The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-01-01 00:00:00

BOARD OF GUARDIANS.

The usual meeting of this Board was held in
the Board Room, yesterday, Mr. Granger in
the chair. There were also present :---Messrs.
I. Rollinson, H. BiHingham, Giles, Rhodes,
Parkes, Fo:rest, Thompson, J. Brooks, Fiddian,
Bissell, Summers, Panzer, Wood, and Wright.
Admitted into the house 12 ; born 0; discharged
16; dead 4 ; remaining 313 ; against 313;
last year. Out-door relief, Kingswinford dis-
trict £22 7s 6d ; Stourbridge district £l6 lie
il-d; Halesowen district, £l6 4s. 10d ; non-resi-
dent, paupers, 11s. 8d • total £55 7s 110 ;
against £57 19s. sd. last year.

r CONCERT AND BALL.-A concert and. ball, under
the thanagement of Mr. C. H. Roberts, of this
town, took place in the Corn Exchange on Monday
last. The feature of the evening was the perfor-
, mance of the Brothers Vollino and Felix. Mr. J.
Vollino astonished the audience by the marvellous
; manner in which he made use of his teeth. He
I was first on one trapeze, holding another trapeze
with his teeth, whilst Felix was performing on it.
He also placedihiniself horizontally and perpen-
dicularly on the bar, and still held the trapeze in
his teeth on which Felix was going through a
number of skilful evolutions. The weight he,held
with his teeth was 1701bs. J. Vollino elicited
rounds of applause by the !grace - and ease with
which he picked up and threw 561 b. weights about
both with his hands and teeth. M. Vollino and
Felix also conducted themselves in admirable
style on the trapeze. There was a very large at-
tendance and the whole was a decided success,
dancing being kept up until four o'clock.
CHRISTMAS TEEE.—A tea meeting was held in
the School room, Chawnhill, on Monday last. There
was a good number of persons present. After tea,
a number of useful articles were exhibited for sale,
and a o-ood number of them sold. Mrs. T. Jones and
and Mrs. Parkes were the ladies at No. 1 stall, Mrs.
R. Jones and Miss Millward, at No. 2, and Miss
Harrison, at No. 3.
CHARGES UNDER THE FACTORY ACTS.— At the
Police Court, cn Friday, the 24th ultimo, before
Colonel Fletcher and the Hon. C. G. Lyttelton
Eli Kendrick, of the Lye, was charged with allow-
ing his son, a boy under 13 years of age, to work
in a workshop at the Lye, on the 27th of Novem-
ber last. Mr. Brewer, Sub-inspector of Factories'
said that on the above date he visited Mr. Rhodes,
Factory, at the Lye. He enquired of the lad if he
went to school, whether he was over thirteen years
of age, and found that he was not over that age,
and that he did not go to school. He had prose-
cuted defendant before, when the latter failed to
appear, and a nominal fine only was inflicted. The
boy would be thirteen on the Ist of April, 1876.
Defendant, in answer to the charge, said the lad
had been at work in the Factory five or six weeks
He did not know that he was doing wrong by send-.
ing him to work, as he had never seen the Act of
Parliament. His boy had gone to school before.
Mr. Brewer said he had made enquiries, and he
could not find out where the lad had been to
school. Col. Fletcher told defendant they woul d
fine him this time the smallest amount in their
power, but if he came up again the fine would be
heavy. Defendant was then fined 5s and costs.
FEMALE DnurnxENNEss.--Ann Clulee, a shabbily
dressed young woman, was charged with being
drunk and disorderly and refusing to quit "The
Hole-in-the-Wall" public-house, when requested,
on the night of the 21st instant. The landlord of
the house proved the case, and said defendant came
to his house and called for some drink, but as she
was intoxicated he refused to serve her with any,
and ordered her out of the house. She reft_sed to
g, o and he had to put her out. Defendant, who
pleaded guilty, was ordered to pay a fine of is and
costs.

CHARGE OF DAMAGING A BUlLDlNG.—Benjamin
Perry was charged with wilfully and maliciously
damaging a nailshop at the Lye, the property of
Richard Hatton, by partially uncovering it, on the
night of the 17th December.—Mr. Wall was
for the defendant.—Prosecutor said from informa-
tion he received he went to a nailshop belonging
to him at the Lye, and found a large hole through
the tiles. He could not say from his own know-
ledge how it became untiled. Cross-examined by
Mr. Wall: The shop adjoins property belonging to
Mr. James Chance. His garden is on a level with
the eaves of our shop. Mr. Chance did build a
wall which prevents the water from running on to
his land. I could see over from my land to Chance's
land, from below. A person standing on my land
could see a person passing on Chance's land, to or
from the back of my nailshop. By Colonel Flet-
cher: This is my own property. The shop has
been built about 30 years.—William Wooldridge
said he wass tenant of the last witness. On the
night of the 16th of D( comber he was going from
one shop to another when he heard a noise on the
tiles. He looked up and saw the defendant pulling
off the tiles. There were from 15 to 16 tiles pulled
off. He called out to the defendant when the
latter ran off. Cross-examined: The man whom
I saw made me no answer, but simply walked away
to Chance's shop. It was not a light night, it was
dark; but it was light enough for me to see him.
I was about 2i yards from me when I saw him. I
am certain defendant was the man who uncovered
the shop. I have been before "the Magistrates
twice. I have been convicted of assault and sent
to prison. I have never been cenvicced of assault
at any other time. I have been charged with bel-
lows cutting, but got off. By Colonel Fletcher: I
had seen the roof before, and there were two or
three holes in it, but they were nothing like what
defendant did.—Solomon Pearson said he was
called upon by Mr. Richard Hatton to examine the
place. He found a lot of tiles which had been re-
moved, and a large quantity of them broken.
There were two' places where the tiles had been
broken either by defendant or some one else.
Cross-examine&by Mr. Wall: It will take fifteen
shillings or thereabouts to put the roof in a proper
condition.—Mr. Wall then addressed the Bench in
an able speech for the defence, andsaid he did not
put the questions to Wooldridge with any animus,
but simply to enable their Worships to weigh the
evidence that had been before them, and that
, which he should produce. His evidence would
show that this was a case of mistaken identity. He
I had two witnesses who were at work with the de-
fendant from six to nine that evening, andlduring
the whole of that time he was not out of the place
for a moment. They would also tell them that
about half-past seven they saw a man running
past thelshop, andion looking through the window
saw people running past the shop. Now, taking
this into consideration, 1 ogether with the fact that
the night was dark, the witness Wooldridge might
very easily be mistaken; and coupling with that
the evidence he should lay before them of two
witnesses who were in the shop with him, he (Mr.
Wall) hoped they would give him a verdict. He
then called upon Jane Wooldridge, who said she
worked in Mr. Benjamin Chance's shop, at the
Lye. She remembered the evening when the tiles
were taken off the shop. It was on the 15th of
December. [Mr. Wall here remarked that the
witnesses for the prosecution were under a mistake
as to the date. They were unanimous in saying it
was on a Wednesday, and on referring to the alma-
nac he found that was the 15th. This was admit-
ted by the others.] Witness continuing: She went
into Chance's shop to commence her work about
six. Benjamin Chance and Stephen Perry were
also at work with her. She left about nine o'clock.
During the whole of that time she did not go out
for any purpose. Neither had Perry gone out or
Chance during that time. While she was in the
shop she heard some one come by between seven
and eight o'clock. They saw a light between the
two shops. By the Bench: The defendant works
in the same shop " anunst " me. What made me
remember the night more distinctly was that she
said that she would not speak to defendant that
night. She was sure defendant was not out during
the whole of that time.—The Clerk here remarked
that the night had been spoken of as a dark one.
It was not a dark night, as the moon rose at seven
o'clock.—Mr. Wall said the witnesses for the pro-
secution had stated it was dark, as well as those for
the defence, so he supposed the moon must have
been partially obscured at the time.—Benjamin
Chance said he was a horsenail maker, and worked
in Mr. Chance's shop, He remembered the night
of the 15th Decemler. He went into the shop on
that night at six o'clock, in company with Jane
Wooldridge and Benjamin Perry. From the time
he went in neither himself, Wooldridge, or Perry,
were out of the shop from the time he went in
until they came out. About half-past seven he
hwehaorditswomase oranne run
by.
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He
do now ortemkne..
bered the night, because on the previous night he
went to the Good, Templars' Lodge at Cradley
Heath. He could ‘wear that Benjamin Perry
never went out of the shop from the time he wf-nt
n until nine o'clock. Perry was at work within, a
yard and a half of him. There were many times
when they all stayed in the shop for that length
of time. He remembered that night because of
the light being taken past the shop.—Mr. Wall
reminded the Bench that the shop was on private
land, and that there was no road by it, and there-
fore, the light and persons passing would be an
unusual occurrence.—The Magistrates said there
was a doubt in the case, and they would give the
defendant the benefit of the doubt and dismiss
the summons.
A COWARDLY RUFFIAN.'—John Thomas Hill was
charged with being drunk and disorderly in the
highway, on the 18th December. He was further
charged with assaulting Elizabeth and William
rdoe, on the same
date.—Mr. Wall defended.—
Feohn the evidence of Eliza hell Pardoe it appeared
' that she and her husband were going home from
Stourbridge, shortly after eleven o'clock, and when
h
t oy were near the Viaduetthey saw John Thomas