Looking for Wilford Bulkley, the father of
Clara and Fanny Bulkley we find a
Wilford Buckley.In the Portland Convict Establishment for Male Convicts
Staff - 19, Convicts 900
Sunday April 2nd, 1871
We find Wilford BULKLEY; Convict; Married; 35; Warehouseman; Islington, Middlesex
674. WILLIAM BUCKLEY (36), HENRY BATTERHAM (36), WILFORD BULKLEY (32), and RICHARD BULKLEY (24) , Stealing 265 yards of rep, 240 curtains, and other articles, of John Easton, the master of Buckley and Batterham.
MR. GIFFARD, Q.C., with MR. GRAOM, conducted the Prosecution; MR. COLLINS appeared for Buckley. MR. DALY for Batterham, and MR. METCALPE for Richard Bulkley.
HENRY MANNING. I am potboy at the Woolpack tavern, Hart Street, Cripplegate—the prisoners have a room next door; I know them all—about the end of February W. Bulkley came in, and asked me to mind a horse and trap, which was just outside No. 2—I did so, and W. Bulkley brought from a dozen to eighteen white parcels out of the cart, and put them in the passage of No. 2, Hart Street—it was between six and seven o'clock, I should think—Batterham came afterwards and asked me for Mr. Bulkley; I said, "He is inside, going up stairs"—I knocked at the door, and Wilford Bulkley said, "Who is there? "—I told him the gentleman with the furry waistcoat from Easton's—he said, "Tell him to wait till the proper time in the morning, ten o'clock"—R. Bulkley was at that time inside the door of No. 2—Easton's doors were open at the time these parcels were brought out—Batterham stood by the tavern door—W. Bulkley came down about a quarter of an hour afterwards, and I told him again it was the gentleman with the furry waistcoat; he said, "Well, if he wants me, tell him to call at the proper time in the morning," and then he drove off in the trap with his brother Richard—on the second day afterwards I saw both the Bulkleys again, near dinner-time; Wilford asked me to mind their horse and trap—R. Bulkley brought these parcels down the staircase and put them into the trap, but they had changed the papers; they were white when they were brought in, and now they were brown—from twelve to eighteen were brought out—I noticed the size of them, they were the same as I had seen before—the two Bulkleys came to No. 2 during the week—I saw Richard Bulkley change some of the papers when he was carrying them down.
W. Bulkley. Q. Was that at the end of March or the beginning of April? A. I can't fix the date; you brought the parcels from the first floor to the chaise, and your brother brought them from the room to the thirst landing—I did not see you change any papers—you sent mo up for two parcels, and while I was up your brother changed some—I saw the inside of the parcels, they were the curtains that have been shown.
Cross-examined by MR. METCALFE. Q. After some parcels had been brought down, did you go up for some more? A. Yes; they sent me up after eight or nine had been brought down, and R. Bulkley was taking the white papers off and putting brown papers on—I only waited for two parcels—I did not see him put the brown papers on, but I saw him take the white papers off, and the brown paper was lying ready—I saw the
See original contents of the parcels off which he took the white papers; that was the only opportunity I had of seeing the curtains—he continued while I was there—I had 1s. once and 6d. once for minding the trap, nothing else—the first paper was whitey-brown paper—I cannot say whether it was much thinner than that which he afterwards put on, it might be—they were tied up with string—one parcel was waiting on a chair ready to go down, and he was changing another.
MR. GIFFARD. Q. Were the brown paper parcels you took down, the same size and shape as you saw him take the white papers off? A. Yes.
AMY BARNES. I am the wife of James Barnes, who keeps the Grapes public-house, Fore Street—I know Batterham and the two Bulkleys—I have seen the two brothers together, and I have seen the elder brother and Batterham together at our house—they used our house about six weeks, from about the middle of October to the last week in November—parcels hare been left at our house from time to time by a porter, whose name I think is Frost, which Batterham and W. Bulkley took away, and the elder Bulkley brought parcels to the house, which he took away himself—no explanation was given to me why the parcels were left—in consequence of directions from my husband, I directed W. Bulkley, about the middle of November, not to bring any more parcels to the house—they came to the house it times after that, but not so often.
W. Bulkley. Q. Had I generally a parcel? A. Yes, the parcels you brought you generally took away yourself, but I have seen the gentleman next you take away parcels.
Cross-examined by MR. METCALFE. Q. I think you have only seen Richard once or twice at your house? A. It may have been three times perhaps.
CHARLOTTE ROSLEY. I am a daughter of the last witness, and assist at the Grapes—I have seen all the prisoners there at different times—I have seen W. Bulkley and Batterham together three or four times, and have seen parcels taken away once or twice.
ROBERT HINER. I am employed at the Woolpack—I have seen all the prisoners there, and have seen Buckley and Batterham together, and I hare seen Buckley with Mr. Brough sometimes—I have seen parcels left at the house by Brough and Frost, which Brough took away, and sometimes Buckley took them away—this began about five months ago, and ceased about three months ago.
Cross-examined by MR. COLLINS. Q. Were you called before the Magistrate? A. Yes; the Woolpack is in Hart Street, just opposite the prosecutor's place of business; it is frequented by City clerks and ware-housemen as a luncheon house.
JOHN ROBINSON CLARK. I am clerk to Honey and Humphreys, of Ironmonger Lane, accountants under the bankruptcy of Messrs. Nathan, of Whitechapei Road—a quantity of papers were delivered to them at the time of the bankruptcy, among which I found these twenty-five invoices (produced) of goods bought by Bulkley—these are all we can find among the papers—I find other entries in Messrs. Nathan's books, we gave up from their stock four pieces of rep and one piece of damask—they are in the hands of the officers (produced).
JOHN NATHAN. I formerly carried on business at 34, Whitechapel Road, as a draper and mercer, in partnership with my brother Lewis—I know W. Bulkley, and have done business with him from time to time—I do not know whether the goods in these two invoices (produced) were
See original purchased by him, but I see his name here, so I suppose they were—I do not know whether we paid for them by cheque, but we generally do—this (produced) is one of our cheques, but it is not witten by me—my brother Lewis also drew cheques—I think it is our late clerk's writing, but I did not attend to it, as I had the outdoor business to attend to—I have no belief about this writing.
LEWIS NATHAN. This is our late clerk's writing, John Abraham Moss—we keep books—they are not here.
WALTER JACKSON BRIDGES. I am a buyer employed by Johnson and Co., drapers, of 109, Edgware Road—I know the two Bulkleys—Wilford was introduced to me by my employer—he had got some curtains to sell cheap, a job lot, as he represented, and about 1st March I went to their warehouse and bought 167 pairs of curtains at 9s. 6d. per pair, and four pieces of damask—they were delivered the same day, and paid for, and this (produced) is the invoice I received with them—W. Bulkley afterwards came to offer another lot of goods, and 1 went to 2, Hart Street, on 3rd April and bought fifty-four pair of curtains at 9s. 6d.—both the Bulkleys were present—I also bought some damask, which is on the same invoice—on 16th April I purchased seventy-six pairs of curtains at 9s., twenty pairs at 4s. 3d., and seventy-nine of dimity at 8 1/2d.; these (produced) are part of them.
W. Bulkley. Q. Do you know the manufacturer of the damasks? A. Ackroyd and Son—they are open to the trade generally, and are to be bought at every house in London.
Cross-examined by MR. METCALFE. Q. Do you say that on each occasion W. Bulkley was the man who came to your premises? A. On three occasions the goods were brought to my place by Wilford, Richard did not interfere at all—I do not know whose writing the invoice is in, bat I believe Wilford wrote it.
MR. GIFFARD. Q. Were the patterns of curtains new at the time you saw them? A. Some were new and some old—we have the same patterns of damask in stock now which we bought the season previous—the average price at which I sold the curtains was 13s. 11d., and the average cost 9s. 4d., some were 9s., I cannot say to a penny or two—we sold three pairs at 29s. 6d. out of 317 pairs—the average profit was about 4s. 7d.
MR. METCALFE. Q. When you first went to the warehouse was W. Bulkley absent? A. Yes, Richard was there alone—when I told him the object of my coming he said, "You must wait and-see Wilford"—he could not tell the price of the goods—when his brother came in I discussed the price with him while Richard remained in the room.
COURT. Q. Do you mean that you would not be sure about having the offer of goods at 9s. 6d. which you had offered at 32s.? A. No, not in a lot like that, where there were fourteen different qualities; there were as many different qualities as there were selling prices, from fourteen to eighteen—we deal with Messrs. Easton sometimes—I might have seen these patterns there, I cannot say.
THOMAS BROWN. I am a buyer in the employ of Allen and Co., St Paul' Churchyard—I produce some invoices, dated April 15, 1867, for thirtyseven pairs of curtains which I purchased of W. Bulkley—I had no knowledge of him before this transaction—I saw him alone at 32, Hart Street—Richard came in while I was looking at the curtains and remained a short time—I paid 9s. 6d.—I produce thirteen pairs of them, all the rest have been sold at prices varying from 11s. 9d. to 17s.
See original Cross-examined by MR. METCALFE. Q. Did Richard take any part in the transaction? A. None whatever.
JOHN EASTON. I am a wholesale carpet and drugget manufacturer—I have seen one of the Bulkleys about a year ago, but have had no transactions whatever with them—the other two prisoners were in my employment, Batterham was manager of the blanket department, and Buckley was in one of the minor departments; he was the holder of the keys; ho locked up the premises at night, at six o'clock, took the keys home with him, and opened the premises at 8.30 in the morning—after the first examination before the Magistrate I received a message and went to the cell to Batterham—he said that he was guilty, it was no use denying it, that he took away the keys from Buckley and opened the door, and that he believed Buckley to be perfectly innocent—one night after the robbery Buckley came to my house and wished to give up the keys, as he wished to be rid of the responsibility, it was two days before he was taken—I did not take the keys from him, because I had then perfect confidence in him.
Cross-examined by MR. COLLINS. Q. How long have you been in business in this place? A. Since 9th April last year—I did not take the business from Mr. Brown, he was in partnership with me at first—Buckley was in his employment nine or eleven years, I believe—my warehouse is very large—there are four entrances, but one is never opened, and another has only been opened for a month and closed again, and ingress and egress is by one door only, except for goods—I do not know that they were ever opened; they are not built up, but barred and bolted inside—the keys of those doors were all in Buckley's keeping—I have no knowledge that he kept them in the warehouse—I am the manager of the business and have clerks—Buckley occasionally acted as traveller for his department, which would take him away from the warehouse—I should say he was never away a week or even two days at a time—I sent him to Ramsgate last autumn to fetch a horse and trap, but not as a traveller, that was the only occusion when he was away at night—he was then one night away—the cashier, Mr. Nelson, had the keys then—Buckley's duty as traveller would sometimes take him away all day—goods are received by the entering clerk, and are hoisted at the en trance in Monkwell Street—that door is in a private yard, not in the street, and the outside door is open all day—the keys of those doors were in Buckley's custody during the day, and when he was travelling he ought not to part with them—I do not know where they were kept—there are three keys, about four inches long—the goods entrance is bolted and barred from inside, but there is no lock—when Batterham sent for roe to his cell, he said that he sneaked away the keys from William and opened the door—he said that Buckley was innocent—goods came into my establishment continually during the day, and always at one entrance—the other door should always be fastened at six, unless some department is late—it has been open later than nine sometimes, but not often—the public door would be just closed at six, and would be locked up when the clerks left—the goods entrance is closed at seven: eight sometimes, if the delivery vans are late, but goods are not taken away much later than seven—when Buckley was travelling he came in the morning and opened the doors—I do not know that he left the keys in the warehouse.
W. Bulkley. Q. Were carpenters at work for some months there? A. Yes—the door in Hart Street has not been open as late as twelve o'clock at night—one entrance has been kept open very late sometimes—the carpenters were there twice all night, and William stayed up with them—Mr.
See original Thomson has managed this department since the middle of last summer—the entering man before my present one left a month ago, merely for want of care, mistakes, but the mistakes were made since the commencement of this trial, and he was a little unsteady—the manager of the damask department also left through want of care—Calvert was not in the curtain department, he left for drunkenness in the middle of last year.
MR. GIFFARD. Q. Is the goods entrance in a private yard? A. Yes—it is a hoist; there is a large door, but the goods are placed in a box and run down to the ground floor; persons could climb in, but there is a large place with really no floor, and the hoist is let down into it—the door the potboy has described is not the ordinary public entrance, it is the one that ought to be closed, it is at the very further extremity of the warehouse and ought not to have been open at all; it is almost directly opposite No. 2, where the Bulkleys carried on business, across the narrow roadway, thirty feet—that door was open for a month part of the day before we found out the robbery, so that we had an entrance at either end of the warehouse—I authorised it to be open about the middle of March, about a month before the detection; the key of it was in Buckley's charge—there were no duplicate keys of any of the entrances.
THOMAS THOMPSON. I am buyer to Messrs. Easton—these curtains are their property, and have been taken from the warehouse—they were never sold—some are worth 15s. 9d., some 26s. 6d., and some 32s.—I have examined these curtains brought from Messrs. Allen's; 15s. 9d. is the value of them; they are Messrs. Easton's—curtains never go out without two tickets on them, our own ticket with our initials, and the small ticket of the manufacturer—here is a mark on these curtains where the tickets have been—we send our tickets down to the manufacturer, who puts them on—these (produced) are portions of our tickets—I have some in my pocket which correspond with them—every ticket we send oat or have come in has them on; we never sell any without, unless it is a pair of dirty ones.
W. Bulkley. Q. I want you to point out the engaged patterns? A. You mean our own designs; this is one—the number is 134—it is the 26s. 6d. curtain—there are no 32s. curtains here—we first missed curtains about February—I was then at Manchester—we took stock of that portion where the bulk was taken from, just one shelf—I stood by Mr. Scott—it took about two hours—the loss is 103l. 3d. forty-three pairs—I discovered an increased loss after I saw the curtains—I saw two invoices—we took stock a fortnight ago—it is impossible to tell the whole of our loss—I am not interested in exaggerating this robbery—there are not defalcations in my own department which I am anxious to cover by increasing this loss—I have never given goods away; I have given odd curtains away, which cost the firm nothing, but not a hundred, nor fifty, only twelve or fourteen—I may have given one or two odd handkerchiefs away, but not dozens—I have not given away odd shirts—I have never taken goods from my department without having them entered—I was in Bristol about November; that was before the stock-taking last year—I took samples with me from my department—my man looked them out—they are all entered, and were all checked when they came back—I stopped at Thompson's hotel, Bristol—I did not leave any portion of my samples behind me on that occssion; I have done so on other occasions, for another man to follow me and take them on—that was somewhere about November—they were entered to me, and returned and checked—some
See original samples remained there six weeks or two months—one of the firm did not go for them; I left them there for some one to follow me—I was once spoken to on the subject by one of the firm—goods were not left behind on that occasion which were not entered to me—I did not leave the goods behind by accident—I do not know how it came to the knowledge of the firm; it may have been through another traveller, Simpson—there is no rule established—if I, as the buyer of the department, leave the samples behind for somebody to follow me, I can do so; I am responsible for them till they are returned—I was short of money when there, but I had quite enough to come back with—the firm were perfectly satisfied with my explanation—I left my bill unpaid, and left the goods behind me—the firm may have paid my bill; it came out of my expenses, and being intimate with the landlord, it made a difference.
MR. GRAIN. Q. Are the samples odd curtains? A. Yes—I gave away ten or twelve of them, but I told Mr. Easton I had done so—I was not called back from Bristol—I never left goods at Bristol, it was at Exeter—I had no notice to come back; they did not send a traveller afterwards for the goods—some one was to follow it up—the bill which he charges me with not having paid was the bill of the firm—there was a fixed sum for my expenses—Mr. Easton has not complained of me in any way.
JAMES THOMPSON. I am a salesman in the carpet and damask department at Messrs. Easton's—these six pieces of damask delivered up from Mr. Johnson's are the property of the firm—I examined the stock, and found four pieces of rep and one piece of damask were missing, which I afterwards saw at Messrs. Nathan's—I also missed five other pieces of damask, at 63s. to 80s. the piece—the rep was 8s. 2d. the yard.
Cross-examined by MR. COLLINS. Q. Who was the manager after the principal left? A. No particular manager except Buckley—Mr. Nelson is managing man in the counting-house, and cashier
W. Bulkley. Q. When did you enter the firm? A. Last August, there were then no hands in my department, it had been without hands about a month, or it might have been more—there is now another young man, an assistant—I was alone in the department from August till March—I kept a stock-book—I found the stock pretty correct at the stock-taking last Christmas—the book was kept for Mr. Easton's use as well as my own—it was kept in a table drawer—it is in my writing, and none but mine—I will swear that every price of goods that I have seen, and which has been sold, has been written off by me—I write the customer's name who purchases them—I have been one journey this year, it was to Leamington—I have not travelled round town as traveller—I have been away for half a day for the department, but not near ten times—Mr. Easton would overlook my department in my absence, or the man in another room—goods were sometimes sold in my absence—I never found prices written off in my absence; they told me when I returned, and I asked them who they were sold to—nothing could be sold without my knowledge, I should see it in the tissue book—it was not in the power of anybody to sell goods in my absence without my knowledge, unless they forgot to make the entry; but I might not miss the piece of damask, as the stock is very large—these are Ackroyd's goods, all but two pieces—they are open to the wholesale trade, but not to the retail; they are kept, I should say, by every house in London—I recognise these goods as similar to those I kept in stock—I went to Messrs. Nathan, and saw some reps and some fancy damask, which I recognised—I had missed four pieces of rep prior to seeing them, and since
See original January, when stock was taken—I only recognise the goods at Nathan's as similar to ours, but the fancy patterns I swear to—I have every reason to believe that the others have been in our house, I will swear it.
RICHARD NELSON. I am cashier at Messrs. Easton's—I had a duplicate key of the principal entrance in Fell Street.
W. Bulkley. Q. Did you go round the house with Mr. Easton with respect to the travellers' samples? A. No, the books are out of my province altogether; the duplicate key was never out of my pocket—I used to keep it in my pocket on Sunday.
Cross-examined by MR. COLLINS. Q. Have you got it now? A. No, but this is an exception—Mr. Chadwick has it in my absence, because the keys of the safe and the cash-box are attached to it.
WILLIAMS SMITH (City Detective). On 29th April I went with Fork to 59, Swinton Street, Gray's Inn Road, and found Richard Bulkley—I said, "We need not tell you we are officers"—he said, "No, I know you, "calling us each by name—Fork said, "We have come about some curtains sold to Mr. Johnson in the Edgware Road by your brother Wilford"—he said, "I know nothing at all about any curtains"—Fork then produced two receipts, and Richard said, "Yes, these are our receipts, walk up stairs"—we walked up, and he said, "Come into the back room, I do not want you to go into the front, I have a friend there"—we walked into the backroom and told his wife, who was in the front room, to come to us—she said, "What is the matter, Richard? "—he said, "Do not say anything, get him away, "meaning the person in the front room—while she was gone he said, "Do not tell her what it is"—I searched his room, but found nothing relating to this charge—I afterwards went with Fork to 77, Stanhope Street, Hampstead Road—Wilford Bulkley opened the door—it was about a quarter to two in the morning—he said, "Halloa Smith, halloa Fork, what is the matter; oh! I see what you have come about; come up stairs"—when we got up stairs we told him we should have to take him in custody for being concerned in stealing a quantity of curtains from Messrs. Easton's, and that he had disposed of them to Mr. Johnson in the Edgware Road—he said, "That is right; have you got Dick? I said, "Yes, he is in custody"—he said, "You will find it a fearful affair, and there is about twelve or fourteen in it"—I saw these two curtains (produced) hanging in the window, and said, "Why, there are two of the curtains there"—he said, "Yes, that is one pair of them; I had two pairs of them one pair I burnt, for I was in Dolly's chop-house last Saturday; I stood behind Thompson, and heard him tell Mr. Brown that they had got a fresh clue in reference to the curtains, and I went home and burnt the other pair, and made up my mind to leave my residence to-morrow morning at eleven o'clock"—this was Tuesday morning at two o'clock—we took him in custody and charged him with stealing and receiving fifty-one pairs of curtains—after the first remand I went to 2, Hart Street, searched the grate, and found this quantity of tickets partially burnt.
W. Bulkley. Q. Did not I tell you I expected you? A. Yes—I did not say, "You do not seem to be at all annoyed about it" nor "Why on earth did not you get away? "nor did you say, "It is no use going away without money"—your place was littered with tickets torn up.
Cross-examined by MR. METCALFE. Q. Did not Richard say, "Yes, these are our invoices? "A. Yes, but his first reply was that he knew nothing about the curtains.
JOSEPH WILLIAM FORK (City Detective). I went with Smith to R.
See original Bulkley's lodging on 29th April—on the morning of the first remand W. Bulkley called me to his cell door, and I asked him if he chose to tell me who the person was that he purchased the curtains from; he said, "How could I have possession of them without having the keys? "and I said, "Who kept the keys? "—he said that Bulkley kept the keys, and Bulkley and Batterham were the persons he had the curtains from—he then said, "Go and see the pot-boy at the public-house in Hart Street, and he will tell you more about it, for he helped to carry some of the parcels across"—I afterwards went to Mr. Easton's warehouse, 2, Fell Street, where I saw Buckley, and told him I was a detective officer, which he knew, that we had the two Bulkleys in custody, and I should charge him with being concerned with them I stealing fifty-one pairs of curtains, that I had since found at Messrs. Johnson's in the Edgware Road—he said, "I am innocent"—I waited till Batterham came in, and told him I was a detectve officer, and should charge him with being concerned with Buckley and the Bulkleys in stealing fifty-one pairs of curtains, the property of his master—he said, "I am not guilty"—I took them to the station.
MR. METCALFE to WALTER JACKSON BRIDGES. Q. To whom were the payments for the goods made that you bought for Johnsons? A. To W. Bulkley—I have the cheques here (produced)—I cannot swear to the writing of the endorsement.
W. Bulkley to LEWIS NATHAN. Q. How long have you known me? A. Two years—I have bought various goods of you, silk shawls and hosiery of every description, to the amount of hundreds of pounds—between November and February I have invoices amounting to 280l.
MR. METCALFE. Q. Was W. Bulkley doing business by himself when you traded with him? A. Yes, all the invoices are made out to him alone—here is Hunter Street on this invoice, I do not know that he has left there—I never had any transactions with young Bulkley, and do not know of his having any interest in the concern—the bankruptey was 4th March—I do not think I did business with Wilford at that time—the endorsements on these cheques is Wilforcl'e writing to the best of my belief.
MR. GIFFARD. Q. Have you seen him write? A. Yes—this invoice of the reps on 4th December is our late clerk's writing—I have no doubt at all that I received that quantity of rep at that time from W. Bulkley—I took no means to ascertain where he got them, because we buy of so many people—we do make inquiries, but I am not the buyer.
ALLEXANDER ALLEN. I produce the cheque which I gave for these goods.
LEWIS NATHAN (re-examined). To the best of my belief the endorsement on this cheque is W. Bulkley's writing.
NATHANIEL NATHAN. I was managing man in this business at Whitechapel before the bankruptcy—we bought reps about 24th December—I may have bought them—I will not say positively.
W. Bulkley. Q. How long have you known me? A. Four years—I have paid you about 400l. at different times—I have bought goods of every description of you—you gave me references—I have refused to purchase as many goods of you as I have bought.
W. Bulkley's Defence. I should not have pleaded not guilty had it not been increased to 750 curtains; I always pleaded guilty to 138 pairs. The damasks are Ackroyd's goods, and are as common in the trade as postage stamps. The goods sold on 21st December could not be his at all, because
See original his stock was correct that. With regard to the damasks sold to Messrs. Johnson, the prosecutor missed no goods till they saw my invoice. He was taken to Messrs. Nathan's and saw four piece of rep and some damask, and recognised all he saw, and wishes you to believe they are his employer's goods, though they were sold eight or nine days previous to the stock-taking. If he has lost the goods there is nothing to prove that I am connected with them. The Nathans during the last three years have paid me over 5000l. My brother never knew anything at all about this; he received 2l. 2s. every Monday morning, and was only a paid clerk; he had to attend to the office in my absence, and he never forfeited to the extent of a farthing in any of the transactions. I alone am guilty with regard to 138 pairs of curtains, and the damasks I leave in your hands.
The Bulkleys received good characters. BUCKLEY and RICHARD BULKLEY— NOT GUILTY. BATTERHAM and W. BULKLEY— GUILTY.
Reference Number: t18670708-675
675. HENRY BATTERHAM and WILLIAM BUCKLEY were again indicted for stealing four blankets, twenty-five yards of carpet, and other articles of John Easton, their master.
MESSRS. GIFFARD, Q.C., and GRAIN conducted the Prosecution, and MR. COLLINS the Defence.
CAROLINE DALLING. I lived at 82, De Beauvoir Road, Kingsland—I have known Batterham two years and a half, and Buckley since the commencement of December—they both came to my house on 14th or 15th January, between four and five in the afternoon—they brought a parcel, which I did not see when I let them in—I was doing something down stairs, and said, "Walk in, I will be up directly"—Batterham afterwards met me coming up the kitchen stairs, there was a parcel lying on my hall table, and he said, "That parcel contains two pair of blankets, one pair you can keep for yourself, and the other pair you can give to Clara, "she is a lodger of mine—Buckley was in the parlour, I do not. think he heard that—Buckley came again in February, and gave me a box containing a dozen pocket handkerchiefs—I thanked him, and gave half of them to Clara—I have not got them now, I gave ten back, and two were lost—I sent my servant to pledge one pair of the blankets, and she brought me back this ticket (produced).
Cross-examined. Q. What is your servant's name? A. Winifred Pile, she has left me some time.
GEORGE WARREN. I produce two blankets, pawned with me on 18th January for 15s.—this is the duplicate I gave to the person pledging them.
CORINA BANNISTER. I am single—I have known Buckley three or four months, he was in the habit of visiting where I lived—I asked him to get me some stair carpeting, he said that he would, or anything else I wanted; I mentioned blankets, and he said that he would get some cheap soiled travellers' patterns—he came to my house about three times a month, six or seven times altogether—he called one Sunday in February, with a man named Brough—I asked Brough again about the stair carpets, and he said he would send them in a few days—shortly afterwards a roll of stair carpet came to me, and two pairs of blankets, by Parcels Delivery, wrapped up in brown paper—I gave them to the detective officer—Buckley called a few days after, and I asked him for a bill of what I was to pay for the stair carpet and blankets, he said that
See original he bad not a bill then, but I should have it—I did not see him afterwards, and never received it—I have not paid.
Cross-examined. Q. You knew he could get things from his employers at cost price? A. I did—I am an assistant myself, and I know that is the custom—it is not correct that they were to be given to me—I did not expect that.
WILLIAM SMITH (City Detective Officer). On 1st May, between five and six in the evening, I went with Fork to Buckley's house, and found a pair of new blankets on top of the bed as if recently placed there, and two other pairs between the bed and mattress—they were new,—but one was a little soiled—I found two rugs and two large carpets under the bed—I did not see Buckley that night—I received this pair of blankets and duplicate (produced) from Mrs. Dalling.
Cross-examined. Q. How many pairs did you find in the house? A. Five, but we left two pairs which were in use, we only brought the new ones away.
JAMES THOMPSON. I am a salesman in Mr. Easton's employ—these two blankets correspond with what we have in stock, all our blankets have a peculiar mark in the border—this one is called an eighty-one, and has three little blue stripes by the side of a dark one; we manufacture them—I have examined some blankets, hearthrugs, and table covers found at Batterham's—they correspond in quality and appearance with what we have in stock—this stair carpet is the same as we have in stock, but it is sold all over London—Buckley is married, and lives at New Cross.
Cross-examined. Q. Are you the head of the blanket department? A. No—Mr. Edwards is; he is not here—Batterham was the head of it in January, February, and March; Mr. Edwards was not in the department then—Batterham was assisted by a man named Frost—Mr. Easton can tell you the course of business in the blanket department—I am in the damask and carpet department—we do a very large trade—every manufacturer has his mark in the border—the stair carpeting is in Mr. Swallow's department—I do not think he is here—he does not keep a day-book, but he keeps a tissue book, which would have the sales to different persons—this is it (produced)—Mr. Swallow might write iu it, or his assistant, who was Mr. Edwards's at one time—the entries are not transferred from the book at all, but the tissues are sent down stairs to the entering clerk, he is not here—all entries of Kidderminster carpets and stair carpets sold in that department are made in this tissue book.
RICHARD NELSON. I am cashier to Mr. Easton—persons in his employ are permitted to purchase goods for cash, but they must be entered in a book and the money paid in the counting-house, so that the name of the person purchasing would appear in the cash-book—I have examined that book—it is not here.
JOHN EASTON. The prisoners were in my employment—Buckley's salary was 100l. a year—he kept the keys of the warehouse, locked up the different parts, and superintended several small departments—business commenced at 8.30, and he closed generally at six—these two brown paper wrappers directed to Miss Bannister, Old Kent Road, are in Batterham's writing—I went to Batterham's department in March last, and saw a piece of paper with an address written on it—it would be torn up directly the order was executed—I saw that it was the name of a private individual, and said that I would not allow any private customer to be supplied—Batterham said that it was the name of an upholsterer, a customer, to the
See original best of my belief—these are Parcels Delivery tickets on these two brown papers.
Cross-examined. Q. Is there a blanket department in your warehouse? A. Yes, and three carpet departments, and a department where handkerchiefs and those things are sold—a man named Frost assisted Batterham in the blanket department—the first memorandum of a sale would be in the tissue book, and if cash is paid the cash would appear in the cash-books in the cashier's department—the same course of business is pursued in every department—Mr. Swallow, the manager of the carpet department, is not here, but his tissue book is—Mr. Thomas Thompson managed the handkerchief department, he is here—when the tissue book entry is made it would be entered in the entry book by the entry clerks—the entry book is here—the entry clerks are not all here, but Mr. Nelson, the chief of the department, is here—it is a fact that for cash, the employe's can buy goods at cost price for their own personal use; that would be carried through the books as for regular customers, and the name would be mentioned in each book.
MR. GIFFARD. Q. Suppose on 15th March Buckley got stair carpeting out of that department, I understand before it could go out of the warehouse an entry would have to be made in the tissue book? A. Yes, and then the piece of tissue paper is sent down like a machine copy, so that it shall get into the books in the lower department—I find an entry to Buckley on 15th March in this book of 1l. 14s. for stair carpeting—it looks like Batterham's writing; the entry is, "245/3 yards stair carpeting at 17d., 1l."—if that had been paid for in the ordinary course an entry ought to appear in this day-book, but I do not find it, nor yet" in the cash-book.
MR. COLLINS. Q. Who would make the entries on that day in the daybook? A. I cannot say, the cashier can give you that information—I cannot say that I know the writing—the cash appears to have been taken from the tissue book.
RICHARD NELSON (re-examined). I am the head of that department—I have looked through to see what goods were paid for in the ordinary course by Buckley and Batterham from December to April—there is only an entry to Batterham for a piece of slate crinoline, at 6s., on l? th December—here is one cambric handkerchief, 7d., to Buckley, on February 4th; you will find the article in the cash-book, folio 505, but not in the daybook—those are the only entries
Cross-examined. Q. In whose writing is the cash-book? A. Fine—a good deal of these entries on 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th January are in the writing of Serle; he is in the counting-house—he takes the place of the entering clerks when they go to dinner—the boy who checks the entry pays the cash to me—no one is here who made the entries from January to April—I depend upon what the boy tells me, it would be found out next day if it was wrong.
COURT. Q. Do you receive the money? A. Yes, and I see next day that there is an entry made for every sum I receive, because all the sales are entered, and there would be a blank, there would be no money entered—I always refuse money unless there is an entry—the money is brought to me from the entering desk, but on this occasion Buckley paid me himself—if he paid the entering clerk, and the entering clerk put the money into his pocket, there would be an entry of goods from the tissue book, but not of cash; the tissue book entry comes down with the goods to the entering clerk—if the entering clerk kept the money and destroyed the tissue paper
See original we should then see it in the book—we had a man named Edwards in the employment in March—I should say that the entry of 245/8 of stair carpeting, 1l. 14s., is not his writing; it looks more like Mr. Batterham's—this is Ed wards's writing, "March 6 th, J.O. Beales, Monkwell Street"—that looks very like the same writing as the 24 5/8 of stair carpeting—Beales's entry is more like Edwards's writing than anything I have seen—it looks very like Batterham's writing, and it also looks like Edwards's—Edwards left about March, for irregularities; he was an assistant in the carpet department—everything from every department goes into this book—between January and March Thompson was in the handkerchief department; he had an assistant, his name is Scott I think, he is not here—Scott makes entries or authorises anybody to do it.
JURY. Q. When did the money come to you; you say that you would find it out by the entry in the tissue book? A. It appears to have been overlooked—if the tissue paper is destroyed the goods could not leave the house; they have to be signed for by the person who takes them out, and his authority is my signature, nothing else, and if I signed it it would be in my book.
JOSEPH WILLIAM THORPE (City Detective). I went with Smith to Batterham's house on 30th April, and assisted in searching it; he was in custody—I found four pairs of blankets, two rugs, and a table cover (produced). BATTERHAM— GUILTY.— Five Years' Penal Servitude.
BUCKLEY— GUILTY.(See Old Court, Thursday).
OLD COURT.—Thursday, July 11th. 1867.
Before Mr. Recorder.
Reference Number: t18670708-676
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