Arthur Wyeth's Watch
As featured in the Old Bailey Trial of Charles Matthews, William Seares, Charles Smith, George Leonard and Theresa Williams. Theft and Burglary, 2nd August 1881.

726. CHARLES MATTHEWS (40), WILLIAM SEARES (34), CHARLES SMITH (20), GEORGE LEONARD (36), and THERESA WILLIAMS (30) , Burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Edward Lukin, and stealing a coffee-pot and other articles. Other Counts for feloniously receiving the same. —

MESSRS. CROOME and RAVEN Prosecuted; MR. EDWARD CLARKE, Q.C., defended Leonard, and MESSRS. T. COLE and STEWART WHITE the other Prisoners.

[trial]

EDWARD LUKIN . I live at View House, Sunbury, and am a dentist—my drawing-room opens on to a verandah, and there is a lawn which goes down to the river—on 21st April, at 6 a.m., I discovered that my house had been broken into—I had gone over it before going to bed, and I believe all the windows and doors were fastened—I found the drawing-room window broken open—this gun is mine, I left it in the dining-room the night before the burglary; it cost 35 guineas new—my initials were on the case somewhere, but they are not here now—it was locked, the lock is now broken—I also missed a coffee-pot and card-case—these (produced) are them—I also missed an umbrella and two coats.

SARAH ROGERS . I am Mr. Lukin's servant—on 21st April I went to bed at a quarter to 12; I bolted the street door and put the chain on—the doors leading into the verandah were both shut—I came down next morning at a quarter to 6, and missed a tea-pot from the dining-room—I called the nurse, and we went into the drawing-room, but did not miss anything till Mr. Lukin came down—the door was open.

JOHN MULVANEY (Police Inspector). On 11th April I examined Mr. Lukin's house, and found that an entry had been made through the drawing-room window, and the drawing-room door had been forced from the inside—on 5th May, after Seares's arrest, I found this; screwdriver in a cupboard in his house; I compared it with the marks on some cabinets in Mr. Lukin's house, which were broken open, and they corresponded.

HENRY BURRAGE . I am a commission agent, and live at Simon's Cottage, Hanwell—a few days before Good Friday I was at the King's Arms, Hackney, and saw Matthews and Williams drive up—Salter, who had been introduced to me about an hour before, said, "Here is a flyman who will do any business," speaking of Matthews—I went into the house and had some beer with Matthews, Williams, and a little girl—I told Matthews I was a commission agent, and sold him some beer—he gave his address, Clyde House, Ealing Lane—I went there on the Saturday previous to Bank Holiday and again on Bank Holiday with my son Henry, who remained during the interview—Williams said to Matthews, "Perhaps he can tell you where to get rid of any stuff," and Matthews said, "Do you know where to get rid of any stuff?"—I said "What sort of stuff is it?"—he said, "Silver," and Williams went into the front room and produced three silver spoons and three forks marked with a leopard's head—I told them I could get a buyer—he said, "They are part of 16lb. of silver which I have hidden on my form, but my chaps expect another crack in a few days, can you get a buyer?"—I said, "Yes," and on the following evening I called again, and Matthews said, "Have you been to London to get the buyer?"—I said,;"No; but I will go to-morrow"—Williams was present—I called again next evening (Wednesday), saw them both, and told them I had seen a buyer, and he would give 3s. an ounce for small quantities, and 3s. 2d. for large quantities, and Matthews told me to make arrangements with him, as he expected a big quantity in a few days—I saw him and Williams there every day, till Monday, the 25th, when he said, "Frizzy and Smith have done another crack, will you introduce the buyer?"—Frizzy is Sepsis—I said, "Yes; but he cannot come down, till Wednesday evening"—I went again on Wednesday morning and saw them both—Matthews said, "I and my mistress, will be down and see what Frizzy and Smith have got"—I called three times that evening and saw them—Matthews said, "Has the buyer been?"—I said, "Yes; I have to let him know what you have got"—he said, "I have brought nothing away with me, but Frizzy has got a splendid service of plate and a valuable gun," and he said to Williams, "Tell him what sort of a cruet-stand it is"—she described it as a very large one, and said that she had seen a smaller one sold at a sale for 35s.—I asked if there was any mark on it—Matthews said, "A crest, a bird or something like it; Frizzy and his pal got from the same house a valuable double-barrelled breechloader gun"—I asked if he knew the maker's name; he said, "No"—I promised to get the buyer down, and next day I wrote to Inspector Wildey—I saw Rolfe on 29th April, and next morning (Saturday) I again called, and saw Matthews and Williams—I told Matthews I was going up to town to see the buyer—he said, "Let me know positively in the evening what day the buyer will come down, and I will fetch the things"—I called again at 6.30, and told Matthews that the buyer would be certain to be down the following evening—he said to his son Samuel, "Go and put the horse in the trap"—Williams said, "Never mind, there is plenty of time, go to-morrow morning"—Matthews said, "I shall have Frizzy and Smith up on Sunday to see that it all goes right with the buyer; this is one of the cleanest jobs I ever knew; Frizzy and Smith rowed Up in a boat, and crossed the lawn, and the window was left all right for them by the servant; I have known Frizzy and Smith a long time; they worked both sides of the river for me, Chertsey, Kingston, Sunbury, and Hampton; I fetched Frizzy home from prison last August, where he had been for 18 months for assaulting a farmer"—when I got home I found this telegram. (From Inspector Wildey, putting off the buyer's visit to Monday.) That was so that I should get an opportunity of seeing the goods—on Sunday I wrote a note and sent my son with it to Matthews, and in the evening, at 6 o'clock, I went to Matthews's house and saw him and Williams, Frizzy, and Smith in a cart close to the house; the horse's head was towards Brentford—on the Monday morning I went again, and saw Williams and Matthews—Matthews showed me this plated coffee-pot and teapot (produced)—he pointed out the crest, and said he was sorry he had not brought the gun, but Frizzy and Smith had borrowed 2l. on it from a farmer, who put them up to the job, and I was to bring the buyer down—I went to town and repeated the statement to Inspector Wildey—I met Rolfe that evening by appointment at Ealing Railway Station and went with him to Matthews's house; we got there about 7.30, went into the kitchen, and saw Williams; I introduced Sergeant Rolfe to her as Mr. Moss, the buyer of stolen plate, from London—she produced weights and scales and these four silver spoons, three silver forks, plated teapot, and silver card-case (produced) from a front room; Rolfe weighed the silver in her presence, it weighed nine ounces—she removed them from the table and put them under the dresser, and covered them over-Rolfe said "Where do these things come from?"—she said, "A little way up the river, near Hampton; other things came with them; a cruet-stand, which was sold to a lady for 2l., and a valuable gun"—she then pulled this mourning ring off her finger and said that it was stolen with a big lot of silver; it had on it an inscription, "Marion Priestley, born 29th December," &c.—she asked Rolfe to give her a price for it—he offered her 1l. and she put it on her finger again—she said that Frizzy and Smith were two stars, and gave me a description of several burglaries, and about 9 o'clock Matthews came in, and said, "I am sorry to have kept you gentlemen waiting, but I have been to Acton to buy a horse—I said "This is the gentleman who will buy this property," pointing to Rolfe—Matthews said to Rolfe, "Have you seen the silver?"—Williams said, "Yes; he has seen it"—it was again produced by Matthews, and again weighed by Eolfe, and Matthews said, "How much will you give for it?"—Rolfe said, "I cannot be buyer and seller, what do you want?"—Matthews said, "3s. 2d. per ounce"—Rolfe said, "I cannot afford to give you that price for small quantities, as I have had to come a long way from London," and he offered 3s., which Matthews accepted, and Rolfe paid him 1l. 7s.—the silver coffee-pot and teapot were then produced, and Matthews said, "What about these things?"—Rolfe said, "What do you want for them?" and Matthews said, "30s."—Rolfe said, "I cannot afford to give you that, I cannot put them in a shop window, or show them, on account of the crest," and he offered him 10s.—Matthews said he could not take that—Rolfe offered him 12s., and he took it and said to his son, "I shall call you to prove that I have only received 12s. for them, as Frizzy will not be satisfied"—Rolfe said, "Have you got any other property?"—Matthews said, "I shall have a very handsome double-barrelled gun to-morrow, but Frizzy and Smith have borrowed 2l. on it from a farmer who knew the gun, and would like to have it, but it is too near, as he lives within two miles of where the gun was took; I wish I had known you a few weeks ago, it would have been another horse, or quite 20l. in my pocket; I have 16lb. some odd ounces of solid silver with these spoons and forks; me and Frizzy were driving about for two days in my horse and cart trying to sell the silver, but we could not get a customer; at last we sold it at Hounslow for 18l.; while Frizzy and Smith were going away with the big lot of silver they dropped a pair of boots in a ditch which was full of water, and I believe they are there to this day"—he also said Frizzy and Smith broke into a jeweller's shop, and got a good many watches, and I got one for my son Sam from Frizzy last Sunday, and paid him 10s. for it—Rolfe was present during the whole of that conversation—it was then arranged between us that I was to see Matthews on his farm on Wednesday morning, and he was to go and fetch the gun—he left with his son, they went to the station, and I remained, and Matthews paid me 6d., which he said was all he could afford out of this little lot, but I was to have 1l. 1s. out of the gun, and there was a bigger lot coming on—I went to the farm on Wednesday, 4th May, and asked Matthews about the gun—he said, "I am sorry I have not got it, I was not home till 12; I offered the farmer 2l., and he would not take it, so I offered him 3l., but he said he would not take 20l. for it now, as I intend sending it to London to have the number altered from hundreds to thousands"—I asked him if he knew the maker's name; he said, "No; but it was in a leather case," and he gave me the particulars of another crib to be cracked, as he described it, next Sunday at 10, and I was to make arrangements with the buyer to take the proceeds, out of which I was to have 10l.—I communicated with Inspector Wildey, and went with him and Jones and Rolfe the same afternoon and saw them arrested at Matthews's house.

Cross-examined by MR. COLE. Mr. Salter and Mr. Chandler may be here; I did not see either of them at the police-court—Salter introduced me to Matthews—I had only known Salter an hour and a half or two hours—Chandler introduced him to me—I had known Chandler some months, and have known his relations by marriage some years—I understood that Matthews and Williams were man and wife—Matthews's house is in Ealing Lane, eight or nine miles from Sunbury—I have lived at Han well since October—I change about a good deal; I sometimes go to the United States—my name is Matthew Henry Burridge Burnside, and I have many other names; I might change my name before I get home to-night—to give you the whole of my names I hope you have got a double sheet of foolscap paper—I have been in the House of Detention, the same as some of your clients have—I was innocent—I was charged with embezzlement, and Mr. Glossop, the Magistrate, said that it was a case for the County Court—for the last four months I have done nothing—I was in business as a commission agent at Hanwell four months ago, selling beer for the White Horse Brewery, Shepherd's Bush, kept by James Cowley; I may have been there a month—I did not walk off with any of his money; I never walked off with anybody's money—I know what you are trying to get at; if I owe money, it is a question of debt—I knew Sergeant Rolfe 12 months ago; he had me in custody—I first heard of this matter from a person named Uzeley; he is not here—I have received no reward from the police, and I expect none; I considered it my duty to take this case up on public grounds—my age is 34—I have been married 13 years—I have received no money for the last four months; I have lived on money of my own—I have not received a penny from the police—I earned the money I have been living on—I went on 19th April to Detective Cousins—I went perhaps 10 or 20 times to Matthews's house—my son is 12 years old—he went there twice, I took him once, and sent him once.

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKE. I have passed by the names of Smith, Brown, Bailey, Blake, Jones, and it is impossible to say how many more—Purdon is one—I do not remember Perry—I have not received money from any source during the last four months—I had money at home, and my credit was good—I acted as agent for Mr. Cowley between September and April last, under the name of Purdon, and was acting at the same time as agent for Mr. Lacey under the name of Burnside—I received money on behalf of Mr. Cowley, and have paid him some, and I should not reckon there is 1l. between us—I received 24s. from Matthews for Mr. Cowley; I have not paid him the whole of it; there is a difference between us, and I have not paid it—I also received money on behalf of Mr. Macey, and have not paid in all the amount—as late as April last I received money from Mr. Coupal, and have not paid it, and do not intend to—it was about 10 guineas—I was in the employ of Pollaky Brothers many years ago in the name of Burnside—I did not abscond with 200l.; I don't know how much it was, it is 17 years ago—I don't know whether my friends paid it, and I think the less Mr. Pollaky says about it the better—I was also at Mr. Batty's, Finsbury Pavement; they charged me at Guildhall with embezzlement, and I had 12 months' imprisonment—I have been married 13 years, and it was some years before that—I was twice in the employ of Taylor and Simms, of Water Lane—I was never discharged for embezzlement; I discharged myself, and on the first occasion I got a situation from them—I had not money of theirs in my possession—I went into business, and obtained goods of Holborn and Son, of Mincing Lane, and paid for them all—I did not obtain money or goods from Whitear, of Water Lane—I gave Mr. Whitear a cheque for 10?. on the Metropolitan Bank, signed M. H. Burnside," which I fully believe was paid; if it was dishonoured I do not know it—in 1877 I made an agreement to unload the Ravenhill, and received 10l. on account—I worked the vessel on Saturday and Monday, and then threw it up on account of a dispute with the firm—I was then living in Hack Street; I owed money to Mr. Beecher, of Blount Street, and paid him—I may have told him I was obliged to keep out of the way because there were two writs out against me in respect of the Ravenhill—this (produced?) is my writing—there were no writs issued against me, but I thought there were, and kept out of the way and did not come home till dark, but those are simply disputed accounts; I fully expected all this—I employed a man named Mahoney to unload the Emma Lawson; I owe him from 35/. to 45/., but the firm has never paid me—I put down in a book the conversations I hate given you to-day, it is at home; I produced it at the police-court—I left it at home because it got very much damaged—I walked to Sunbury one day and cut the covers off, and last night I tore a leaf out.

Re-examined. I wrote down each conversation as it occurred—when I was charged with embezzlement the Magistrate said that it was a case of debt, and I was discharged immediately—there are outstanding accounts of 1l. or 1l. 10s. between me and Mr. Cowley.

WILLIAM ROLFE (Police Sergeant K). I received instructions from Inspector Wildey, and on 2nd May went by rail to Ealing, met Burridge at the railway station, and went straight with him to Matthews's house—we got there about 7.30, and Burridge introduced me to Williams at Mr. Moss from London, a buyer of stolen property—she asked us into the kitchen, and then went into the front room and brought the forks, spoons, card case, coffee-pot, and teapot, and got some scales and weights, and I weighed them; the weight was 9oz.—she then put them under the dresser, and covered them over—I asked her where they came from; she said "A little way up the river, near Hampton"—she said that a very handsome plated cruet-stand came with the goods, and it had been sold to a lady for 2l., and that there was a gun as well—she took a ring off her finger, and asked me if it was worth 1.2.; I said "Yes, but not to me," and she put it on her finger again—Matthews then came in, and said "I am sorry, gentlemen, to keep you waiting; I have been to Acton to buy a horse"—Burridge said "This is the gentleman from London I was speaking to you about, has the gentleman seen the things?" Williams said "Yes"—he then weighed them, and asked me what I was going to give; I said "I can't be buyer and seller"—he asked 3s. 2d. an ounce; I offered him 3s., which he took, and said that he would make a better bargain next time—I paid him, and took the things—he said "What about the coffee-pot and teapot?" I said "They have a crest on them and they are not silver, what do you want for them?"—he said "The man that stole them says they are worth 30s.;"I said "Not to me, 10s. is my price"—he refused—I said "I will spring another 2s.;"he accepted it, and said to his son "You see that I have only got, 12s. for these things; Frizzy will be not be satisfied with the price; I shall call you as a witness that I only received 12s. for them"—I asked if he had got any other things; he said "Nothing to-day, I shall have a very handsome double-barrelled gun to-morrow, which came with the plated goods. Frizzy and Smith have borrowed 2l. on it of a farmer about two miles from where it was stolen, but I will get it back, and you shall have it to-morrow; I wish I had known you before, I reckon it would be a horse in my pocket"—I said "How do you make that out?" he said "When we had the stuff first I had 16lb. of silver besides what you have got, and I sold a lot for 18l. to a man at Hounslow, and that is 20l. out of my pocket, and I reckon that as a horse"—I said that I was sorry; he said that when the stuff was first got it was sent to his farm, and buried under a mangold wortzel machine, and that there was a gun with the first lot of silver, which he had sold for 30s. to a friend of his—I took the silver and the coffee and teapot, and went back to the station and gave them to my superior officer—Matthews said that when Frizzy committed—one of the burglaries a pair of boots fell into the water, and had been left there up to that day—on 4th May I went to Matthews's house again with Wildey and Jones, and Matthews and Williams were arrested—I afterwards took Smith in a public-house at Sunbury—he went quiet for half a mile, and then became very violent—he had a dog with him—I had to use a life-preserver to get him to the station—I searched him, and found this knife and silver watch, No. 69,985, and chain (produced).

Cross-examined by MR. COLE. I did not employ Burridge's son in any way—I was never in the neighbourhood before—I find since that Matthews and Williams lived together as man and wife—I saw a marriage certificate, but did not make a copy of it—another officer, Brown, was with us; he lives 150 yards from where the struggle occurred—he did not want Smith to go to his house, nor were we on the way there—we had just turned to the right to go to the station, and Brown's is in the opposite direction—Smith did not mention Brown's house—I knocked him about with a life-preserver which I carry for burglars—I have not got it here; it is loaded with lead—Wildey also had a life-preserver; he hit the dog with it, but I do not think he hit Smith—the other officers had no life-preservers or sticks—Smith was so knocked about that blood was streaming from him—I saw one wound, and it would have been dressed at the station if he desired it—I asked him if he would like to see the doctor.

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKE. I took a note of the conversation—I have been in the force six years—I had Burridge in custody in April, 1880, at Bethnal Green Police-station, for fraud and embezzlement from Gammon, Son, and Carter, and Wright and Lawson—he was tried at the Sessions, and made a witness against the other prisoners, and then bound over to come up—he was also apprehended at Acton six months ago on a warrant, and I did not see him after that till he began to help me in this case—I did not seek him out to do so; he came to me—we have given him a little money—I saw Mr. Wildey give him a half-sovereign one day.

HENRY BURRIDGE . I live with my father, the former witness, at Hanwell—I went with him on Easter Monday to Matthews's house, and saw him and Williams and two other of the prisoners, and some silver spoons and forks were shown us—on Sunday, 1st May, I took a telegram and a note from my father to Matthews's house—I saw him and Williams and the same two men—I do not know their names; those are the men (Seares and Smith); they were having tea—Williams read the note and telegram aloud, and Matthews said to one of the men "Do you think it would be a good thing if we got these things into the country a little way?"—the tallest of the two men said "Ah"—I then left the house.

Cross-examined by MR. COLE. I go to school—I have never lived away from my father's house—I gave evidence at the police-court—my father has not spoken to me about this case; not a word.

JOHN DURRANT (Policeman T 161). On 3rd May I was near Mr. Gear's House, Feltham Hall, Sunbury, just after 10 p.m.—I saw Matthews come out of Seares's house, get into his cart, and drive away—I wished him good night as he passed me—I knew Seares and Matthews before—after he had gone Seares and Smith came out at the door and wished each other good night, and Smith said "Good night, constable"—I said "Good night"—he walked away—he lives about a quarter of a mile from Seares—only Seares and his wife lived in that house to my knowledge.

RICHARD WILDEY (Police Inspector K). I gave Rolfe some instructions, and on 2nd May he handed me these articles, all except the ring—on 4th May, about 5 o'clock, I went with Jones and Rolfe to Matthews's house at Ealing, and saw him and Williams—he was lying on a couch—I said "We are two police inspectors, and this is one of my sergeants," pointing to Rolfe; "we are going to take you in custody for receiving these things that he bought of you"—he said "I aren't well; I can't move"—I remained some few minutes trying to get him up, and he said "I did not get a halfpenny or a farthing out of it; my missus don't know nothing about it, and if you lock her up you won't find out where the things came from"—they were both taken to Brentford Station and charged, and Matthews made a statement to Jones which I had taken down—I was present when Smith was apprehended on the Staines Road—he was taken to Sunbury Station, and afterwards to Brentford in a cab—we got there about 1 a.m.—Matthews was brought out of the cell and confronted with him, and Inspector Jones said to Matthews "Is this the Charlie Smith you referred to in your statement?"—he said "Yes; that is the man that brought the things to my house"—I said to Smith "You hear what he says; are you the man who brought the things to his house?"—he said "Matthews did not say so"—I then had him brought back, and he repeated the statement—Smith made no reply—I saw Seares in custody at Brentford Station; he is known as Frizzy—I had Matthews and Williams brought out of their cells and confronted with him—I said "Do you know this man?"—Matthews said "Yes, that is Frizzy; he is the man who brought the stuff to my house"—Williams said "I was lying on the couch and saw him go by the window," meaning Seares; she afterwards said "That is the man who brought the stuff"—Seares made no reply.

Cross-examined by MR. COLE. I had no life-preserver or stick; Sergeant Rolfe had a life-preserver—I don't know the neighbourhood—Inspector Jones went to Brown's house and called for him—I did not hear Smith say, "You can take me to the station, but I won't go to Brown's house;" but I heard that those words were used—Jones and Smith were fifty yards from me.

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKE. I have given Burridge something like 3l. altogether, a half-sovereign now and then; there was no arrangement for his payment—I saw an advertisement of Mr. Lukin's, stating that parties would be rewarded—I went to Leonard's house, and heard him say, "I have got the gun"—it was handed over to Jones—when we were taking it away Leonard said, "How am I going on about my 2l.?" I don't know what Jones said—I heard Jones ask him to be at the Petty Sessions at Brentford the next morning, and he came—he was called into Court by Jones, who arrested him, and he was remanded without bail from time to time until the prisoners were committed for trial—I know that bail to any amount was offered, but the Magistrate refused it—I do not know whether an application was made to a Judge, but I know that he was out on bail after his committal.

HENRY JONES (Police Inspector T). My division embraces Sunbury—on 22nd April I received information of the burglary at Mr. Lukin's, and on 4th May I went with Wildey and Rolfe to Matthews's house, and was present when they were arrested; I took this mourning ring from Williams's finger; it has the name of Priestley on it—after Matthews was charged I made this note of what he said: "They are nothing to do with the woman; she was abed on the sofa when they brought them; Frizzy Seares, and Charles Smith are the men who brought them; Seares brought the teapot and coffee-pot, and both brought the silver spoons and forks, and the gun, which was afterwards sold to a stranger; I do not know why I should suffer for what they have done"—on the same night I went with Wildey and Rolfe to Sunbury, and on our way we called for Brown—we then arrested Smith at the Prince Albert public house; he went about half a mile towards the station, and then commenced calling out "Murder!" and "Taylor!"—he struggled, and partly got away from Brown—he kicked Brown on the leg, and Rolfe used violence to restrain him, and he was taken to the station—I was present when Matthews was brought out in Smith's presence—I have Known Leonard some five years; he lives at Windmill Road, Sunbury, a mile and a half or two miles from Mr. Lukin's—on 6th May I went with Wildey to Leonard's house, and said, "I have come for the gun, on which I understand you have lent 2l.;" he looked at me and hesitated; I said, "I want the gun;" he said, "I have got it, you shall have it; it is hid in my loft, I will go and get it;" I said, "I will go with you;" we went together up into a loft; he opened a door, which let some light into the place, and commenced pulling away some straw punnets, and then Some tall boards; he used force to pull down the boards; they formed a kind of partition at the far corner of the room, leaving a space of four or five inches between them and the woodwork, and drew out this case; it seemed to be wedged in—I said, "How do you account for the possession of this?" he said, "Seares brought it to me one day last week; I lent him 2l. on it; he did not say how he got it, and I asked no questions"—I drew his attention to the lock, which was broken, and that the main plate was gone; he said, "It is just as I got it"—I said, "Have you not heard of the loss of Mr. Lukin's gun?" he said, "No"—the case contained a double-barrelled breechloader with appliances and cartridges—I took possession of it—on 7th May I saw Leonard, and told him to attend at Brentford Petty Sessions; he came there, and I took him in custody—I have known Seares about five years; he lived at Sunbury at this time; I have seen him and Leonard together at the end of February, at the District and Metropolitan Railway, South Kensington platform; I saw Leonard there, and saw Seares join him, and three men were in their company; I was in a train; they met and shook hands very cordially, and then my train went on—on 6th May I went to Walton-on-Thames with Mr. Parker, and found this pair of boots (produced) in a ditch; they were done up in brown paper, which had become saturated—I went there in consequence of something which Burridge told me—Mr. Parker identified the boots.

Cross-examined by MR. COLE. I have done duty in the neighbourhood for seven years—Seares lives six or seven miles from Matthews, and Smith about the same distance—it is about seven miles from Sunbury to Ealing—I took Williams; she did not say that she was a married woman, but at the time of her committal she showed me a marriage certificate—I took a copy of it, and then went to Somorset House, and found it correct—from what she said I drew the inference that it was her marriage certificate—I got this copy there (produced;) it certifies a marriage between Charles Matthews and Theresa Williams at Marylebone Church—I never saw them before I arrested them—I told Smith the charge, and handed him over to Rolfe and Browne; he called out "Murder!" lots of times—that was 150 or 200 yards from Brown's house, but in another direction altogether; we were at cross roads.

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKE. I took down a short note of what Leonard said, and have it here—when I told him to be at Brentford Sessions he said, "How am I to get on?"—I did not make a note of his asking me where he was to get the 2l.—he is a market gardener—the loft is perhaps a quarter of the size of this Court—I did not know of Leonard employing Seares from time to time; Seares was living there when I was there—I do duty there, but I live at Hammersmith.

HENRY GARNER . I am gamekeeper at Kempton Park—on 27th April I was at the Reservoir public-house, Sunbury; Seares and Smith were at the public bar, and Leonard at the private bar; I left the private bar and went to the public bar, and Seares said to me, "I understand there is a new keeper come to Kempton Park;" I said, "I am the man."

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKE. Seares told me that he was a poacher-five or six people were there—I was a stranger; I took this as chaff.

HENRY STAPLE . I am a gardener at Sunbury—I saw Seares near Leonard's house on two occasions about four months ago.

Cross-examined by MR. CLARKE. I have lived there sixteen years, and have known Leonard some time; he bears a good character for anything I know—I knew his father, a market gardener, who died two or three years ago; I don't know whether he employed Seares—Mr. Leonard's two sons were market gardeners, but I have not seen Seares helping them.

WILLIAM STOKES . I am a watchmaker and jeweller at Hersham—this watch was left at my shop by Mr. Wyeth, and was taken on 7th April, when my shop was broken into—there are two numbers on it, 50,985, and, the other is my own private mark, 381.

ARTHUR WYETH . I am a gardener; I also keep the Prince of Wales beer-house, Oatlands Park, Walton—this is my watch; I know it by a mark outside the case—I took the number, and afterwards left it with Mr. Stokes to be cleaned.

ARTHUR PARKER . I live at Walton-on-Thames—my house was broken into on the last Sunday in January—I had gone to church and left it safe; on my return I found the back door open, and missed a considerable quantity of property, silver plate and other things; these spoons and forks (produced) are mine—I was present when these shoes were found in a ditch close to the house—I also missed this mourning ring; I know it by the name on it.

ELIZABETH FOXLEY . I live at Percy Villas, Holloway Road, Leyton-stone, with my husband—in 1860 I was living at North Hill, Bedfordshire, with my parents—I was present when Charles Matthews was married to my sister; this is the certificate (produced)—she died in 1873.

JAMES ASHWELL . I am a carman of 22, Tweed Street, Battersea—I know Charles Matthews—I was present in 1874 when he was married to Eliza Wagstaff—I saw her last living with him about five years ago at Siddington, in Bedfordshire, but I saw her about two years ago.

LEONARD received a good character.

[verdict]

MATTHEWS, SEARES, and SMITH— GUILTY .— Ten Years' Penal Servitude.

LEONARD— GUILTY OF RECEIVING .—Recommended to mercy by the Jury.— Six Months' Hard Labour.

WILLIAMS— GUILTY .—Recommended to mercy by the Jury.— Four Days' Imprisonment.

Source:
Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org) (t18810802-726).

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