The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-07-24 00:00:00

CRADLEY.

CHARGE AGAINST A SCHOOLMISTRESS. At the
Petty Sessions at Stourbridge, yesterday, Mary
Jackson, schoolmistress of Crudley Church Schools,
was charged with assaulting a little boy named Wil-
liam Attwood, aged two years and seven months.
Vroin the evidence of complainant it appeared that
her child came back from school crying. She exam-
ined bins and found his back covered all over with
bruises caused by a cane. On enquiry, she was in-
formed that a boy named Banner, seven years old,
who was acting as " monitor," had dune it. The
Bench remarked that it was a very serious thing to
neat a child like that. Although she had not inflic-
ted the punishment herself, she was morally guilty.
l'he -Bench then dismissed the summons, and the
complainant was directed to synnuon the boy Banner
to appoar next week.
ri .LitiwAy itunet:Ly AT ensuLitY —At the Stuff irdshire
z ou tues.isy, before li.irou Pul.ock, Edtesrd
1'11,41.1 (28) cha.uuisker, was indicted fur having on the
3rd April last, at the p,irt,h of 14.,w.ey feloniou,ly
,5t.U.L..1 Li surge Spencer, and stolen bum his
the suo, et 16.. 61 the mon y of the prosecutor. Mr
Dud, rhiel prosecuted, Low Mr. nuii.Lt defended the pri•
p, Lion r. use facts of the case as a atcd by Mr. Und,r•
oill, sect g.veri in the evidence fur the prosecution, were
jrtw*,o4 ii
iuo.:lhe
he prosecutort
pirr n
sibs„ r
a:tunimursso‘ui;
lmi at
Vta lived at
Crsil.ey. thi the 3rit Apia iast, the proseeutor was at
%..;iiertey Heath, and stayed there until night. In a public
called the Bird-iu timid he wet the prisoner, who
v,,luoteeied to take lii.o to a place where he could ge:t
lo igatigi. Prosecutor agreed to fp with him and the
.we Les a left the house together. Before however, they
aed kot nil yards away, prisoner seized Spencer, threß
Oita viuleutl to the (pound, and stole from him ell the
money he had about hun, amounting to 16s 61 After
doing this he ran away in the direction of the Hand of
Providence publie-house, followed by prosecutor, who on
arriving at the house found the dear locked. He kicked
the door, and it was opened by
htheehlaadudbleoernd.therTe
saner was not in hbeefPorrei-
prosecutor, sod had shaken a quantity of money in his
hand. Prosecutor made a complaint to the landlord, and
on the advice of the latter he subsequently informed the
police of what had occured, and on the 29th April the
prisoner, who had in the mean time left Cradlay, was
taken into custody at Tipton. For the defence, Mr.
Smith urged that the grit-toner had simply good-naturedly
gone out with prosecutor to show him the way, as the
premises were very intricate ; that the prosecutor was
drunk, and that all his statement about the alleged as-
sault and robbery was simply imaginary. The Jury
found the prisoner guilty. His Lordship said that had
the prisoner been previonsly convicted the ,sentence
would have been a more serious one than that which
was about to be passed upon him. But even although
this was his first offence it was of such a serious charac-
ter, having been committed upon a stranger who had
been cointuitted to his care and who was not over capable
of taking care of himself, that it must be visited with a
punishment which would mark the gravity of its appear-
ance in the eyes of the law. Ths prisoner was sentenced
to twelve months' hard labour.