QSR1887/2/5/2b

Depositions of George Smith, farmer of Westoning, Edwin Fox, clerk to Messrs Phillips & Co, Surrey, Henry Croll Strafford, clerk at the Bank of England, Henry Owen Williams, clerk of the office of Director of Amy Contracts War Office, Pall Mall, Sidney Herbert Jarrett, clerk at the London and South Western Bank and Edward Richard Clark, clerk in the National Provinical. In the case of Joseph Thomas Turner accused of obtaining a quantity of hay by false pretences, the value of £66.

20 January 1887

From: 1887 To: 1887

George Smith: a farmer living at Westoning. On 21 September 1885 the prisoner came to him and asked him if he had hay to sell. The prisoner was a stranger but he was with a man named Westwood who Smith knew. Smith said he had hay and they agreed on £160. An agreement was made in writing. Turner said he was buying for a company in London and he was going to have a large place built in Kensington. It was agreed Smith would deliver the hay to the station. The first £60 was paid in cash but he did not pay the next £60 only £10. Afterwards he sold the remainder of the hay for £24, so he was owed by £66 by Turner. On 19 December he saw Turner in London at 141 Marylebone Road and Turner gave him a cheque for £5 which was dishonoured. He had first gone to the Paddington Street address where he was given the other address by the man in the shoe shop. The prisoner told him to sell the hay for the best price he could get and he sold it for £24. Edwin Fox: clerk to Messrs Phillips Mortlake Brewery, owners of the lease of 65 George Street, Portman Square. In November 1884 the premises were let by Messrs Phillips to the defendant. He introduced the defendant to Mess Phillips. An agreement was made in writing but he could not find it. The rent was £150 for the first year and £200 thereafter. The defendant left in June 1885 having paid no rent but having supplied a load of hay in April 1885 which was placed as a credit on the rent account. He gave a cheque for £30 on account of March rent which was returned marked ‘refer to drawer’. After June 1885 he discovered he had moved to 141 Marylebone Street. He put a distress upon the goods there for rent but got nothing. The lease had been for 3 years. He did not recall if the defendant had paid for fixtures by cheque or whether they received any other cheque from the defendant. He was a bookkeeper of Messrs Phillips at the Grosvenor Road offices. Henry Croll Strafford: clerk in the Bank of England. No trace could be found in the books of the Bank for the defendant. They had searched for 10 years, so he believed him to have never had an account there. The Bank would not have backed him or stood by him for £2000. Henry Owen Williams: clerk in the office of the Director of Army Contracts, War Office, Pall Mall. That is where Contracts for forage and hay for the War department would pass. Turner had not had a contract with them for the supply of hay during the past 10 years. He believed Messrs Dumpleton had tendered for hay to the War Office but he could not say if they were accepted. Edward Richard Clark: clerk in the National Provincial Bank of England at 53 Baker Street. The defendant had an account at the bank which was closed in December 1885 at the request of the bank. On 5 May 1885 the manager wrote to the defendant as the defendants balance at the bank was seven pence. It remained so until 30 June 1885. From March to December 1885 he never had a balance larger than £22 10s 0d. Sidney Herbert Jarrett: a clerk at the London & South Western Bank, Camden Town. The defendant had an account with the bank which was opened on 12 November 1885. The last cheque paid out was 4 March 1886, leaving a balance of 10s 9d. Jarrett supplied a list of balances for the account, with the highest balance being £58. On 18 November the defendant had £53 15s 11d. £45 was paid in during the day and a cheque for £50 was paid out. John Webb: a shoemaker of Williams Street, Manchester Square. In 1885 he resided at 58 Paddington Street and left there on 30 August 1886 and had been there for 2 years. The defendant had no office or place of business at Paddington Street but for sometime had his letters addressed there. He found the defendants address to be 141 Marylebone Road. The reason Turner gave for having his letters sent there was that it was central. Turner was a hay and straw dealer. Statement of the accused: not guilty.

12 pages

item

Turner, Joseph Thomas,
Smith, George,
Fox, Edwin,
Strafford, Henry Croll,
Williams, Henry Owen,
Clark, Edward Richard,
Jarrett, Sidney Herbert,
Webb, John

WESTONING, false pretences, hay, Bank of England, War Office, National Provincial Bank of England Limited, clerks, farmers, shoemakers, Messrs. Phillips & Co., London, St Marylebone Portman Square