PETERSFIELD
Agent—Miss DUPLOCK.
PETTY SESSIONS.—Present the Hon. J. J. Carnegie, (Chairman), J. H. Waddington, and J. Waddington, Esqrs.
— Frederick Loach, was sworn in as a member of the 12th Hants Rifle Volunteer Corps.
— Edwin Martin, of Horndean, applied for a license to deal in game—granted.
— John Jones was fined 5s. for being drunk.
— John Hall, of Priorsdeane, was charged with assaulting George Stenning. Complainant deposed that he was employed as odd boy by Mr. Allan, and on the 4th of the present month he was working at plough with defendant in a field near Mr. Legg’s—that when they had finished work for the day, defendant told him to shut off the horses, and because he did not do so quick enough he knocked him down with his fist, and beat him on the head with the plough reins, producing lumps as big a hen’s eggs. Richard stunning, the boy’s father, deposed to his coming home on the evening of the day in question, with his head a good deal swollen and bruised. Defendant said the boy was very obstinate and refused to shut off the horses when told to do so. Fined 1s. and 7s. 6d. costs.
— Harriet Grey was charged under the Criminal Justice Act, with stealing on Wednesday, the 27th June, one faggot, value 2d., the property of Mr. Henry Boys, of Horn Farm. P.C. Painter deposed as follows—I was on duty in the lane, near the Petersfield Union Workhouse, on the 27th of June, about quarter-past 5 in the evening, I saw the defendant coming towards the lane from the direction of Mr. Boy’s field with a faggot under her arm. I met her at the gate, and said to her, ‟I suppose you got that from Mr. Boy’s field?” She said ‟Yes?” I asked her if she had Mr. Boys’ permission to take it. She said ‟No.” I took possession of the wood, which I now produce. There are similar faggots in Mr. Boys’ field—Defendant elected to be tried by the Bench and pleaded guilty. She said her husband was out of work for a long time, and she had a large family.—Mr. Boys stated to the magistrates that he did not wish to press for severe punishment, and the Bench sentenced her to 48 hours’ imprisonment in the lock-up at the station.
— George Hall, of Sheet, was fined 5s. for being drunk.
— John Soal, James Soal, Thomas Hobbs, George Hobbs, and Mark Hobbs were charged by P.C. Painter with being drunk and creating a disturbance in Chapel-street on Saturday night last, between 11 and 12. It appeared from the evidence of the constable and of two respectable tradesmen living near the spot, that there were a great many persons assembled on the occasion, that John Soal and Thomas Hobbs were fighting, James Soal and George Hobbs acting as seconds, and that Mark Hobbs was lying across the pavement apparently drunk and helpless. The latter created considerable amusement in Court by his manner of defending himself. He gravely appealed to their worships to say if they thought it possible he could have been drunk, seeing he had had only one point of beer in the course of the evening, and assured them the the sole cause of his ‟staggeration” was a terrible blow he received from someone; and as a peroration to his speech he stated that he had had 21 children. The Magistrates didn’t appear to see the relevance of this fact, not to appreciate the cogency of the old man’s logic, and fined him 5s.—John Soal and George Hobbs were each fined 10s., and James Soal and George Hobbs each 7s., the whole five being mulcted in 3s. each for costs. —The above information was laid under the new act, 23 Vice., cap. 27, which came into operation on the 1st of the present month,
— George Utley and James Wells, two labourers in the employ of Mrs. William Martin, of Chalton, were charged with assaulting Samuel James Lillywhite, on the previous day. It appeared that defendants had had some altercation with Mrs. Martin’s son about their work in the hay field, and had gone to her and with considerable violence demanded their wages, which she refused to pay, as they had left their work in an irregular manner; and as she could not get rid of them, she sent for complainant, who is the parish constable. This was between four and five in the afternoon. He succeeded in persuading them to go away at that time, but about eight in the evening they returned, and were still more violent in their behaviour, whereupon he proceeded to take them into custody, when the alleged assault took place. The Magistrates, considering there were some extenuating circumstances in the case of Utley, discharged him with a caution. Wells was fined 10s., with 7s. 6d. costs.