| 20 OCTOBER 1837, Friday [continued from previous page ] Michaelmas Quarter Sessions The calendar was exceedingly heavy, the number of prisoners for trial doubling that of the same quarter last year. Grand Jury - GURNEY, John of St. Merryn, farmer, Foreman; ARGALL, Martin St. Erme, farmer; CURGENVEN, Richard Veryan, yeoman; CARRIVICK, William St. Columb; DEWAR, John Cuby, Lieut, R.N. Minor, yeoman; DINGLE, Alexander Philleigh, yeoman; DINGLE, William Ruanlanyhorn yeoman; HARVEY, Samuel Cuby, yeoman; HELLYAR, Thomas St Merryn, farmer; HELLYAR, John St. Marryn, farmer; HENWOOD, Thomas St. Issey, farmer; JAMES, John Creed, farmer; LANGDON, Zacharias Veryan, yeoman; MIDDLECOAT, Edward Seccombe PARKS, Charles Woon[?] Newlyn, yeoman; Veryan, yeoman; ROBERTS, Matthew Grampound, gentleman; ROBERTS, Zacharias Probus; TRETHEWEY, Henry Grampound, gentleman yeoman; TREWEEKE, John Probus, yeoman; TRENEER, Robert St. Columb; WALKEY, John Merther Minor, farmer; WILLIAMS, John Ruanlanyhorn, yeoman; WILLIAMS, Anthony St. Agnes, Gentleman TRIALS of PRISONERS James COLLINS, 25 charged with having stolen a calico shirt, property of John DAVEY, of Penryn. Guilty. Wm. PENHALL, 49, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with having stolen one cotton and one wollen shawl, the property of Ann Rouncelval, of Truro; and also to a charge of having stolen a waistcoat, the property of Robert May, of Truro. Philip COCK, 13 and Thomas Trezise THOMAS, 14, pleaded guilty to having stolen from Andrew STEVENS, eight half-crowns and two shillings. Elizabeth COCK, 23, a woman of dissolute character, was charged with stealing a silk pocket handkerchief, the property of Francis HARVEY, of Penryn. It appeared that the handkerchief had been given to Honor COCK, a washerwoman, to wash; and that she hung it out on a hedge to dry, from whence it was taken, and afterwards found in the possession of the prisoner. The Jury found her not guilty. Nicholas SCOBELL, 23, was charged with stealing a pair of trowsers, the property of Mr. Thomas BOYLE, of Truro. Mr. Boyle's servant washed the trowsers and hung them on a neighbour's hedge to dry. The prisoner was seen to leave the spot with a bundle, having been previously seen without one, and the trowsers were afterwards found in Mrs. OLIVEY's lodging-house, where the prisoner resided. Guilty. Thomas WATERS, 40, was charged with stealing from the house of William HUTCHINS, of Ludgvan, four bottles of porter. Joseph DENNIS, jun., of Ludgvan, stated that on the 7th of August he saw the prisoner come into the house, and take four bottles of porter. Witness told him that he had no right to them, but he refused to put them back. The court said the evidence was very slight, and the prisoner was acquitted. Prudence JENKIN, 37, was charged with having stolen a quantity of flour, &c, the property of William JAMES. Mary JAMES, an intelligent little child of 12 years of age, stated she was the daughter of the prosecutor; on the 8th of August last she went to Truro with her brother, and purchased half-a-crown's worth of flour, half-a-pound of sugar, a noggin of rum, and some salt. As she was returning home, up Campfield-lane, she was overtaken by the prisoner, who requested her to go back to the town and get her a half-penny's worth of salts, offering to take care of her basket the while. Witness went, and on her return found the basket left, but the things and the prisoner were gone. A lad named John HASLET, proved seeing the prisoner between two and three o'clock on the afternoon of the day in question, at the lower Campfield style. She had a dirty looking brown bag under her left arm, similar to one afterwards found in her house, containing a quantity of flour. Guilty. Mr. EVEREST, the governor of the gaol proved two former convictions against the prisoner in case of felony. Zacharias JENKIN, 20, of Cambrone, was charged with stealing a bed case, a baking dish, 200 lbs of brass, &c., the property of James BULL, and others. The prosecution was conducted by Mr. John of Penzance, and the prisoner was defended by Mr. E. Coode, jun., and Mr. Stokes. Capt. Paul RABY sworn; was manager of Wheal Seton Mine; knew Mr. James Bull, who had a quarter of the mine himself; Mr. Colan HARVEY had another quarter, and there were other adventurers. He left the account house on the 7th of August about seven o'clock in the evening. The following morning, the place was found to have been broken open, and the things named in the indictment stolen. Some of the things on the 27th of the same month were found in the house where the prisoner lived, and he accounted for the possession of them by saying that his sister found them. The case lasted a considerable time, but was very uninteresting. The jury, after one hour's further deliberation, found the prisoner guilty. William COPELIN, 24, was charged with having stolen a mare, the property of James MARTIN, of Mawgan in Meneage. James MARTIN of Mawgan in Meneage, where he kept horses and a cart. On the 7th of August, he put a horse and a grey mare on the Goonhilly downs. He had owned the mare about seven years. About four o'clock the next morning, he found the mare missing. There was a fair in Mawgan on the 8th [that same morning]. The witness saw the prisoner there between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, with a large black cart mare with him. In consequence of some conversation that took place, witness went to Chacewater the next day to Mr. Samuel GOODGAY, who had his grey mare, which had been exchanged for the black mare. Mr. Goodgay brought his horse on the Wednesday morning to Wendron, the half-way house between Helston and Truro. Cross-examination: Prisoner told him very soon where to find the grey mare; had never seen him before that day. The mare was worth about £7. Samuel GOODGAY stated he lived at Chacewater; he was at Goldsithney fair on the 8th of August; he exchanged a black mare for a grey one, which was afterwards claimed by the prosecutor. Charles SMITH stated he was a constable of Mawgan; he took prisoner into custody at his mother's house... The prisoner's confession, in which he stated that he took the mare because he was short of money, was put in and read. Mr. JOHN then addressed the Jury on behalf of the prisoner, and stated that on the first of this month, a new act, the 1st of Queen Victoria, had come into operation, by which the crime of horse-stealing was punishable with transportation not exceeding 15 years, and not less than 10, or any term of imprisonment not exceeding three years. He referred them to this act in order that if the jury came to the decision that the prisoner was guilty, they should accompany their verdict with a recommendation to mercy on the ground of the prisoner's general good character. Mr. John then called - Mr. Francis OATES, farmer of St. Hilary, by whom the prisoner had formerly been employed. He gave him a good character, and said that he should have no objection to take him again into his employ. The Jury found the prisoner guilty, accompanying their verdict with a recommendation to mercy. Thomas ELLIS, sen, 28, and Thomas Ellis, jun, 24, were indicted for stealing a quantity of staves, from the wreck of a French ship called "Le Landais", which was wrecked on the coast of St. Just on the night of the 30th of September last. Mr. John conducted the case on the part of the crown, and the prisoners were defended by Mr. E. Coode, jun. [Richard Pearce, Esq., agent for Lloyd's, acting on behalf of the French government, went to a place called Boscriggan. He found the ship in pieces, and things coming ashore; wines, bales of cotton, thousands of staves. There were probably a couple of thousand persons present, and the number increased to four thousand. A number of people continued to assemble all day and night till Monday evening. Witness was obliged to have the assistance of the Rev. Mr. Buller to read the riot act, and was determined to make an example of some of the scavengers. Saw the prisoners on Monday afternoon; the younger had several staves in his arms, and the older did too. Witness ordered younger man to restore the staves to him, and prisoner refused to do so. Witness took prisoner by the collar and dragged him some distance, when the prisoner took ahold of him. Capt. Sharp, of the coast guard, came up, and the prisoner loosened his grip. Shortly thereafter, the witness saw the elder prisoner make a blow toward him, which he received on his hat and hand. The staves the younger man had held were never seen again. Cross-examination: Mr. E. Coode, jun - Witness thought younger prisoner had 10 or 12 staves, but he said 4 so as not to be wrong. Witness delivered him over to one of the special constables. On his return, witness offered 20 guineas reward for the names of the prisoners, but he was told that he should not have them for 500 guineas.] [shortened by a few words, which were difficult to read. jm] Capt. Alexander SHARP, inspecting commander of the Coast Guard in the Penzance district, and Lieut. Wm. Brown, confirmed the evidence given by Mr. Pearce. Mr. Coode then took four objections to the wording of the indictment, all of which were overruled. He then called several witnesses, all who testified they saw someone aim a blow at Mr. Pearce, but that it was not the elder prisoner. Each witness declared the elder prisoner was in his company alone, submitting that the younger prisoner was present but only had two staves. The witnesses were tightly cross-examined by Mr. John, who addressed the Jury at considerable length on behalf of the crown. The jury returned a verdict of acquittal in the case of the elder prisoner, and found the other guilty, recommending him to mercy. John NETTLE, 13, was charged with stealing from his master's dwelling house certain monies. The prosecutor, John CURTIS, stated that the prisoner lived with him on the 20th of August last. On that day, he had 20 sovereigns, 2 half-sovereigns, three £5 notes, and some silver; saw it on the 20th, in his desk. Prisoner went part of the way to chapel and left him on the road; returned from chapel about five o'clock in the evening; on coming home, found the money was gone; went in search of prisoner but could not find him. John BARROW, constable of St. Columb, went in search of the prisoner; took him on the 7th of September at Exeter, did not induce him to make any confession, but the prisoner did confess, and pointed out how he committed the robbery. Guilty. Honor WILLS, 30, and Mary COUCH, 49, were charged with having stolen two aprons, the property of Mary COOMBE, of Launceston. From the evidence of the prosecutor, it appeared that while she was absent, the prisoners, who had gone into the house for some beer, took the aprons out of a drawer. Guilty. Mary NOTT, 21, charged with stealing two pair of shoes, belonging to Grace TAPSON of Launceston. The prosecutor is a general dealer, and the prisoner attempted to take the shoes from her shop, but was detected with them under her arm. Guilty. John COLLINS, 23, Robert COLLINS, 26, and Thomas COLLINS, 38, brothers, were charged with maliciously destroying and killing one gelding, the property of Richard and Joel MATTHEWS, of Calstock. There was also a second indictment charging the same prisoners with maliciously destroying a mare, the property of Richard Matthews. Mr. B. LYNE appeared on behalf of the prosecution, and the prisoners were defended by Mr. MORGAN. Mr. Lyne opened with a statement that this was a case of much cruelty. It would be proved that the prosecutors were two brothers, who lived with their mother, who was a poor woman, possessed of two acres of land, which the sons used for maintaining their aged parent, by keeping two horses, which they used for working on the roads. The prisoners lived in an adjoining house, and it would be proved that after some quarrel they used expressions in which they stated their determination to gratify their revenge. Richard MATTHEWS was called; lives in Calstock with Joel Matthews, and their mother. Witness went in search of the two horses, which he owned with his brother, and which they kept on the Calstock common. Witness met James CALLOWAY, who accompanied witness to a spot they wanted to search. Another person who went with them was Robert TRETHEWEY. Witness went down the shaft himself, where he saw the gelding lying in five or six feet of water. The horse was lying on its left side, with its head and legs tied. There was a string tied to under his jaw and fastened to his left foot. The eye had been removed. After removing the gelding up to grass, witness went down into the shaft again, and found the second horse, also dead. Previous to this, witness had argued with John and Thomas Collins, regarding their goats entering into the Matthew's garden. Robert Collins came after. The sister of the witness said "John, your goats have been into our garden." He replied "I don't care if they have". She said he should keep them out, or she would tell her brother, and he would shoot at them. Collins then said "he may shoot them if he will, but the horses are out on the common, and I will shoot them. If I cannot shot them by one way I will be another". Witness said "John Collins, as sure as you are alive, if anything of mine is injured or wanting you shall stand and answer for them." He said "no catch ye, no have ye", and nothing more passed concerning it. Since that day, witness had not spoken to the Collins regarding the horses. Cross-examination: had quarreled with prisoners many times, never tied up horses by the fore legs; saw the mare in pit, with both eyes removed. Joel Matthews, sworn. Witness proved that he had worked with Robert Collins about 19th of September, and stated by way of "a lark" Robert Collins had burnt a piece of Indian shag with a red-hot poker in two places. The shag Robert Collins used for tying up his mining clothes, and was the same piece that witness saw tied up the horse's leg and jaw. Mary Ann Matthews sworn. Sister to the prosecutors, and lives with them. On the 8th of October, because of her suspicions, she went to the windows of the prisoners' house. John Collins went into the house, and they talked about the horses. One said "how came us to poke out the eyes of 'em?" The mother said "I have been trembling like an aspen leaf ever since." One of the sons said "Who would have thought that those little devils would have gone and found them there, we never meant when we throwed them there for them to find them anymore?" When witness went in, she told her brothers of it. Cross-examined: nothing was adduced to change her testimony. Several other witnesses were called, who proved the finding the horse and mare in the shaft, in a state of considerable decomposition. Mr. Morgan then addressed the jury, and called several witnesses to disprove the statements made by the witnesses for the prosecution. The chairman summed up, and the jury, after more than an hour's anxious deliberation, returned the following verdict - "we find them guilty of pricking and maiming, and we agree to say nothing at all about the killing!". The delivery of this sensible decision excited considerable merriment in court. The case lasted several hours. [NOTE: a letter appears in next week's issue, from the chairman of the jury, stating that this was NOT the verdict they gave. The editor said this report was not taken by their reporter, but was told to him by others who had been in the courtroom, and they apologized for any inaccuracy. The men were found guilty on all charges. jm] On Thursday, James and Robert ELLIS were indicted for stabbing Christian NICHOLAS, and two other persons, on the 6th instant, near St. Ives. The parties were all miners, and the case arose out of a drunken quarrel. The defendants were acquitted after a long trial. We shall give a report next week of this case, and the remainder ones. [continued to next page] |