The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-03-11 00:00:00

Her Majesty's Post-office, containing two half-
sovereign., and thirty pottage stamps, the property of
the Postmaster-General, •on the 20th February last.—
Mr. Belden and Mr. Cole prosecuted, and Mr. Prideaux
Attended the prisoner.—Mr. Poldea stated the case to
the jury, and called the following evidence.—Williani
'Edwin Howson deposed that on the 18th Febru-
ary he made up • letter containing two half'
sovereigns, and 30 postage stamps, addressed
to Miss Hardy, dressmaker, Piddletown, Dorset.
I gave it, with certain instructions to Gideon
. Crocker. I went to the post-office, at Dorelieeter, on
the 20th. I went to the postoffice about 12 eclock,
bet I sew the post-master about half-past 11 o'clock. I
met Bendel', a letter-carrier, in the etreek. He was
searched, but nothing wee found, on him. I went to
KeaValeuee, but he WAS not at home. Lithe evening
I saw the prisoner at the polio' office. I told him I
was an inspector of the General Poet-office. I said : you
are a letter-carrier-employed at Dorchester, I believe
I asked him if lie Was not at the post-office when the
North Mail letters that morning were sorted, and lie
said he was. I asked him if lie -saw a letter addresaed
to Mies Hardy, • Piddletown. He said he did not,
Superintendent Underwood then produced a packet in
which was a half-sovereign. I -asked prisoner if the
property belonged to him' and he said it did. I asked
him how long he had had the half sovereign; and
he said about two months. I told him I recognised it
as being one of the halfeovereigna I placed in the letter,
and I gave him into custody for stealing the letter.
Cross-examined: We use three distinct marks in coins
in my department. The other half sovereign was not
marked like the one produced by Superintendent
Underwood. The marks ere very mall? but I can see
them without the glass. I carry about with me perhaps
20 half-sovereigns wherewith to test letters. coin
is marked in two places—the other was marked one
place only. The other half sovereign and the postage
stamps have not been found. In the course of two years,
within my experience, about five half sovereigns have
been lost, which have been sent in test letters. 'There
are two others employed in my department.
We all use distinct marks. If I lose a par-
ticular coin, I never mark another coin of the
same date in like manner.—Gideon Crocker, a constable
employed under the General Post-office, said on the
18th February Mr. Howson delivered to me • letter
to post at Bristol. It contained something round, like
coin. I delivered it to Mr. Samson, the chief clerk in
' the post-office at Bristol, to send to Dorchester.—
Sampson said lam chief clerk at the Pod-office Bristol.
I received a letter from the last witness addressed to
Miss Hardy, Piddletown, Dorchester. I gave it, about
3 o'clock to William James Cos, sorter, to seed in the
Dorchester bag.—William James Cox said I am sorter
in the Bristol Poet-office. About 3 o'clock on the 19th
February Mr,, Samson gave me a letter son-
Wining a herd substance, to pet in the Dorchester'
hag, and I sew the bag sealed. The letter
contained some hard subetance.—Franeis Lock-
said : I have been postmaster at -Dorchester
about 18 years. The prisoner was one of the
town letter carriers. The name of the other carrier is
Randall. I was on duty on the morning of the 20th
February, when the Bristol bag arrived. Parsons,
Itendall, and the prisoner were there. I don't know
who opened the bag. There were two bundles. I saw
a letter addressed to Miss Hardy, to which my attentios
had been directed befoxe, After looking through the
bundle, I put them across to the stamping table. They
wereatauiped by Randall, and Pawns sorted them.
Prisoner looked through the letters till they, were ready
for him. In (the sorting of the letters the town
letters were taken out from the others. The Piddletown
letters should bp placed in the Piddletown bine After
the town carriers had gone old, I looked in the Piddle-
town box, and not finding Miss Hardy's letter, I com-
municated it to Mr. Howson. The prisoner should have
returned to the post-office as soon as he had delivered
his letters, which would be about 12 o'clock. He did
not, however, return to report himself, as was
his duty, and return any letters he had not -disposed
of. He had no leave of absence from ins. lie should
have to attend to the 4 o'clock delivery, but he did not
' come at that time, but sent a substitute. Cross-
examined I rather believe lie had sent a substitute
before. Prisoner has been in the poet-office a meat
, number of years, and I hail great confidence in
It is always usual for letter carriers to assist in sorting
letters. The public cannot come in where the letters
are sorted. The Piddletown letters are not sent till the
following morning, The Piddletown people have not
complained, particularly lately, but they frequently do
complain about the irregularity of the delivery of their
letters.—Charles Parsons said that while he was
sorting the letters on the 'morning in • quest on
he was called to give a post-office order. While
he was doing so he saw, .prisoner looking at
some letters, and he supported .be vas sorting
Dorchester letters from the others. He did not see the
letter addressed to Idies Hardy, at Piddletown. Thomas
Bendel! said I am one of the Dorchester letter carriers.
I was in the office on the morning of the 20th
February lasti I stamped those which came by the
Meath amil. I did uot see the letter ldressed to Miss
Hardy,' to myknowledge.-,-Cross-examibed :I have been
a letter carrier five years. Ido not look at the address
of all the letters I stamp. I might have stamped the
one in questlon.—Miss Hardy, dressmaker, Piddletowu,
was called, to prove that she received no letter on the
20th or 21st February containing coin in them.
—Superintendeut Underwood said: In conse-
quence of information I received I went
to Weymouth on the 29th February last. I met
the prisoner in the etreet, going to the railway station.
I told him a letter had been lost, containing two half-
sovereigns and 30 postage stamps, and I Biretta search
him on suspicion. He made no reply. I took him to •
publichouse, and searched him. I found in his right
hand trowser'a pocket a purse containing a half-sove-
reign 2s. 6d. in silver, and 4s. worth of postage stamps.
—Cross-examined: I have known prisoner live years.
During that time he lies borne a good character.—This
being the whole of the evidence for the presectition,
Mr. Prideaux addressed the jury for the prisoner. He
said that be was very fond of science of every kind, bet
of all the homeopathic doses that lied ever been given
to poise,a a man's character, this wee the very smallest
he lied ever seen. Indeed, it was so einall that Mr.
Howson was obliged to use a very powerful glass to be
enabled to see the small dose with which it was saught
to get a conviction against the prisoner. It was a very
nice point, and it would be for them to say whether it
was not for them too infinitesimally small a dose for
them 'to pronounce the prisoner guilty of the charge
imputed against him, bemuse if there was any reason-
able doubt it was their duty to give the prisoner the
benefit of that doubt. And that there was great room
for doubt, he thought might fairly be inferred from the
fact that only one of the half-sovereigns, and
none of the marked stamps had been found, be-
cease the person who had stolen the one must
have stolen all. He contended also that the evi-
dence of Mr. Howson WAS far from satisfactory; so far
that there was no proof that some other half sovereign,
marked as this was said to have been marked, had not
got abroad. He said he had memoranda of the half
' sovereign that had been lost, but he did not produce
the document, and they had to trust to his ipte
He held, too, there were other causes for grave doubt,
and he denied that the prosecution had cleared all the
other parties into whose hands the letter had passed
through. Ile then commented on the prisoner's former
good character, and called Mr. John Bishop, a member
of the TOWS Council, who said the prisoner's character
from his youth up had been unexceptionably good.—Mr.
Crime, manager of Messrs. Elbt's bank, sail he had
never heard aught against the prisoner. He was always
punctual in the delivery of his letters:— Mr. Thomas
Baecombe, draper, had known him 15 or 20 years, and
he had always borne • good character.—Mr. deeeph
Fudge, butoher and coal merchant, gave the primmer a
good character for honesty.—Mr. Frederick Bennett
had known the prisoner all his life, and he had a borne
a good character. —Mr. Wellspring and Mr. John
13onifas, tailor, also spoke in the highest terms of the
prisoner's eharacter.—His Lordship then summed up,
and the jury retired to consider their verdict. On
their return into court, the foreman said, the jury
had found the prisoner guilty,' but recommended him
to mercy on amount of his former good charaoter.—
The Judge, in passing sentence, said these cases were
extremely painful for a judge to try, because, on
account of the great important number of postal com-
munications every day transmitted, it was necessary
that they should be safely delivered. The jury had
strongly recommended him to mercy, and this should be
duly considered by him ; still it *as necessary
to pass on him, notwithstanding the recommendation
of the jury, a very severe sentence. The sentence of
the Court wag that be be confined in penal servitude
for the space of four years.