Yesterday in consequence of the alarm that was excited by the stealing of four bodies from the burial ground in Garratt-lane, Wandsworth, a Bench of Magistrates, consisting of G. Tritton, W. Nottidge, H. J. Barchard, and J. F. Atlee, Esquires, assembled at the French Horn Tavern in that village, when George Wood and Henry Goldsmith, two regular body snatchers, were brought into their presence in the custody of W. Collingbourn, the officer of Union-hall, on the charge of stealing the said bodies.
Henry White was also in custody, but he was admitted in evidence against Wood and Goldsmith. Henry White, being sworn, stated that he was a labourer and lived on Wandsworth Plain.
On Sunday the 5th inst., about four o'clock in the afternoon, the prisoner Wood came and drank tea at his house; he (witness) knew him, and when he came into the house he was in bed, much in liquor; Wood said he wanted to speak to him, and he was in consequence awakened; on going down stairs he told him there was another man coming to see him; witness guessed what he came about, because he well knew he was a "body snatcher." Wood after a short time went away, saying he would return presently with his friend; about eight o'clock in the evening the other man came, and he then asked him if he had a mind to take a stiff one up that morning (meaning a dead body); witness replied, he did not care if he did; the man then went away; about half past four o'clock next morning a rap came at the shutter of witness's room, and he got up, went into his yard, and put his horse in the cart; after which he called his brother John, and they proceeded as far as the Two Brewers public house, at the corner of Garratt-lane.
Witness then told his brother what he was going about, and he said he should return home, and have no hand in it. He left, and witness drove his cart up All Farthing lane, where he was met by the prisoners Wood and Goldsmith, and another man; each threw a sack containing a body into the cart, and the strange man got up alongside him in the cart, and they drove to St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
On their arrival there the man took the sacks one by one out of the cart, and entered the gates, and afterwards returned with the empty sacks, and threw them into the cart.
On getting outside the Hospital gates he gave witness 35s. for his job.
On his return to Wandsworth he met his brother in the London-road, who told him the neighbourhood was in an uproar, and that his cart was seen in the burial ground, and was suspected to have conveyed the bodies to London. Witness on hearing this determined not to return to Wandsworth, and gave his brother his horse and cart, who drove it to the prisoner Goldsmith's stable in London-street, London-road. Next morning he was taken into custody and held to bail. Witness subsequently met the prisoner Wood at the Three Stags public-house, near Bethlem, who said to him "I hear you have come it" (meaning confessed).
Witness replied he should speak the truth; Wood said he might do as he liked about it, and they parted. Two witnesses deposed to having seen the cart, but did not know the persons of the prisoners. One of them deposed that he had mentioned the circumstance to a watchman, who refused to attempt to detain the prisoners. Hugh Callendar, the beadle of Wandsworth, stated, that in consequence of Mr.
Collingbourn, the High Constable, telling him that some of the graves in the burial-ground had been robbed, he gave notice to the grave-digger, and several graves were examined; when four were found to have been robbed, the bodies were stolen, and the shrouds, &c. were left in the coffins. The bodies were those of Mr. Soper, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Sillibone, respectable inhabitants of the town, and a Mrs. Betton, a resident of Garratt, neither of whom had been interred a fortnight. Mr. Collingbourn, the High Constable, said, that the burial ground whence the bodies had been stolen was very retired, and any persons might gain access to it from some fields unperceived by any individual.
The ground was now very full of bodies, and some of them were not more than 19 inches under the earth. The prisoners protested their innocence; and they were committed to take their trial, and Henry White was remanded to prison to give evidence against them. It is impossible to describe the indignation of the townspeople against the prisoners.
On their being placed in the cart to be conveyed to Horsemonger-lane, it was nearly filled with snow that had been thrown by the mob at the execrable wretches; and they may think themselves very fortunate it did snow, by which means stones and other missiles were hidden, otherwise they certainly would have been dreadfully bruised.