin have all separate marks; the marks of the boxes were missing; as I counted the boxes I made a chalk mark, which remains on one.

Q. What is the value of the boxes? - A. I don't know any thing about it.

Q. What is the value of the tin plates? - A. Three pounds a box they are usually sold at.

Chandler's defence. I went with Bedell; he said he had bought some tin at an auction; I know nothing about it.

Salmon's defence. That man only throws the charge off himself to me. I know nothing of it; I went to the office myself; as soon as I got to the office the gentleman took me, and he ran away; I know nothing of the felony; that I put the things in the cart, I don't deny.

For Salmon.

ANN BROCKET < no role > sworn.

I have known Salmon five years; he has lodged with me, I never knew any other than that he was a very honest man.

SUSANNAH CANNON < no role > sworn.

I have known Salmon six years; he is a very honest, hard-working man; I live in the same house with him.

WILLIAM THACKER < no role > sworn.

I am a publican, I keep the Pitt's-head over the way; I have know Salmon ten years, he worked where I lived over the water, for a house I kept ten years; he is a very honest man, as far as I know; Bedell came with the cart on Sunday, in time of divine service, and knocked at the door; I would not let him have any beer.

JOSEPH PHILPOT < no role > sworn.

I am a coal-merchant; Salmon worked for us three or four years; I never knew any thing to the contrary of his being a perfect good character, as to honesty; I have trusted him with property, and never missed any.

Q. (To Lovegrove.) What is the name of the barge? - A. The Greenfinch.

Chandler, GUILTY . Death . (Aged 26.)

Salmon, GUILTY. Death . (Aged 35.)(Salmon was recommended by the Jury, to his Majesty's mercy, on account of his good character .)

Tried by the London Jury, before Mr. Justice BULLER.