The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-03-12 00:00:00

under the bulls, awl between the bed and
lwdtress where Williams and the WOlllll.ll were sleetdag
they found a purse containing money, and a dirty white
handkerchief, to wbkh w.s rapped i.ltt moner• lln
Priodiers were le-ought 1k to Dorchester, ond were
r. molded *lire, tiu.e 1% ~:ous to the 'red examination
he W.el htallgahg tear the front of th, Towwkill when
ti,o f•oliale paisoLer cahed him sside, ttttt 1 41.14,1 hint if
t.r,,ners were brought up She Paid they were
wrongly charged. She could prove that Ortil,nl ""
not roblual by a man at all, but by a w ttttt ; and to
I',hew that she knew something abont it, she would
describe the purse. It was a blus silk purse. with two
ivt.ry rings, and it had evidently been knitted by • lady
—she supposed his wife. She added that if he went
with her, she would show hint the pursc, and tlic thea
took I • to the %Wellington. She did not sltow hien the
purse. They hail twopenny worth of gin together.
When prisoners were taken into cedudy they hid Jells

Crow lo't'..
William Brown, superintendent of police, went in
comp my with last witness, and noiisted iii takiug the
primmer,. They charged them with highway robbety.
Flo, searched under the beds, and between one of the
beds and inattreNses they foetid a purse contai :: ill g 10
sovereigns and • half in gold, and 11% MI in silver,
and wrapped in a dirty white handkerchief seven
sovereigns and two half sovereings. They wore donkey,
or delta Crow hats.
Mr. Cole eddreseed the jury for the defence, and
ineihtained that it 11(411 a most extraordinary air.
cam tome, if any robbery had taken place, Mr. Winsar
e siid to Mote .1 the 1,10,011.0. up, 01111 the
ibutor wbo attendodl loin, hail not lu,ei cslled. lie did
.io 1.•. k tio Were Nll+l,iclet:4 eirelltlixtull•
ronnecte.l wills the money tieing found under the bed
when the 'almoners slept. It we. louhitedly placed
Ithere ter safety, sleeping as they did at a public house
where there were all aorta of characters. Their sleeping
in Dorchester on the night of the robbery was • strung
proof of innocence, and that the woman, in telling the
poli.,sergasint that he, had Seen the 1,11,e, woe simply
a tale got up by her to clear the prisoners.
The learned Judge, in summing 1111, fetid there wan no
charge against the weinan, who acted as the wife of
Williams. He reviewed the evidence and pointed out
that it was by no means necessary to rail Mr. Witisar
Mt the doctor as witnesses. They knew nothing of
the matter. The question was, first, ditl they believe
'I the prosecutor harl purjtired hinteelf? Had he been
, robbed or not ? If he 11101 were the priaoners the men 1
; The eouusel for the defence had spoken of mistaken
allehtity, but at peooool lied in a.m. ineteowv• ".”`
mietaken that was 110 reason why they always abould
be. Ile askoll thew to take a comn 1111 l sense view of
I the cam, and to return • verdict accordingly.
This jury, without the leant hesitation, found
the male prisoners guilty, and acquitted the female.
The prisoners pretested that they were innocent, and
said the prosecutor knew as well as they did they were
not the Men silo robbed him.
The Waned Judge, in jevaing sentence, said the pri-
I souers hail been convict.' after a trial which bad osnu.
pied a great length of time, and, after the leerned
counsel fur the defence had used their best endeavours
in their favour, he thought the evidence was such as
must have satisfied any 12 reasonable men that the
prisoners were two of the pereons who committed this
highway robbery, and he perfectly concurred with the
decision they bad arrived at. He had no doubt the
prisoners had come to Dercheider for the purpose of
' robbery, that they were well acquainted with the busi-
I ness, and that they knew how to act to ward off suspi-
• . After addressing them at considerable length, his
' Lordship sentenced the prisoners to 15 years penal
' servitude.