PETERSFIELD.
Agent —Miss DUPLOCK.
PETTY SESSIONS, Tuesday, April 19th.—Present the Hon. J. J. Carnegie, Sir A. K. Macdonald, J. H. Wadddington, G. Forbes, and J. Martineau, Esqrs.
— The Inspectors’ accounts for lighting, &c., under-4th Wm. cap. 90. were produced, duly sworn to, and passed.
— Richard Stares, one of the Overseers of the parish of Catherington, applied for an order on Wm. Clarke to assist in the maintenance of Ann Clarke, his mother, who had become chargeable to that parish. He keeps the Good Intent, public house, at Horndean. Walter Osborne, relieving officer of the Catherington Union, proved the chargeability of defendant’s mother, and that she was unable to work, being 71 years of age, and infirm; she was now in receipt of 2s 6d. a week. Defendant pleaded inability, and handed to the magistrates two letters, one from his brewer, stating that a very small amount of business was done at the house, and another from his employer, to the effect that defendant was only in occasional work. The Magistrates granted the order, but from the scantiness of the evidence adduced by the parish to prove defendant’s ability to support his mother, they restricted it to one shilling a week. The defendant stated that he had offered to pay the parish one shilling and sixpence a week, which they refused.
— Lucy Cannons was charged with stealing a five pound note, four pounds in gold, a quantity of silver, a table cloth, a sheet, a round frock, eight yards of print, six metal teaspoons, and sundry other articles, belonging to Ann Windebank. Prosecutor deposed, I live at Hawkley. Lucy Cannons is my niece; she has lived with me all the winter. I received 10l. on the 24th March last, at Alton, a 5l. note, 4l. in gold, and the rest in silver. I last saw it on the 25th March in a chest of drawers upstairs, in my bedroom, the drawer was locked, and I kept the key. I missed the money a week ago to day, I went out that day to washing to a neighbour’s house, prisoner came to me in the afternoon and said ‟mother, our house is broken open,” she always called me ‟mother.” I asked her whether the chest of drawers was open, and she said it was; I sent directly for a policeman to Liss, he went on before me and I followed him to my house, prisoner went on with the policeman; when I got home I saw the drawers open and my clothes pulled about, the money was all gone; and I also missed a table cloth, sheet, round frock, piece of print, little straw box that the money was in, a rush basket, half a dozen metal spoons, & a few apples. These articles were all produced by Mr. Superintendent Fey, and identified by prosecutor. On the following Thursday I found the 5l. note behind the door in the kitchen, it was doubled up just as I doubled it, I sent the note to Mr. Fey by Sarah Cannons, prisoners’ mother, who lives with me; I went out about six o’clock in the morning, left only prisoner in the house. I looked into the drawers that morning before I left and carried the key with me.—Charles Stone deposed: I am a police-constable, stationed at Liss. About five o’clock in the afternoon of last Tuesday I heard that a robbery had been committed at Mrs. Windebank’s, and shortly after saw prisoner, who said she lived with her aunt, Mrs. Windebank, and had been left in charge of the house that morning about six o’clock, when her aunt went out; that she herself left about half-past eight, after securely fastening up the house, and on her return at half-past two in the afternoon she found the back door broken out; that she changed her dress, and came and let her aunt know it at Liss. I then went with the prisoner and her aunt to the house and examined the premises. On examining the back door I was convinced that no one could have broken in there; the door-post was pushed right out, and I felt sure the violence used to force it out must have been from within. I then went up stairs with prisoner, and found the drawers partly open and the things strewed about the room. The aunt then came up, and I asked her if she missed anything; she said she missed [here the witness enumerated the articles as above described]. The drawers appeared to me have been unlocked, not broken open by violence. Having made further inquiries, I apprehended the prisoner about ten o’clock that night at her aunt’s house, and told her the charge against her. She said she did not do it, and begged her aunt to forgive her. I went next morning to Mrs. Lintott’s, at Liss, and received from her the spoons now produced. I said ‟I am come for the things the young woman at Mrs. Windebank’s left here.” She at first stoutly denied that anything had been left there, but at last gave me the spoons and several other things. I also found some apples, which I produce; they were in a rush basket.—Other corroborative evidence was given, and the prisoner was committed for trial at Winchester Sessions.