The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-06-11 00:00:00

COUNTY PETTY SESSIONS.

13rosirtitir., iiiturday, June Si h.—(Before Lien-
tea iit•(:c..ral Michel.)
FALINU A H ALF SOTVR.II3X. Thomas Baker.
Lamar r, vow charged -.Oh 04..1i0r a hnlf tetr.rci in, the
pri.peatA of itichanl Watts, ol Lower Wlll.iffollll.
Ellen W ate roil she lived witlu her father, who was
shepherd to Mr. Atkinson. She was in the habit of
going out to work, and on Monday last, previous to
leaving the hon-e, she went to • cupboard in the lower
room for the purpose of taking out ls. She left two
balf-soverrigns behind in • tea cup. She did not lock
Site cuphowrd door, but on leaving the house she locked
She front door. On returning shout one o'clock in this
afternoon, the prisoner, Thom... Bsker came in, in coins
pally with a shepherd boy, named John Puckett. The
prisoner sat down in a chair near the door. She asked
the boy to go and fetch some water for her, mid
afterwards she went upsta:rs to change her c10th...,
leaving Baker alone in the room. Whilst upstairs she
fancied she heard wine one walking quietly •cross the
room, sed en looking through • bole in the door, she sew
Baker °minim from the cupboard odd. his right hand in
Isis trouser'. pockets. She en Ule downstsirs,
and on going to the cupboard she mired one of the
halfolovervigns. She accused the prisoner of taking it,
but he denied that lie had moved from his chair since
Am west up-stairs. Witness toll him she hail seen bins
gameness the MOIL, when lie said he should go to Bud.
hamptiou and tell her father of tlie accusation she hail
brought against% him.—lo answer to the Bench, she said
that the boy Puelrett Cillife into the house with the
water as she was accusing the prisoner of taking the half
sorereign.—Heliaril Watts, father of she Mei
said he was certain the two lialtinovereigns *ere in the
cupboard when lie left the house in the morning. tle
went to the prisoner and accuse I him of taking the
money, which, however, be stoutly denied. He then
gave information to the police, and the prisoner was
taken into cuetody.—Joho Puckett. ehrpherd boy. e..e
neat examined. He said he went to the prosecutor's
house about 11 o'clock on the morning in question. The
door was locked, bid he got the key which MLA placed in
Site dog's keens!, as Watts had given him perinis.ion to
open the door when he wished.--The Bench distiliaged
the case, stating that it eras evident that other perilous
who knew where the key was placed could unlock the
dour.

filllCCill Or PaIROF DISCIPLISIL—The Bench ad-
journed to the County Prison for the purpose of trying
an insolvent debtor, named Mania crass pier, who was
discharged from prison on Friday last ; for attempting
. to introduce, whilst • poisoner in the debtor's ward,
some pens, ink, and paper, and also for palming • letter
to a prisoner named Clapcott.—Mr. M. C. Weston
defender:l.—B.twits Pople, a warder, said 00 the 30th of
May he hid occasion to go into the west gallery, or
holding, which looked into the debtors' ward. The
piisorter Clapeutt was sent there for the purpoee of
cleaning oet 101110 cells. When he coin* to one of the
cells, he saw Clapcott in a stooping position. He was
weitoiA, and had souie p.per, pen and ink, a pencil,
a Muer, and one which be bad but partly iniabod,
together with a pieee of string, lying by his site.
Witness told hive he must take the articles to the
governor. He asked him how be came with them, and
he said • debtor had given them to answer ti •
question trios the Bench, the witness said the gallery
was about 30ft. below the debtor's ward.—James Clap.
colt, a prisoner in the county gaol, said on the 30th of
May he was cleaning some of the cells in the western
part of the gallery, which looked into the debtors' ward.
It was on that day that the warder found him with the
writing materials and the string. He had the strip'
from one prisoner, and the paper from Crumpler. The
prisoner Crumpler told him he had received a letter
for hini, his (witness's) friends being very uneasy about
liiiu, as • person who had lately coins out of gaol bad
told them that " be way The letter and
writing iusteriels aluich Crumpler handed to him were
from his Maser, and they were conveyed to him by a
piece id string which he lowered from the gallery. He
1,.4 the oonversation with Crumpler before t:.• warder
COMO to the cont.—Willicin Curti. R.synold, depiity
governor, mid on the 31.4 of May he received the
letter bac from the postman. On his opening it he
found it contained a letter addressed to the prisoner,
Daiiiel Crumpler. That letter was not opened in the
prel/MOO of the Prisoner, as witnem kept it in his pos.
session tili Mat Tuesday, when he handed it over to the
governor : The letter bag is always locked
at the Post-office, and either himself or Mr. Lawrence
°penes it. He (witness) opened the bag on the morn-
ing iu question. The letter had never been in Crump-
ler's possession. There were certain rules and regula-
tions hung up in the debtor's ward, which were
of by the Secretary of State, and sanctioned
by the visiting justices. The rules produced is a copy
thereof, and he could not discover a CilaWlo in it pro-
hibiting any debtor passing • letter to any prisoner.
Mr. Lawrence, the governor, was next esaniiiied. He
said: Some little time ago lie had occasion to speak to
the defendant about introducing letters to pniemens,
or of holding any communication with them.—Mr.
Weston then addressed the Bench for the defence, and
sulimitted that the defendant had oonuiitted no offence
whatever. The Act of Parliament under which the
defendant was charged was the 2nd and 3rd Vie., cap.
56. see. 22, which enacted, "That if any person %hall
c.rry, or bring, or attempt, or endeavour, by throwing
over the walls, Of by any other means, to introduce
into any prison to which this Act shall attend, any
letters, or tobacco, or other articles, not allowed by the
rules of such prison," That Act clearly proved that
the person must be outside the gaol, as the words were
"attempt to carry, bring, or endeavour, by threwing
over the walls." The prisoner had cone none of those
things. and if the Bench looks I • little further down
ttie Act they woul-I fled that it clearly applied to per
sons outside the walls of the gaol, as it stated "that it
shall he lawful to apprehend such offender and carry
him or her before • justice of the peace." Again, how
coul.l the prisoner be deemed responsible for anything
which had been sent to him by his friends or by the
friends of any of the prisoners, for the charge was for
endeavouring to bring into the gaol that letter and
those papers which Mr. Reynold admitted bad never
been in the prisoner a possession. If the letter had
been allowed to go into the prisoner's possession than
the matter would have stood in a very different light,
hut as it was lie submitted that the charge must fall to
the ground.—The room was then cleared, and on the
readmission of the public, the Bench said they must
find the prisoner guilty, and they thought the case
would be met by his paying £3, and 9. 6.l.coets.—Paida