Crimes
The Blackpool Bank robbery
Trial and sentence
At the Preston quarter sessions on Wednesday, James Hope PARKINSON, aged 17 and Kenneth CROCKETT, aged 18, pleaded guilty to obtaining £1,000 by false pretences from the Blackpool branch of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank.
PARKINSON, who was a clerk at the London and Midland Bank, obtained the money on a fraudulent representation. The two youths with the bag of gold, hastened to the continent, one styling himself on Sir Kenneth CRAWFORD, and the other as Hon Victor MONTALDI, and in three weeks they had squandered the whole of the money, with the exception of £40 in seeing life on the continent. At Vienna their total bill for the first week amounted to £60, and among many curious and extravagant items produced was a tailor’s bill for £90. They bought tandem bicycles and otherwise amused themselves. They were arrested and confined for a time in Austrian and German prisons, where they received very severe treatment. The accused were now sentenced to 4mths prison each with hard labour.
At Liverpool Court of Passage, Tuesday.
Mrs Marion DIXON, Ironmonger, 368 Park Rd, Liverpool, and residing over the shop with her 8 children, sought damages for the seduction of her eldest daughter, Marion Lucy, aged 27, from Angus RONALD, aged about 40, who had been employed for the last 17yrs as a clerk by the Waterford Steamship Co, Water St, and resided with a married sister in Roslyn St.
Mr TOBIN, opening for the plaintiff, said, the plaintiff had been introduced to the family by the late Mr DIXON and a friendship arose between the defendant, his sister, and brother-in-law and the DIXON family. Defendant had visited frequently and had started to court the eldest daughter, and two occasions of intimacy had taken place in the sitting room. When interrogated the defendant had waded the crucial question, and on being ordered to reply, he wrote a negative.
Miss DIXON, cross-examined by Mr SWIFT [for the defendant] said, defendant did not definitely promise to marry her, but did ask her to “wait for him.”
Since her confinement on December 1st 1898, witness had not resumed her occupation as her mother’s bookkeeper. No letters or presents had passed – The plaintiff said, she admitted the defendant was an honourable suitor and had no reason to suspect the contrary until she took her daughter for examination by a doctor – Harold DIXON, eldest son of the plaintiff describes an interview he had with the defendant, alone on an omnibus.
Defendant said, witness could do what the ---- he liked, and witness at once placed the case in the hands of the family solicitor – For defence, Mr Rigby SWIFT said, defendant never had any intent to marry the girl and merely went to the house as a friend of the family who had been kind to him when he had an accident on the Overhead Railway.
Defendant said, he told the family he was engaged to a lady from Glasgow at the period alleged to be when he was courting Miss DIXON – Jury found for the plaintiff – awarded damages of £50.
At Liverpool Crown Court
Monday
G. H. RUSH and Walter HARVEY, 2 young men, charged with embezzling money belonging to their employer, Joseph MATTHEWS, Engineer, Northumberland St. The accused had to draw up wages and keep time and succeeded in obtaining some of their Master’s money, RUSH, obtained £150, HARVEY £120-19s-8d - RUSH prison 6wks, HARVEY 1mth
Tuesday
Joseph BROWN, aged 31, charged with assaulting his wife, Anne Jane BROWN, on 6th December last. Prisoner went to a house in Birkett St where his wife was living, apart from him and struck her on the ribs and throat. On the 8th ultimo she was about to enter Brownlow Hill Workhouse Hospital and prisoner met her in the street and tried to prevent her entering the hospital by seizing her by the throat, fracturing her windpipe. Mr STEWART remarked BROWN was a brute and almost caused his wife’s death, and sentenced him to 6mths with hard labour. As the prisoner was being removed from the dock, his mother shouted, “Keep your heart up; you’ll get over that.”
Thursday
A youth aged 18, Charles CLEGG was brought up on remand charged with wounding Ann Jane HUGHES at her home on Seel St on the 12th ult. The couple, had been keeping company and were at the father’s house preparing for a funeral that day. An argument broke out between the couple and CLEGG pointed a pistol at Miss HUGHES and pulled the trigger without an explosion ensuing. He fired again and the bullet lodged in Miss HUGHES shoulder and she was treated in the Royal Hospital for several days – discharged with a caution?
Joseph TAYLOR, aged 60 and Henry MC DERMOTT, charged with gambling in a railway carriage on a journey travelling between Liverpool and Manchester on 28th ult. They are described as being associated with, 3 card trick men, and were accompanied by 4 other men on the day in question. They enticed a traveller to play the game and swindled him of £6 – each jailed for a mth.
At Liverpool County Court
Thursday
Claim under the Employer’s liability Act.
By Thomas DEMPSEY, a bricklayer’s labourer against Hugh JONES, Builder and contractor, Dulcie St, Liverpool, for £50 damages for personal injuries. Dr THOMAS for the –plaintiff, Mr RATHBONE for defence who denied liability. In August last DEMPSEY was employed building some cottages in Woolton and while depositing some bricks on a scaffold, the scaffold gave way and he injured his back and legs – verdict for the plaintiff, awarded £25
At Cheshire quarter sessions, Chester Castle on Monday.
Isaac GAMES, aged 37, painter, pleaded guilty to stealing 3 bank notes valued at £10 each, the property of Joseph OSBORNE, Lower Bebington on 25th November last. Mr Ralph BANKS, who knew the prosecutor and had invited him to his house and given him a bed for the night, saw the prisoner take the note out of the pocket of the prosecutor and the prisoner got rid of them by paying some debts - jail 6mths.
Susan COULCOTT, aged 23, a domestic servant, who until recently had been employed by William TOFT, Farmer, at Pulford, was charged with setting fire to a haystack on the farm of Mr TOFT, on 28th ultimo, admitted the crime, remanded till Saturday [today]
On Wednesday at Warrington Petty sessions,
James STRINGFELLOW of Manchester was charged on remand with having attempted to commit suicide. Patrick COLLING, 41 Engine Row, Earlestown was walking down the tow path of the Sankey canal near Bradley Bridge on Saturday, when he saw the prisoner remove his coat and jump in the water. He ran and got hold of him, but the prisoner said, “Let me go, I will do away with myself.” PC ASPEN attended and on searching STRINGFELLOW found a note in his pocket, it read, “My name is James STRINGFELLOW, you will find me here.” Prisoner said he had been drinking heavily since Christmas and did not remember jumping in the canal, but remembered struggling to the bank. – bound over and left court with his mother and sister.
At St Helens.
Peter FORSHAW, a labourer of Frederick St, St Helens was admitted to the Providence Hospital on Sunday suffering from a severe wound to his throat, which was self-inflicted. He had lived very unhappily with his wife and she found him in his bedroom, he had cut his throat with a razor.
Liverpool Mercury, 14th Jan 1899
Crimes
At the Liverpool Police Court on Monday a respectably dressed young man who gave the name of JONES, but whose real name was Ernest LINES, an electrician in the employment of the London and North West Railway Co, was brought up in custody charged with assaulting Sarah Catherine BOYLE, wife of a carter of Roderick St.
When the 12.29am train arrived at Lime St a woman jumped out of a 2nd class carriage before the train had time to stop, causing her to fall on the platform. A porter approached her and she informed him she had been assaulted by a man in the carriage. When the carriage was examined prisoner was found still in it.
She had been visiting friends and when she reached Lime St found there was no train till midnight. When this arrived she got in the carriage and prisoner followed her, the assault took place immediately after the train left Lime St and she sprang away from the prisoner and spent the rest of the journey with her back to the door. Two porters, MASON and RAE confirmed the woman had leaped from the moving train – committed for trial at the city sessions.
Sensational suicide in Liverpool
Found shot in a lodging house
An inquiry was held by Mr T. E. SAMPSON in the Dale St, Buildings as to the death of Carl Emil BOKSTROM, aged 41 a native of Sweden, who on Thursday shot himself with a revolver in a boarding house in Great George St where he was lodging.
He went to the boarding house on Monday last and made arrangements to stay till today. He represented himself as a commercial traveller, and was emigrating from Gothenberg to New York, he was at the time in good health and appeared cheerful.
At 10am on Thursday he had breakfast and went to his room. He never came down for dinner and after some time a waitress went to his room and knocked on the door, getting no response she got the key and entered the room. She found the deceased lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood, there was a revolver in his right hand and she noticed several visiting card on a table.
On one card was written – “For what ever has happened I am exceedingly sorry. I did not entertain any thought of foul or wrong, as I came walking, not the least thought that could do any harm.”
On another he asked for forgiveness for what he had done.
On yet another he wrote – “ May Almighty God bring them peace and content again, and may they live to be happy. Any material loss arising from this incident to them I wish it to be paid in cash.”
Another – “Dear Mrs MADDOX – Pray forgive me that such a sad incident take place at your highly respected house, I could not help it. It seems to be destined to by fate, and I hope you will kindly forgive me.”
A paper written in German, left by the deceased, was read by Det Sgt OSBORNE –
“In this world all hearty people struggle for the same end – that of ennobling themselves and enriching their ideas and feelings of life for the furtherance of their own felicity. The poor-spirited man in the face of all the misery and wrong in this world is overpowered.”
In a paper in English were written the words –
“What is life? A weary pilgrimage, life is what we make it ourselves and depends on the ability with which we treat, all matters and everyone around us. If we have only the will to act with energy, and if at what we aim at is good and right, we are sure to succeed. If difficulties arise in our way and the beginning is slow. Never was a really substantial thing done at once. – Virtue gives action to our action and thought and substantial courage. It purifies us and raises in us a quiet and happy joy. It awakens our good qualities, it creates love maintained, to all, the world and all who live and breathe.
Coroner said, the letters were those of a highly educated and sensitive man with something on his mind – suicide while temporary insane.
At Ellesmere Guardian’s meeting on Tuesday, the master reported that Roger LLOYD, an inmate of the sick ward, during an outbreak of madness on Saturday morning, smashed one of the windows and attempted to leap out. He savagely attacked 3 men trying to restrain him and then made his escape falling a distance of 20ft. He was discovered 3hrs later some distance from the workhouse, in a perfectly nude condition.
On Monday at Blackpool Police Court, Charles Henry WELLINGS was charged with obtaining £210 from Emma B. CARR, a married woman. She first met him in Bradford in September 1896 and he stayed in a lodging house she kept in Blackpool. He represented he was raising on security a loan of £1000. She advanced him £18-7s-10d and a further £150. She then followed him to London for payment, where he told her he had good news, that he would buy the loans the next day. On the strength of it he borrowed £20 then £15. On the day £150 was paid into the Blackpool Bank the prisoner drew out £105, including payments to alleged bookmakers, remanded for a week.
At the Bolton County Court on Wednesday, Judge JONES awarded £120 to a bricklayer’s labourer, Michael KENNEY, as damages for the loss of a finger. He was working on the erection of the new fire station for Mr CUNLIFFE, Contractor, when a girder fell and cut off his finger.
At Birkenhead Police Court on Monday, Fanny Augusta SOUTHARD, aged 19 of Briardale Rd, Oxton was charged with attempting to commit suicide. Her mother stated that on Saturday her daughter went out with her young man, when she returned she said, he was not going to behave to her as a gentleman, she then went to her bedroom and later told her mother she had taken poison. She said, “Its all through him.” Dr HUGHES was sent for and the girl recovered. Mother promised to look after her and she was discharged.
Liverpool Police Court
Tuesday,
Bernard FERGUSON, middle-aged, charged with having robbed, William JAMES of a breast pin. On the 27th of last month he was in a pub in Manchester St and got into conversation with the prosecutor and under the cover of a newspaper removed the pin without the prosecutor being aware of it. He was arrested 2days later by Det MATTHEWS in Islington, he was an expert “hand” at this sort of thing – 3mths prison with hard labour.
Thursday
William ARMER, middle-aged, was charged with having embezzled 3 sums of money amounting to £10, from his employees, Liverpool Dairy Co, where he had been employed for 3mths. Prisoner said in his defence that his offence was a a result of gambling – 1mth prison with hard labour
At Liverpool County Court, before Judge COLLIER, Mrs Elizabeth ROACH, 135 Northbrook St, Liverpool, sued IDRIS and Co Ltd, Mineral Water Manufacturers of Camden Town, London, for £15 personal injury and damages to a bicycle on 1st Oct last. Whilst cycling along Grove St the horses attached to a van belonging to defendants collided with Mrs ROACH – Judgement for the plaintiff of £12-10s and costs
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