The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28 00:00:00

ChADDESLEY CORBETT.

ACCIDENT FP.OM FIPE Anus—On Wednesday evening
information was brought to I(4ldermiuster that a youth
oI 14 years of age, named WN,:am lids, was ac-
cidente"y shot. It appears that Mr. Joseph Cooke, of
Chaddeslev Corbett, was reap'-ig a corn field by a ma-
chine, and a rabbit being started; he fired at it with his
gun, and the youth Hands, who was stooping down
among the wheat, received about twenty to thirty small
shot in his face, head, and body. Dr. Langford was sent
for, and under his treatment the boy is going on well.

FATET

A ROMANTIC CAREER OF A TICKET-OF-
LEAVE MAN.

The police of Kidderminster have ever since last
Thursday been anxiously inquiring as to the where-
abouts of a young man named Benjamin liedley,
who has been particularly wanted over
.a horse and
trap borrowed from Mr. Field, of Birmingham, and
sold to Mr. Pountney, of Wolverhampton. The
career of this person is a rather singular one. He
is the son of a bricklayer, of Stourbridge Street,
Kidderminster, and when a boy was educated at St.
Mary's School. The only thing for which he was
there remarkable was extreme dulness combined with
remarkable slyness. He never got higher than the
second class, or what would be now.the 3rd Standard,
and when he left he went to Mr. Lamb's, machinist,
wherelhe stayed but a short time. After a time he
managed somewhat cleverly to :get a quantity of
goods from Mr. Packwood, at Stourbridge, under
false pretence, and also a cheque for £3OO, from the
Rev. H. J. Fortescue, curate of Kidderminster, re-
presenting in the first place that he was in a good
position, and was about to be married. In the sec-
ond he stated that he was sent by Mr. Richard
Thompson, builder, who was then building St. Bar-
nabas' Church, Franche, for ',Ai% Fortescue. For
this he was sentenced to five years' penal servitude,
and while in the Kidderminster cells showed extreme
cleverness by knocking at the door for a policeman,
and while the sergeant in charge went in, he, hav-
ing concealed himself behind the door, slippekout,
fastened the sergeant in and made off. As in the
present case he owed his re-capture to the fair sex,
and was re-taken while on a secret visit to his sweet-
heart about a week afterwards. From this time the
the people in the neighbourhood of Stourbridge
Street ceased to miss unconsidered trifles which had
before been mysteriously carried away. After a
time he obtained a ticket-of-leave and returned home,
gut work at Messrs. Irvin and Sellars', and appeared
desirous of redeeming his character. But the same
principle still remained—the love of dress—and
the fondness for display was, as of old, still
fostered within him, and to indulge these he has
again made himself amenable to the law. By some
means he obtained a horse and trap from Mr. Field,
of Birmingham, and drove to the horse repository at
Wolverhampton, where he sold them to Mr. A. E.
Pountney, quite taking that Ontleman in by his
innocent air, and reference to Sir W. Throckmorton
and other gentlemen residing in and near Belbrough-
ton, from which place he said he had come. After
making inquiries Mr. Pountney paid him tho sum
required, and took possession of the property as a
bona-fide purchase. Hedley made for home, and to
his great astonishment, while at Bridgnorth last
Thursday,-on a tour of inspection, ran against his
late customer, and as quickly ran off. Mr. Fount-
my at once jumped to the conclusion -that ho had
been "done," and pursued him, capturing his man
after an exciting chase of about two miles, bringing
him to Kidderminster. On the road Hedley told
him a pathetic tale of how he had been out on a
drunken spree, and that under the influence of liquor
lie had obtained the horse and trap; but said if he
would take him to the house of a well-known surgeon,
at Kidderminster, Mr. Hillman, that gentleman
would vouch for his respectability, and that his
friends, who were in good circumstances, would
make it all right about the purcht,se money. Mr.
Pountney was for the second time "sold." Instead
of handing him over to the police, he did as re-
quested, and, Mr. Hillman being out, he drove Hed-
ley to his mother's house in Stourbridge Street, and
the latter, on pretence of going upstairs to get the
money, escaped out of the back door through some
gardens, ran down the Broadwaters Road into the
Wolverly Fields, and for the time got clean off. Mr.
Pountney made after him, but, going through the
garden of Mr. Cole, a large retriever dog pinned him
by the thigh, inflicting a serious wound, and after
following him as far as the Old Bear Inn he had to
relinquish the chase and look after his injuries. The
police were at once communicated with and the
country scoured, but without success. He was heard
of as being at Evesham, and subsequently at Droit-
wich. Sergeant Ebury proceeded to the latter place
but though there were letters awaiting a certain
"Mr. A. E. Beauchamp, son of Lord Beauchamp,
of North Cray, Kent," (his nom de plume), he did
not turn up, and Ebury had to come home without
him. He had, however, been in communication
with a young woman at Kidderminster, and she iu-
formed the police where he was likely to be found.
On Wednesday morning he was found asleep under
a haystack at Hurcott, near Kidderminster, and
taken to Birmingham.
Hadley was brought up at Birmingham Po/ice
Court, on Thursday, charged with stealing a horse
and trap, the property of William Field, of Bir-
mingham. After hearing the evidence, prisoner,
who pleaded guilty, was committed to take his
trial at the next Sessions.