The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1881-08-23 00:00:00

SINGULAR CHARE OF HOUSE-BREAK/NC.

At the Police-court on Monday, before the Mayor
(Mr. G. Curtis), and Mr. W. N. IVeston, Sarah Brown,
Maria Hughes (on remand), and Mary Hughes, were
charged on the information of Harriett Hughes, wife of
John Hughes, pilot, with having stolen on the sth inst..
from his dwellinghouse a flocked bed, bolsters,
2 pillows, sheets, blankets, and other articles, belonging
to hint and William John Saunders a lodger.—Mr. L.
Budge defended the three prisoners.—The man named
John Hughes was conunitted on the 4th for 10 weeks for
an assault ujion his wife and another women. On the
following day. aecording to the evidence of Harriett
Hughes, first two pritamers came to her house and took
her hesitater,' box front it. She asked who gave them
authority for doing this, and they said P.C. Beek&
Upon that she went to the police-station to ascertain if
it were true. She found it was not. On her returning
she found her house had been entered and that her
lodger's bed, had been taken away. sdie was told it had
been thrown out of the bedroom window cud she
found the window open. When her nitve, Mrs.
Ssundr•rs, returned, they missed the other thing*.
—ln reply to Mr. Budge, Mrs. Hughes said on
the night her husband went to jail Ilse sent the crier
round to say he would not be responsible for her debts.
Mrs. Brown was a uiece of her husband Whether or not her husband sent for Mrs. Brown on that day, she
did wit know. There was poundage due front her
husband as a pilot at the tinw, but whether Ml*. Brown
ji.id it or not she did not know, when Sarah Brown and
Maria Hughes mune and " eollared" the box she never
said a word.—Mr. Budge: Then silencegivescontieut.—
By the Magistrates' clerk: They said nothing, they
" went " straight for the box.—Cross-examination
continued : She was sure Brown did not say " will
you let me have uncle's clothes to keep till he came
out of prison. " and she was equally certain she did not
reply "they are in the back kitchen and you can bed She intembsi to make the Bench believe that not a
word passed between her awl theme w ttttt eu during the
transartion.—Mr. Budge : Well then you are a most
extraordinary womtin.—Wiiness: If I'd said • word I
should have had my face it broked in.—After the pre-
vious hearing on returning mime, she found the chest
had been brought hack and left outside her door.--
E lizabeth Saunders' wife of William Saunders a lodger
at Hughes's proved the loss of that portion of? the pro-
perty, which belonged to her. She had never authorised
anyone to take it., and its value was about 4rsta—liarriet
Turner proved seeing the two flast-n1 ttttt defendants
bring out the chest front the house, and she afterwards saw them with a lad anti a pair of trucks. Mrs. Brown
tried to burst the door in, which alto said she'd ilo if it
cost her i'2o. Mary Hughes had Some keys, but they
couldn't open the door, and then Mrs. Brown broke the
window anti cut her hand. Then she unbarred it and
told the lad to get in, which he did, and brought out
the bed, and Mrs. Brown took it through the window,
and it was put on the trucka—lienry Slantways, the
young fellow in question, proved that he took the
things away on a pair of trucks, in consideration of
Mrs. Brown giving him 3d. and a glass of beer.—By
Mr. Budge: They were taken openly front the house.
—Mary Ann Hockey gave corroborative evidence.—
P.C. Reeks deposed that he gave no authority to either
defendants to take the goods from the house. Mrs.
Brown interviewed Hughes while at the Police-statiou,
and lie gave her some instructions as to his pilot
papers.—Sergeant Beaken gave evidence, showing that
the case having been put into his hands on the day
following the alleged robbery, he received a number of
the missing articles from the that two named defen-
dants.—Mr. Budge asked the Bench to dismiss the case,
Sod submitted with great confidence there had be: n no
felonious intent proved as charged. He also contended
that the property had not been taken for the purpose
of its being converted by the defendants to their own
use, according to the words of the act, but simply to
be kept until the owner mine out of jail. Before
going there Hughes sent for his niece, the
defendant, Mrs. Brown, and gave her directions to take
his things sway front the housek;ad or
nwothihenngheleft. Tohiutit
of prison he would find hoCaine
version of the affair he urged was clearly borne out by
the evidence of Mrs. Hughes, inasmuch as either Hughes
must have told them where
saying
bog she neverxofcl
othaaegid word
to she had perjured herself by
to them, and they went in and went direct to where the
box was situate. As regarded the lodger's things he
would prove that Hughes said everything in the place
belonged to hint. Me naked the Bench could they really
think—whether they were right or wrong in going to
the bowie and taking the things—that defendants took
them with a felonious intent to convert them to their own
Use. He submitted in conclusion that it was nothing
mum than a treakoaa.—For the debate°, Jesse Bakec wad,

called, and swore he heard Hashes when in the cells,
before being taken to Dorchester, tell Mrs. Brown to get
his wearing apparel from his house, and also his papers
from the pilot bath—The Mayor said the Bench were
of opinion no felonious intent had been proved. and
therefore the case would be dismissed; but they ordered
the goods to be reetorsd, and Mrs. Brown must pay the
coot&