WEST BRITON AND CORNWALL ADVERTISER . 9 JANUARY 1857 . QUARTER SESSIONS, PART 2 . TRIALS RESUMED . ELIZABETH CHAMPION was charged with stealing a pair of trowsers, the property of Francis BURROW, at Redruth, on the 10th of November. Prisoner went into prosecutor's tailor's shop and asked to look at some jackets; a pair of trowsers was afterwards missed and found at prisoner’s house; it did not appear that her husband had any knowledge of what she had done. Verdict, GUILTY. . There were two other indictments against the prisoner, for stealing from John COCKING, at Redruth, and from Thomas LEGGO; but these indictments were not prosecuted. ......................................... . WILLIAM BROWN was charged, for that being a servant to Joseph THOMAS, of Truro, he stole a quantity of oats his property; and in a second count the property was laid as being in the possession and power of the master. Mr. SHILSON conducted the prosecution, and Mr. STOKES the defence. . Evidence was given in this case at considerable length. It appeared that Mr. Joseph Thomas had sold a quantity of oats to Mr. Timothy SARAH, of Pentewan, in the parish of St. Austell; and on the 8th of August last, he directed prisoner, who was in his employ, to take thirty Cornish bushels to Mr. Sarah in his (Mr. Thomas's) waggon. They were sent from prosecutor's stores in twenty bags, and Thomas CLEMENTS and Christopher NANCOLLIS, in the employ of prosecutor, gave evidence of the delivery of the twenty bags to prisoner from prosecutor's stores. . It appeared that on their arrival at Pentewan, Mr. Sarah desired his son to receive the oats from prisoner; he received, however, but nineteen bags, and on looking into the waggon he saw there another bag, which he told prisoner belonged to his father; upon which prisoner said it did not, it belonged to Mr. Thomas, of Grampound. Mr. Sarah, jun., asked him why he had not left it at Mr. Thomas's, Grampound, being on his way to Pentewan; to which prisoner replied that he forgot to do so. Prisoner left Mr. Sarah's premises, and afterwards, on his way to St. Austell, met Mr. Craggs's van of Mevagissey, upon which he sold a bag of oats he had in the waggon to Mr. Edmund Craggs, the carrier, for 7s.6d. . Mr. E. CRAGGS said prisoner told him he had been to Mevagissey, and had a bushel more than the owner would take; that the oats were Mr. Thomas's and that it was his waggon; and that if he (Craggs) would leave the bag at Mr. Thomas's at Grampound, prisoner would call for it, as he was coming there with a load of oats next day. It further appeared that on Mr. Sarah finding he had only nineteen bags instead of twenty, he wrote to Mr. Joseph Thomas, at Truro, who on the 12th day of August spoke to prisoner on the subject, and accused him of stealing the bag, containing a bushel and a half. He admitted that he sold it to Craggs for 7s.6d. . The prosecutor was closely CROSS-EXAMINED by Mr. STOKES, and admitted that he did not take steps for apprehending prisoner on the 12th of August; he said he told him he should prosecute him. About a fortnight after, early one morning he again saw him, and again about a fortnight after that, when prisoner was carrying something and appeared to be going away. . >From further cross-examination, it appeared that Mr. Hichens, the agent of the Truro Shipping Company, had been to prosecutor about some teas lost from the Truro quay, and it was after that prosecutor caused prisoner to be apprehended. Prisoner had been working on the Cornwall Railway near St. Germans, and prosecutor heard from prisoner's father that he was coming home at Christmas; when he came home he had him apprehended. After Mr. Hichens had asked about the teas, prosecutor inquired where prisoner was, and Hichens refused to tell. The bushel and a half had been sent by Craggs to Sarah, by advice of prosecutor through Mr. COLLINS, of Church-lane, Truro, Craggs's father-in-law. . These were the main facts of the case; and in defence Mr. STOKES submitted that Thomas ought not to have brought this prosecution against the prisoner; that he had shown by his conduct he did not at first mean to take any proceedings in the matter, he owing the prisoner something for wages; and it was only after he was told of what Brown could state about the teas, and a demand had been made by the agent of the Shipping Company, that he showed any intention to prosecute the man. Mr. Stokes submitted it was a case which ought not to have been brought before a criminal tribunal; and that Thomas, if it had not been for certain circumstances, would not have brought it there. Further he contended that the evidence was insufficient to support a charge of felony; and to show this he commented on prosecutor's statements, on the fact that Craggs could not identify prisoner, and other circumstances. . The CHAIRMAN having summed up the case, the jury deliberated about half an hour, and then found the prisoner Guilty. . The Grand Jury were discharged shortly before five o'clock, the Chairman thanking them, on behalf of the county, for their services. ............................... . BILLS IGNORED - The Grand Jury ignored the bill against David BARRETT and George HOWARD, charged with stealing a donkey from Thomas TOMS, at St. Martins by Looe; the bill against Thomas PENROSE, charged with stealing sheaves of oats from Joseph LAWRY, of St. Just in Penwith; and the bill against Mary WILLCOCKS, charged with stealing an umbrella from Benjamin ANDREW of St. Austell. . SECOND COURT . WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7 . (Before C.B. Graves Sawle, Esq., M.P.) . ELIZA COMBE, 19, pleaded GUILTY of stealing a frock, quantity of ribbon, and a comb, the property of Annie Kate ARNALL, at Camelford, on the 28th of November. . .............................. . GUILLAUME LOUIS THEOPHILE PONCELET, 18, a seaman, pleaded GUILTY of stealing on the 18th of October, at Falmouth, one purse, one sovereign, thirteen shillings, and a security for money called a "seaman’s advance note," the property of George RADFORD. . .............................. . WILLIAM VINCENT, 20, THOMAS MILL, 20, and WILLIAM MILL, 10, all miners, were charged with breaking into the account-house of Dolcoath mine in the parish of Camborne, on the 2nd of November, and stealing six silver table spoons, eight silver tea-spoons, some bread, butter, flour, sugar, and beef, two towels, one corkscrew, two decanters, and about a pint each of brandy, rum, and gin, the property of Charles Thomas and others, adventurers in the said mine. Mr. GENN conducted the prosecution; the prisoners were undefended. . Ann RICHARDS: I live at Camborne, and am account-house woman at Dolcoath mine. On Saturday the 1st of November, I was at the account-house and had some plate there in the pantry; I kept it in a drawer; I had one dozen silver tea-spoons, nineteen silver tea-spoons, and also some German-silver spoons, and 9s in money. I left the account house shortly before seven o'clock in the evening of the 1st of November, after I had locked the doors and seen my plate all safe. I returned to the account-house about seven o'clock on the Monday morning following. The front-door was closed; I went into the house and into the pantry, and found that there had been taken away six silver tea-spoons and eight silver tea-spoons and three of the German-silver spoons; seventeen altogether. There had also been taken away some bread, cold beef, butter, flour, and two bags, two towels, two corkscrews, and five decanters, with spirits. All those things I had left there safe on the Saturday night, twelve ! locks had been broken open; six in the writing desks and the others in the doors and cupboards; the windows were also broken. . James OXNAM, miner. In November last I worked at Dolcoath mine. On the 3rd of November I entered the mine a few minutes before two o'clock in the morning, and had to pass the account-house. As I passed, I saw a light in the kitchen. I was about thirty yards from the kitchen, outside the wall which goes round the account-house. I saw it was the light of a candle moving about, and I could see the hand holding it. I then went into the sump-house, and I and some other men returned to the account-house. I then called Capt. Pearce, and he went into the yard, and I remained outside the account-house window. . Capt. Richard PEARCE, agent at Dolcoath: Early in the morning of the 3rd of November, in consequence of some information, I went to the account-house; it was about two o'clock. I found at the back of the house that a pane of glass had been broken, and an entrance made through the window that opened in the pay-room, from which room there was easy access to any other part of the house. I entered through the back door, which I also found open, from the inside. I went into the office, and found six locks had been broken open, and also that one lock had been broken in the pantry. In the dining room up-stairs a lock had been broken; two locks had been broken in the pay-room, and one in the spirit-room or wine-cellar. I know the prisoners perfectly well; they have all worked at Dolcoath within the last two or three years; VINCENT lives about three or four hundred yards from the account-house. . Capt. Charles THOMAS, manager of Dolcouth Mine - I was at the account-house on the 3rd of November, about eight o'clock in the morning. I left there on the previous Saturday evening, about six o'clock. I examined the house on the Monday morning, and found that several locks had been broken open. I had locked up the wine and spirits on the Saturday evening, and kept the key. On the Monday morning I found that the cupboard had been broken open, and at least three pints each of brandy, rum, and gin had been taken away. I also locked up the cupboard in the dining-room on the Saturday evening, and on Monday morning found it had been broken open, and that five decanters had been taken away. A corkscrew had been taken away from the wine-cellar, which had also been locked on the Saturday. All those articles I saw on the Saturday when I locked the cupboards. . Joseph WARD - I am a constable at Camborne. On the 3rd of November, I went to Dolcoath mine, between four and five o'clock in the morning, and made an examination of the premises. I found papers all about the house in different parts, and that an entrance had been effected through the pay-room window, by breaking a pane of glass over the fastening; I also found that several locks had been broken open. On the inside part of the wall outside the account-house I found some planks had been put up slanting, so as to effect escape over the wall. Outside the gutter where the ends of these planks rested, I found the footmark of a boy; and on the 6th of November, I apprehended William MILL and found that his shoe corresponded exactly with that footmark. . On the morning of the 7th, William Mill's mother brought me some clothes which he had worn the previous Sunday; I searched the pockets and found some tea and sugar (about a spoonful). When we were going before the magistrates, I said to NOBLE, in the presence of the prisoner William Mill, that I had found coffee, tea, and sugar in the pockets of his coat and trowsers, and William Mill said "I did not put it there; my brother Tom and William Vincent put it there, in the account-house." After we had been before the magistrates, he said to me that there were some decanters and brandy hid away at the back of IVEY's garden at Crane; I went there and found two empty decanters and a bottle of brandy, partly full; which I now produce. . On Saturday the 8th of November, I went with William Mill to a field near Crane, and he showed me where Vincent had thrown something away, and I searched and found a corkscrew and razor, which I now produce. I then took him to a place not far from there, where he said they had eaten the beef and taken some of the spirits; and I there found some broken glass and two invoices of goods supplied to Dolcoath mine. . On the 9th in consequence of something that William Mill had said to me, I went to Captain RUTTER's field, adjoining of Dolcoath mine, and found the remains of five broken bottles, and a towel; I produce the towel. I also produce a second cork-screw and two decanters which I found after the committal - the cork-screw at the back of North Roskear account-house, and the decanters near Crane. . George NOBLE, a constable of Camborne, on the 3rd of November accompanied Ward to Dolcoath account-house, and [join]ed in the examination he made there. The witness corroborated Ward's evidence as to the state of the premises as then examined; and also as to many subsequent circumstances. He also stated that on the 8th of November, he observed that violence had been used at the account-hous;; William Mill told him that it was done with a poker at the account-house - that Thomas Mill and Vincent had broken open the locks with the poker of the account-house. Witness found that the sharp, squared top of that poker (which he now produced) corresponded exactly with marks where the cupboards and doors had been forced open. . Henry IVEY - I live at Crane; Thomas and William MIll live next door to me; I know them very well. Vincent I never saw before Monday morning the 3rd of November. On that morning, I saw the three prisoners together about quarter-past seven, at Crane. The next morning at eleven o'clock, I saw Thomas Mill out in the meadow where the bottle and two decanters were afterwards found; there is no road or pathway through the field; I have known the field for seventy years. . The various articles produced in the course of the trial were identified by the witnesses Ann Richards, Captain Charles Thomas, and the policeman Ward. The prisoners' statements before the committing magistrates were then put in and read. . William Mill stated - what I told Joseph Ward and George Noble was true; I was at Dolcoath account-house on the Sunday night in company with my brother Thomas Mill and William Vincent; William Vincent took some spoons out of the drawer and asked my brother if they were silver; my brother said he did not know; Vincent said they were silver, and asked my brother if it was best to carry them away; my brother said "the Dolcoath mark is on them;" Vincent said "we can get out that;" I did not see them take any of the spoons, but they took away some gin. . Thomas Mill stated: what George Noble has said is correct, and what my brother William has said is correct. . William Vincent stated: what William Mill has just said is true; we went to Dolcoath account-house on Sunday evening; the spoons were not taken out of the account-house to my knowledge; we took away some gin. . The Jury found a verdict of GUILTY against all three prisoners, but recommended William Mill to mercy, on account of his youth. ......................... . John HUTCHINS, 30, labourer, was charged with stealing a hammer, the property of John Martin JOHN, farmer, of St. Enoder. Mr. G. B. COLLINS for the prosecution, the prisoner undefended. . John Martin JOHNS stated that the prisoner was in his employ from the 30th of June to the 23rd of September. On the 18th of August, witness missed a hammer, which he had made almost specially for his own use; and did not see it again till this day fortnight in the hands of Coomb the policeman. . Joseph King MARTIN, nephew of prosecutor, stated that on the 18th of August, he used the hammer referred to, and put it on the wall in the house where it was usually kept; and the next morning he looked for it and could not find it. Henry COOMB, police constable, about the 22nd of December last, had occasion to search the prisoner's house, and found there the hammer which he now produced. John ROUNSEVELL, a smith, identified the hammer produced as the one which he had himself made for Mr. Johns. The hammer was also positively identified by the prosecutor; and his nephew said he believed it to be the same hammer that he had used on the 19th of August. . The CHAIRMAN summed up in favour of the prisoner, in regard to the length of time - fully four months - that had elapsed from the time the hammer was lost to its discovery in the prisoner's house; and the jury found a verdict of ACQUITTAL. ......................... . JOHN HUTCHINS, the same prisoner, was then indicted for stealing on the 7th of December, at the parish of St. Dennis, a sow pig, the property of William JULYAN. Mr. G.B. COLLINS conducted the prosecution. . The prosecutor stated that he was a carpenter living on the Goss Moor, in the parish of St. Columb Major. On Sunday the 7th of December he had a little sow pig, about six months old, from seventy to four score weight, and in fair store condition. On Saturday morning, the 7th of December, he meated the pig, and then, as he was accustomed to do, turned her out on the moor, posting the door open for her return as the weather was severe. In the evening the pig did not return as usual; and he was unable the following day to obtain any tidings of her. . John ARTHUR, a quarry-man living at St. Dennis, about two miles from last witness, stated that about twelve o'clock on the 7th of December he saw a strange pig near his house - a little sow pig, of a dirty white background with black spot, and about twenty pounds a quarter. She was "in kind" and was near his own and other pigs. The prisoner lived about 300 yards from witness's; he had lived there about six or eight weeks before December, but had not kept any pig. . Joseph JOLLY, a china clay labourer, stated that in December last he worked at the same work as the prisoner. On Thursday the 11th of December, the prisoner was away from his work; and the next day, told witness he had been down to Mr. CHELLEW's at Carnon, who owned him thirty shillings for wages; and had taken the side of a little pig in part payment. After that, the prisoner brought meat pasties to his work, which he had not done before. . William CHELLEW lived at Carnon in Ladock, and knew the prisoner who worked for witness for three or four months, and left his employ after barley tilling last spring. Witness did not owe him any wages, having paid him the day before he left; and had not seen him from that time till the other day before the magistrates at St Columb. Prisoner had never applied to witness for payment of any arrear of wages, and had never received from witness any side of a pig or any other pork whatever. . Henry COOMB, on Thursday, the 18th of December, searched the prisoner's house, and found in a corner of an upstairs room, in a small tub, the pork now produced, consisting of two legs, a shoulder, and both parts of a cheek. It had been but recently put in pickle, and was not properly cured. He apprehended prisoner on a charge of stealing a pig, and on the road, the prisoner said he supposed he should see Bodmin; and he also said "Kill a pig! I would rather steal a sheep than kill a pig; but I suppose they will give me a month for it." . This witness pointed out to the jury various proofs of identity of the pork produced with the live pig that had been lost; and on the same points the prosecutor and John Arthur were recalled and examined. - The CHAIRMAN in summing up, spoke of the proof of identity as one of considerable difficulty under the circumstances; but the jury were satisfied on the point, and returned a verdict of GUILTY. ................................. . William ADDISON, 22, pleaded GUILTY to the charge of unlawfully assaulting Mary TRELOAR, with intent to ravish and carnally know her, at Wendron, on the 21st of November. ................................. . Matthew Henry TRURAN, 17, miner, pleaded GUILTY of stealing, on the 12th of October, a gander, seven tame fowls, and four geese, the property of John MADDERN at Redruth. ................................. . John CAMERRN, 28, a tailor, (late a soldier), and Ellen WILLIAMS, 24, were indicted for stealing from the dwelling-house of Christopher HARVEY, a labourer, at Madron, on the 23rd of October, two coats, two pair of trousers, three waistcoats, four silk handkerchiefs, one satin neckerchief, one shirt, one razor, and one umbrella, value GBP 7, the property of the said Christopher HARVEY. There was a second count for felonious receiving. Mr. CORNISH conducted the prosecution; the prisoners were undefended. . The case was one of elaborate circumstantial proof; the witnesses being Christopher HARVEY, the prosecutor, a labourer living at Rosehill, in Madron; Fanny REES, a lodging-house keeper at Penzance; Henry JOSEPH, pawn-broker at Penzance; John OULDS, superintendent of police at Penzance; Mary Ann BRANCH, lodging-house-keeper at Camborne; Jane PENROSE, a married daughter of last witness; Thomas KNUCKEY, pawnbroker at Camborne; Joseph WARD, superintendent of police at Camborne; George NOBLE, constable at Camborne. . The jury found the prisoner Cameren GUILTY of stealing; and Williams GUILTY of feloniously receiving. . The prisoners had also been arraigned on an indictment for stealing from the dwelling-house of George MARTINS, at Ludgvan, on the 21st of October, a coat, a pair of trousers, a waistcoat, a shirt, a pair of braces, two handkerchiefs, a pair of boots, and a brooch, the property of the said George MARTINS. But on this indictment no evidence was offered. The Court then rose. (We shall give the remainder of the trials, and sentences of the prisoners next week.) Julia M. West Briton Transcriptions, 1836-1856 at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~wbritonad St. Austell Area History and Genealogy at http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~staustell