The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-04-06 00:00:00

A SOLICITOR CHARGED WITH

THREATENING.

At the Stourbridge Police Court, yesterday, before
Major Fletcher, Captain Cochrane, the Hon. C. G. Lyt•
telton, Captain Noel, and Mr. H. L. Freer, George Wil-
liam Prescott, solicitor, was charged with using threats
towards Henry Yates, collector.
Mr. Homfray appeared fhr complaisant, and Mr. Pres-
cott conducted his own case.
Mr. Prescott said if Mr. Yates said he was afraid of
him he was prepared to be bound over.
Mr. Homfray : It will be necessary for us to go into the

facts.
Major Fletcher Certainly, because we must know the

facts.
Mr. Prescott: Perhaps if Yates his any witnesses they
may be ordered to leave the Court.
All witnesses were ordered out of Court.
Mr. Homfray, addressing the Beach, said the com-
plainant in the case was a public officer—a rate collector
for the district of Stourbridge and Cradley, and in re.
ceipt of large sums of money, and the question arises as
to the rating of some property of Mr. Prescott, which
was heard in the Comity Court. After the hearing Mr.
Prescott went to Mr. Yates's office, and threatened and
abused him. Mr. Yates had nothing to do with the affair,
only to collect the rates made oat by other persons. Mr.
Yates would show the Bench that he was afraid of his
life.
Complainant (Henry Yates) deposed: I am rate collec-
tor in the Stourbridge and Cradley district of the Stour-
bridge Union. Last Stourbridge County Court I was
subpcened to give evidence. It was some dispute between
Kr. Wooldridge and Mr. Prescott. After the trial Mr.
Prescott followed me down to my office. That was on
the 26th of March. It is at the Poor.rate office. Mr.
Prescott came in and asked for the rate-book, and began
to hammer it. He called me ad— rascal. I cautioned
him first, and told him I should put it in my diary.
(Complainant then read from a book the following :
" o—rascal, thief, a liar, scoundrel, vagab.ind, d
impudent scoundrel. Ido not believe you are honest.")
He was foaming with passion. Lie hammered the coun-
ter, and dashed the rate-book about. He said I was a
b— thief. He picked up the poker, and said, "I will
kn dck your h— brains out" He said I had charged him
with committing forgery for altering the poor rate receipt
at the County Court. I told him I had not. He did not
use any other threats. I shut the door and he put the
poker down and went out of the room. lam in fear of
him.
Cross-examined by Mr. Prescott: This charge is not
trumped up entirely out of malice, I know that you
have written a letter to the Local Government Board
complaining of my conduct on the 14th of March. On
the 13th of March, and in your absence, I did call and
leave a message, and say that if the rate was not paid by
two o'clook, 1 should issue a summons. I had not at that
time issued the summons. It was about two o'clock when
you were in my office. I cannot tell exactly what time
the case was over at the Court. You followed me down
the street.
Mr. Prescott: Will you swear that? Because if you do
I will put Mr. Homf ray in the box and swear him, be-
cause we were engaged in a case at the Court after that
case was over.
Witness : You told me you had been two or three
times to the office, and could not find me. That was
about two o'clock, as near as I can say. After the case
was over the Judge asked me if that was my handwrit-
ing. 'the red ink on the summons is at your request.
That is in my handwriting. On Friday morning the 15th
I received the sum of lie 101 d, and Is for the summons,
from the clerk. I received it at nine o'clock on the 15th.
I. received it before I gave up the receipt produced, on
the 15th. The Is your clerk left on the counter.
George Moody deposed : I recollect an altercation be-
tween Mr. Prescott and Mr. Yates, at the overseers'
office. It was on Thursday. I heard Mr. Prescott use
strong language in the next room to where I was. It was
very abusive language. I heard Mr. Prescott call him
bad names, and use very strong language towards him.
I did not bear any shouting. There was scuttling and
locking of a door.
Cross examined by Mr. Prescott : The conversation
took place on the Thursday.
Mr. Prescott : Did you hear me say, "If you write the
word thief down you are a liar ?"
Mr. Moody: That woo part of it. You said that
amongst other things.
Be-examined by Mr. floinfray : I sent for a Police-
constable. Police-constable 83 came.
Reexamined by Mr. Prescott : That policeman came
on the premises directly after you had gone away. You
were on the premises when I sent for him.
Re-examined by Mr. Homfray : I heard Mr. Yates
shouting " Murder," and I sent for the policeman, and
he came up after Mr. Prescott had gone.
Mr. Prescott: The question I wish to put to Mr.
Yates is, " That he walked from his desk and shut the
door ?"
Mr. Yates: I was afraid of the poker.
Mr. Prescott: Will you undertake to swear that I had
any poker in my hands?
Mr. Yates: Yes.
Mr. Prescott: Was I through the flap?
Mr. Yates: You were.
Mr. Prescott, in defence, said: You will gee there is a
certain amount of prejudice by Yates, because I wrote a
letter to the Local Board, and received a reply acknow-
ledging the receipt of my letter, in which it said that
proper enquiries should be made. And there was also a
certain amount of prejudice by Mr. Moody. This was in
reference to the room let to the assistant overseers, and
I find that the public offices are taken at a private house,
and I have no doubt that it has something to do with Mr.
Moody being here to-day. But, as regards Mr. Yates, it
is perfectly true, and I will not ecreen anything any road.
I said to that person when he suggested the alteration of
the date, I hesitated whether I would comply with that
request, because it was material to the point I had to
contend. I did alter the live into a four. I sent my
clerk to Mr. Yates, and he agreed to alter the date. He
wrote a receipt in red ink, and he afterwards went into
the Court and swore the receipt had been altered with-
out his knowledge. I had to go to the office to look at
the rate book. I said the man that would impute perjury
to me after he took the receipt back is worse than a
thief. He took up a pen and wrote down the thief. I
said a person acting as you have 'done is worse than a
thief. I never had the poker in my hand. I hope you
will allow me to call my clerk, who will entirely contra-
dict Mr. Yates. There was no person preseet at the time
in Mr. Yates's office.'
Major Fletcher: If he can prove malice, then you may
call him. But first you say you admit the charge, and
are prepared to be bound over, and now you say you can
prove malice.
Mr. Prescott then called
William Hill, who deposed: I went to Yates's office on
the 14th of March, to pay the rate. He said he could
not give me a receipt without the summons fee, ache was
going to Birmingham. I went down to his house to ten-
der the rate and the summons fee. I took the money
down again on Friday morning at 9 o'clock. I paid him
the money altogether. Be gave me the receipt produced.
I asked him to pat the date the 14th instead of the 15th.
because you had put Mr. Wooldridge in the Court on the
14th. I brought that receipt to you. He gave me the
receipt in red ink. He Baked me if I would have the
date on the summons the 14th. and I said "Yes."
This being the conclusion of the evidence,
Major Fletcher said: Mr. Prescott, the Bench have
decided to bind you over in £lOO, and two sureties of £5O
emit, to keep the peace for sir months.
Mr. Prescott: Well, sir, Mr. John Raybould and Mr.
Thomas Allchurch are my sureties. I tender my bail,
and I say I ought not to be locked up, and it is false WI.
prisonment every minute I am detained here.
Mr. King : I decline to take your recognisance' until
the costa are paid.
Mr. Prescott: Well, sir, so be it. If they order one of
their officers to lock me up all well and good. Will you
kindly come forward, Mr. kllchurch and Mr. Baybould.
I tender myself and these gentlemen as sureties.
Major Fletcher said : I am quite sure our decision has
been in strict conformity with law.
Mr. King: Defendant is liable to pay the costs, and
until those costs are paid I am not under an obligation
to bind over the defendant and his sureties, and I shall
not take the recognizances until the costs are paid.
Major Fletcher: I think we ought to go on and bind
him over.
Mr. King: I take the recognixances out of defence to
the Bench. I will do so, bat under protest.

Fu ay eson'e ACCOUNTS.—The Surveyor's accounts for
following perishes were paned yesterday: Cradley,
Bagley, sad Pedmore.