The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-07-11 00:00:00

OLD HILL.

CHARGE AGAINST A LICENSED VICTUALLER. —At the
Police Court. on Wednesday, blare Alersra P. W.
Barre and N. klingley, John Trailer, landlord of the
Bova' Oak Inn, Sprieglielda. was eunum,ned for unlaw•
In:ly sehing • quantity of ale du lag prohibited boors,
on Sunday, the 28th u.t. Mr. Stokes defeuded.
constable Cooper, stationed at Old Hill, said he wsa on
duty on the morning in queation, in compcny with Po:iee-
constable Allcack. They were near defendant's house at
about ten minutes t , twelve, when he saw a man leaving
Vie stable, watts a stone bottle in his hand. Ile also maw
another man coming up the rdad,and this person also bad
a atone bottle, and he went to the back of defeeda its
house. Witness saw the bottle lin through the dour of
th., house. Ile waited a few ininutea and can tiefer:ilaM
coise out of the house and take the bottle back to to,
mon. %V I:Data the,. weut la ilia stable, and saw four
ma and cue boy there. He also saw four I. irrels eland
log on one end, and one lyiug down. In the lett, r ba,, el
Us ire was a tap, and the beer was tiroppingfrom it The
I, Irrel was inseed on B bench Warren, sax deferniaet
C mie out of the cellar, and he went iii sod fiiiisil
barrels. There WAY a MAU ia the
celiar. Ile asked the man what brought hiin there, arid
he said he bed come for the allowance beer. Pelice-eon.
stabla Ailcock said he went to tiefeiniaut•s house, in Coln
with Hie last witness, end heard di ft iiilaot any to
the won," You may so well lake the bottle now ; I knew
they would be after me. That b —, has Its I me be-
fore." Mr. Stokes, in defence, contended that the stable
belonged to Messrs. Mason, aud an accident had occurred
The men went to the stable to get their allowance drink,
which was kept there. As regarded the defendant taking
the ale out to the inen. he Was wider the impression that
as he had contracted with Mecard. Mason to supply the
men with beer, be was quite right in doing so Defend-
ant, who hes been previously convicted, was fined 60s
and costa.

A COLLIER CHARGED WITH STEALINo BEER. John
Bannister was charged with stealing • quantity of beer,
the property of James Chapman, charterdinaster, at the
torch, Colliery, Old Hill, on the 3rd inst. Mr. Waldron
appeared to prosecute, and Mr. Forrest defended. Joseph
Lyman said be was employed as bankenran at the Eagle
Colliery. He had the management of the beer, and the
prisoner worked at the pit. Witness saw prisoner, and a
man named Williams, come from the direction of the
stores with a bottle. The ineu were ell near the hovel.
' and they were cursing witceis because he refused to let
them have the beer before they were to go down, at three
o'clock. Witness tested the bottle in the stores, and
found that eight quarts of beer had been taken out. He
had previously put 18 quarts into the bottle, and there
were only ten quarts left. After the men heti drunk the
ale they would not work, but went away. Prisoner had
no right to go into the stores. Croas-examined : The
men ought to have gone down the pit at three o'clock,
but they did not go down at all. They stayed there till
after four o'clock They asked me for the beer, and I
did not tell them to fetcn it. I told them the beer woo
ready, and I would fetch it as soon as they were ready to
go down. In answer to Mr. Hingley witness said. At
three o'clock the men down the pit had 10 skip loads to
send up. but the men in the pit were bankatuen, not pike.
men. The men sometimes went to the stores and fetched
the beer thernselvea —James Siviter, engineer, at the
Eagle Colliery, said he saw the prisoner and Williams
c One out of the stores with • bottle of beer and take it
away.—James Chapman, chartermaster, sent prumner was
in his employ. He saw prisoner in the hovel on :he
Saturday .morning, and charged him with stealing the
beer. Prisoner said he did not fetch it oat Witness
said prisoner had fetched it, when prisoner called him •
b— liar. No workman except Lyman had any right
to go into the stores, and witness had always instructed
Lyman not to allow the men to go into the stores.—Mr.
Hinglay : The men, perhaps, considered they had • right
to the beer before going down the pit. If they hail gone
down the pit they would have gone short of their beer.
He did not think tney did it with a felonious intent.—
Mr. Barre conridered it was not a etrong case against the
prisoner, who was dismissed.