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uTHE HOL¥WE.M^STEEET NUISANCE.At the Mkkllcssr. coc.?sonc? oa We tor day, WilHco Da dnlo was indicted for unlawfully pec curing • and having in Iiia porccaoiou for tho purpose of celling and d*o-aemmafeg, divers obscene prints, hooka, and representations.'—Mr.' Clnrkcon and Mr. Bodkin appeared for the prosecution, instructed by the Society for the Suppression of 1/ica; Mr. M. Gorgewat Chndvdck Joncn and Ms*. Metcalf appeared for the priconcsv-—Mr. Clarkson shortly opened the cc.ce to the jury, and having characterised the prosecution c.a one of coacubrcblo public importance,' striking oo it did atthe root of m evil of a polluting and moot abominable influence, the learned gentleman shortly elated the facto which nSfccrwoyib were given in evidence, and which may be Chao generally given s—On. the 2nd of September, from information they had - received, Inspector JLowio, of the Thames Police, nail an officer of Customs, and Sergeant Chadwick of tho I? division of the metropolitan police, went to Hoi y wclI- n tec at 5 Strand? for tho purpose of making a ccarch atanbop kcpfc by the prisoner in that street. The pricQTic?p in fact, kept two* shops there, numbered rcopee-lively HG and 37; and it- wno to tho latter that tho attoatlan of the officers v/no directed. Ao they v;ore proceeding along’ tho street, they were observed by n person of tho nnvao of Sharp, v/ho was standing at tho floor of S?s and he, she moment ho recognised them, rushed into Clio chop, and immediately eatno out again, when tho shop deer van at once ahufc from tho inside. Ou reaching tho chop, the oHIeero found tho door fastened^; and, after waiting’there for about tea minutes,, they v/oro informed by tho .priconor, who emerged from a side door leading from, tho chop into Pnaomg*=al!ey5 that they could then cono is. They then paoccd into the chop, and on going to a fireplace at tho' back post of tho chop, they found evidence of Sharphaving given tho prisoner tho 61 office,** as it was termed--*that in, having warned him of tho approach of the officers. Close by-• the ikeplneo they, found a mass of burnt prints and books, come of which. wcro only partially consumed* A search was made, and the result was, that the. officers took possession, from various parts of tho premises, in-eluding tho shop window, of' r, largo quantity of French lithographic prints, oorao lithographic otonca ready for press, copperplates, books, coloured engravings, c., the whole* of which were of a moot dioguotiog and _ abominable description. Ultimately they took away,from thojoronrioco 382'boaka,’807 prints,, 110 catalogues, 9 lithographic stones, several copper plates, and XG. ewt. 9- lbs. of lo£tor*picss unsown—altogether two heavy cart loads. • A number of them were produced in court, and. submitted to the jury.— At the conclusion m tho coco for tho prosecution, Mr. Sergeant lt;D. lt;3 geo 3 submitted that the cave a counts in tho indict mentworo bad; and that, qo there wno ho count charging him with cxpockg thorn for cslo, there wna no evidence upon which the indictment could go .to tho jury.—-Tho learnedJudge said- that could only bo urged In arrest of judgment, and not as to' tho ones going to the jury .-“-Mr, SergeantJones said ho had to submit to tho Court that, in point of lav/, tho officers had bo legal right to enter tho premises.. They could only search the hotico % virtue, of v, warrant of a ruagiatsato % and as the consch, therefore, wao illegal, ho should contend that anything thattre.nopired in the house could not be given In evidence against the prisoner.—The learned Judge said it v/uo clear that Lewio had a right to search for pictures, the importation of which into this country was forbidden.. —1The learned Judge, In oumming up, said, if the prisoner had indecent prints in his possession with tho intention of celling them, ho v/oo guilty of an offence against the lav;. Tho jury would have, therefore, to be satisfied that tho books and psinfco produced were indecent, and that the prisoner had them in his,possession with intent to cell, publish, and disseminate them,' Ho alluded to the nature of the worst of tho prints and books, and cntd no doubt possibly could bo entertained ao to their being indecent, and after remarking that a quantity of them were found in a room which at leant wntf an adjunct to tho chop, .with labels affixed, denoting tho prices at which they could be purchased, he naked them if that wno Gufficieafc to show that ko had thorn with intent to cell them,—The jury xeturacd a verdict of guilty.—Mr. Sergeant Jones then moved in arrest of judgment on the points he had ; already' submitted, and after some discussion, the learned Judge said ho should not respite the sentence, but leave the prisoner to hie writ of error; and, further, ho would consider the matters urged by tho priconcr’o counsel, and otate before Michaelmas term whether he would grant a case for the Court of Criminal Appeal.— Hr. Clarkson urged m aggravation that the prisoner had been, convicted of this offence three times previously. He had been engaged in the disgusting traffic since 1825, and there was bo doubt that ho was tho prime circulator of publications of this character, and that it was he who supplied tho abomination to the retail dealers in the Metropolis.—The learned Judge said the prisoner had been convicted on the clearest evidence of a very serious offence, and ho was very, very old in this species of crime. Ao_ to Holy walks treat, ho would oay nothing on that occasion further than that thio ought to have been a parish prosecution, and tho parish authorities ought not to have suffered this great abomination to mdot so long as it had done* He heard that the parish authorities had held a meeting at which ho was censured for what he had said from that seat with regard to Newcaatle-courfc; but let the authorities of thio grossly-misconducted parish look to themselves. If report were true, Nev/castle-court had been cleared in consequence of what be uaid, and he hoped the same would bo tho result with regard to Bolywell-streqt, by the abo»BUBationD of which tho morality of tho wliolo populationof tho Metropolis was affected. . Ho then sentenced the prisoner to-be imprisoned in thia Houso of Correction for fcivo'-yedra on each connfc of tho indictment, each commencing and terminating at the name time,’ and to find afterwords sureties, himself in £50, and ty/o others in £25 each, to be of good behaviour for ono year further.— A gucaC siuiBber of persona from Holywcll-ofcrecfc werepycccato
Newspaper Details
London Standard of Freedom
London, Middlesex, GB
Sat, Sep 27, 1851
Page 14
Full Page
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Anonymous
USA 13 Jun 2022
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