The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-12-26 00:00:00

A SINGULAR CASE OF ARSON.

At :Nlaidstone Assizes, Thomas Saunders, aged 17,
pleaded guilty to a charge of maliciously setting fire
to a load of cut wheats the property of George John
Hulk The circumstances of this case were somewhat
remarkable, as the following outline will show

The prisoner, it appeared, had misconducted himself on a
former OCCASiOIk, and bail been sent to the training ship for
boss at Greenhithe, where he seemed to have conducted
himself remarkably well; anal in the month of July last he
was permit;eil to leave the ship for the porpose of
visiting his friends in London, but he watt bound to return
by a given day. Nothing more was heard of hoe, however,
until he was taken into custody on the present charge, and
It turned out that he had met with some of his old associates
In London, and at their instigation he appeared to have
sold his clothe and having broken his leave he was afraid
to return to the ship. On the 27th of July, it being harvest
time, the prosecutor, who is a farmer, near Maidstone, was
engaged in harvesting operations, and in the evening a
waggon full of cut corn was left in one of the fields, and
about nine o'clock this waggon and Its contents were dis-
covered to be on fire, and the whole was consumed. The
prisoner seemed to have been wandering about the
neighbourhood during the day, and he applied
!to Mr. Hill's housekeeper for some food but she
refused to give Min any, and he went away muttering some-
thing to himself and appeared to be very angry. shortly
after this the prisoner met a man, whom he asked to give
hint a match, aid this man gave him three limiter matches,
and the prisoner then went away in the direction of the
field where the waggoo was, and in a very short time the
fire broke out. I loot the arrival of the police and a search
being made the prisoner was found concealed in a straw-
rick, and upon his being taken into custody and charged
with having set fire to the wheat he at once admitted having
done so, and showed the constable how he hail thrust a
piece of lighted paper into the corn, and he at the SAYme
time said that his object was to be sent out of the country
altogether. When he was before the magistrate he repeated
this statement, and added that if they did not send him
away for this, lie would do something worse wisest lie had
an opportunity.
Captain Alston, the commander of the ship where the
prisoner hail been, and who seemed to take very great in-
terest in him, addreased the court in mitigation of punish-
ment, and said that the prisoner hail conducted himself so
well while he was under his command that he had recom-
meuded hint for her Majesty's training ship At Devonport.
Ile, at the same time, said he believed that the prisoner, when
he went to London, had unfortunately met with some of his
old associates. slid he could not resist the temptation of
returning to his evil habits. He said that the prisoner's
coolort hail been so good that if a lenient sentence were
passed open him, he would readily receive hint back to the
ship.
Baron Channell said he could not listen to such a
suggestion, and it appeared to him that the prisoner
had no excuse for his conduct. He might have re-
turned to his ship, and nothing could justify his com-
mitting such a serious offence, for which he felt it his
duty to order him to be kept in penal servitude for
seven years.
When the sentence was pronounced, the prisoner, in
an impudent tone, called out, "Thank you, sir, I am
very much obliged to you."