The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-01-30 00:00:00

THE EXAMINATION Oir TILE BROTHERS
RICHARDS.

(LEVER TRACKING BY THE DORSET

POLICE.

At the County flail on Titan lay morning last,
,famea awl I:eorge RiChargh, the two men charged
with having helped thethree lintehin gays to evade, for
ii time, the grasp of juatim, or in b-gal parlance with
beim: alvegeoriem after the feet. to the mnnler of 11.0.

Cox. and the attempted tnurder of P.C. Stacey, were
ln,sight up in the custody of the police. before Mr.
(Herbert Williams for the purimme of evidence being
taken to ju.tify their being handed I wee to the
M. amet pothe, and in that county to be dealt with
by the law.
They we re brought throng h the street.. handcuffed, and
in Charge of the police, and were followed by aeurions
crowd. Their confinement in the cells does not seem
to have added ninth to their spirits, they were very
down rant, and cluring the proceeding's maintained A
og,Zell silence, except when Once or twice George
leant .kmai to speak to his solicitor. They were
dres,-.1 in the tight trousers, jackets with numberless
pockete, and gully scarves twisted round the neck in
.1 collars, so much affected by a certain clam of
the horse dealing community. There were several of
their friends and relatives in court, but, by order of the
itench, none of the general pithlie were admittol.
The Chief (!onstable (Captain Amyatt Brown) was
In curt; and Mr. Howard appeared for the prose-
cution. and Mr. Jolliffe for the prussiers.
At the commencement of the proceedings,
Mr. dollifie suggested that all witness shouht be out
of Curt.

The Chairman : By all moans, I have no objection
to that.

- --- -
Witnesses having acconlingly been ordered out
together with the
Mr. Howard said he appeared to prosecute the two
men liefore them for being accessories after the fact to
a ----- riler committed by the three Ilutchingses, of a
piliceman. The facts were so recent that he need not
recipitulate them, but he might allude to the law id
the rase. As far as acts iif felony were oinarrneil it
was a common law and A very odd ..ire, that whoever
acts NA an accessory to felony after the fact is himself
guilty f felony. Very i'(ten there were ontissione of
justice because the offence of felony under those cir.
cumstances could only be tried where the offence MAO
committed. Afterwards an Act 11 and 12 Vic-
cap. 46 was pissed, and thereby adlitiiinal
powers were given, not taking away the original
, power, but giving others, by which a party
could be tried at the place where the original
felony was committed. For instance, inippeeing a
felony were ci 'Heil in the counties of Devon or
Simereet, and the man managed to escape up into
Dorset, and in Dorset parties commas.' him, before
the Act was passed they could only lie tried in
Dorset ; now, with the additional powers given,
Oey cell.' be tried in Devon or Somerset.
where the original offence had taken place. What
he WOUI.I respectfully submit the Court would have
to consider was whether or not a substantial felony
hail or hail not been committeiL The result did not
rest upon whether or not the prisoners were to be
tried with the principals. If he showed upon the
evidence which he should call very clearly that a
substantial felony hail been committed Within the
lsiniers of the county, here, he contended, was the
phwe where the case should be tried.
The Magistrates Clerk sail the difficulty was, that
supposing the felony hail been committed—for the
make of aremnent- the prisoners must lie tried at the
next assises, which were previous to the assize. in
Somerset, and he took it they could not be convicted
of the act of harbouring, unless the men tried for
murder hail been fotind guilty of the murder.
Mr. Williams thought himself the law was that
they must be tried where the principals were tried.
Mr. Howard : They ought to be committed to the
Airchester prison.
Mr. Williams : And then get a Mika".
Mr. Howard Yes.

Mr. Williams said he did not think that he was
justified in sending them for trial, but he would take
as much evidence as they liked. He did not care if be
Ptayed there all day. IThe learned magistrate however
somewhat modified this self-Jimmied martyr tom, when
three o'clock Caine. Mr. Howard was not allowed to
call all his witnesses, and the examination of several
had to be cut short. Mr. Williams said he wished he
bad never given in. in the first place. One witness
would have been sufficient. The magistrates' clerk
coincided.]
Subsequently Mr. Williams said he would tell them
at once that he intended to hand the priamers over
tqSatneraet. He did not think he had jurisdiction in
the case:

Mr. !toward: You are not disposed to exercise it,
whether you have or not..
Mr. Williams No, I don't think I have the power.
Mr. Joni& : It would involve trying the charge of
murder as well.

Mr. Williams : In point of fact it would.
Mr. Symonds: And the principal offender being
absent.
Mr. Howard then resumed his statement of the
facts. It was also settled law that whoever supplied
S prisoner with a horse, money, or necessaries, to
enable him to mope, makes himself an accessory
after the fact. Now it appeared that on Thursday
November 7th, a very cruel inurder 1,1 Xi committed in
the neighbourhood of Yeovil, the facts of which they
were undoubtedly conversant with. Three men of
the name of Hutchings, were supposed to be guilty of
that murder, and rewards were offered for their
apprehenxion, and they were now confined in Taunton
gall' awaiting their trial As the murder took place
on the night of Thursday, on the Friday morning—it
then being a county talk, the two primoners were at
Yeovil, and consequently must have become acquainted
with the aecurance. On the Saturday, nothing
appears to have taken place, a search however being
made through all parts of Ole county, here and else-
where. Thee they came". Sunday. Now first of all
he would remind them that the Sunday was
a day which was about the best that could
have been selected for the purpose—that of by
means of a horse and trap lending themselves
to help those men to escape from justice. On Sunday
there was very little traffic about the public roads, no
carts, and but few people on foot, and there were no
means of telegraphing. So that any person who
wished secretly to get any person away would on the
day have the most favourable opportunity. It was