The Sun.
London, England, 1801-10-29 00:00:00

OLD ,BAILEY.

YESTERDAY the Sessions commenced at this place,
'before the City Officers, and Mr. Justice HEATH
'add. Mr: Baron THOMPSOV.
- Henry Ellis and James Price were indieted for
stealing two geldings, the property of William
-'Townsend.
" The Prosecutor, William Townsend, swore,That
he is a farmer living at Trantham, ,near the River-
head, by Seven Oaks ; that on the Ist of Septem- •
ber he, sent seven horses out to grass. They were
turned tut at seven o'clock in the evening. On the
morning of the zd' of September he missed two of
his horses ; they were two geldings, a black and a
bay one. On the 3d of September he went to Bar-
net to inquire after them, tire being the day before
the Fair at Barnet. He searched the stables there,
and at the stable of Mrs. Neale, who keeps a public
house, 'the sign of the WaggOn and Horses, he
found the two Prisoners with two horses ; the one,
a black, was the Prosecutor's, the other wets not his.
The Prisoners were looking at the horse : they
came out to the town, and so did the Prosecutor
he saw them afterwards in the street. He laid hold
of the Prisoner Price, the other was then at a very
little distance. He told Price he !lad lost his horse !
Zt the time he apprehended :him, but lie did not
know that Ellis heard him say this to Price, ..nor
did he observe :if that Moinent whether Ellis was
on foot or on horseback, but soon afterwards he
saw Ellis on horseback riding away in haite, he".
drove against a Welsh runt and fell, on which he
was seized. The Witness bad no Conversation with
Ellis, nor did he know whether Ellis saw him ap-
prehend Price. He was a very little distance off
however. hi consequence of information the Pro-
secutor went to Whetstone and found his other horse.
On Cross.examination, he said, he sent out seven
horses. His servant took them our. That servant
was not in Court. The Prosecutor did not know -
whether Ells heard what he communicated to •
Price. The horse which he saw in the possession
of Ellis, a/ Barnet, was not -the horse of the Prose.
cutor ; neither was Ellis ,present when the Prose-
cutor fouhd his horse at Vflietstone.
Mary Neale said, tie keeps the public-house the
-sign of the Waggon and Horses, at _Barnet ; that
about ten o'clock in the morning of the 3d of Sep.
tember,' being the day before the Fair at Barnet, the
two Prisoners came to her house, each of them lead-
ing a horse, but neither of them mounted. They
came to her stable where the horses were put in, and
they staid there for an hour or two. Ina couple of
hours the Prosecutor, Mr. Townsend, came to her
house, and claimed the ,horses. About an honr
after Mr. Townsend came, the Witness saw the
Prisoner& agaiil. The two horses'were afterwards.
brought out to Mr. Townsend.
Benjamin Freman said, he lived at. the Anchor
at Whetstone. He said, he. remembered Price, one
of the-Prisoners, at his house, on the ad of Septem-
ber last. Price brought with him three horses,
and put. them- in the stable. Another man came
afterwards, and dined with him ; and they went
away together, and took with them two of the
'horses. Me. Townsend came to the house of the
Witness the next day, and claimed the horse. The
Prisoners went from the house of the Witness , to.
wards Barnet. The WitnesS kneW only Price.
The Prisoner, Ellis, called a Witness of the name
of 'Thomas Hawkins, who stared hiMself to be a
Cordwainer„living at Pomona-Place, Lisson Green,
Paddington, for the purpose of proving an alibi
on the part of Ellis; but from two or three con-
tradietions in his testimony, he did the Prisoner's
case more harm than good.
• The Counsel foi the Prosecution then proposed
to shew that both the Prisoners rode together, on
the outside of a coach from Lewisham to the White

Hart ,at River-head, on the night after the Ist of
September, and that they were both together at the
White Hart there from eight to ten at night.
The Counsel for the Prisoner, Ellis, submitted,
that the Learned Gentleman could not regularly call
any witnesses for the Crown after the Prosecutor's
evidence was closed.
The Learned Judge said, that if it was objeded
to as to the Counsel
it,
evidence, he,. as the
Judge, could call it, and then ordered the Wit_
nesset to be called.
The Coachman, and one of the outside Passen-
gers were then called. The for-trier swore he took
two persons up at Lewisham, and carried . them on
the outside'of his coach to the 'White Hart, at the
River-head, on_the Ist of September last. He was
positive of the person of Price," but did not take
particular notice of- the other.
One of the outside Passengers of the coach swore
'positively to the persons of 'both the Prisoners, and,
swore also, that -they were together on the outside
of the coach on the evening of the ist of September
last, from Lewisham to the White Hart; at the.
River-head.
Mr. justiceHE Ant summed up the evidence, and
observed, that there was no eye-witness to the ad
of stealing these horses, and that indeed there sel-
dom was any such evidence to, a felony; it was not
reasonable to exped it, for men committed felony
in a way which appeared to-4116a to be least liable,
to detpaion,. for which reason circumstantial evi-
dence was always received in these cases, and cir-
cumstances, when they formed a regular chain, were
Often better than positive proof, because, in the one
case, a Witness might mistake, in the other there
was no. such chance. Fortunately for justice, it
often happened that when Case was attempted
to he made but by perjury, it failed for the want
of the Witnesses knowing all the minute, points
which made up the charge on the other side, and so
the badness of a case appeared often from the at-
tempts that were made to support it. Here the
only Witness -who -endeavoured to, prove an alibi
on the part of Ellis, contradided himself in several
points, and he was also contradided in others by
three Witnesses ; and there -was no contradidion
whatever in the evidence on the part of the Prose-
cution. 'Under these circumstances, the Jury wefe
called Upon to say, whether they believed the case
was' made out against the Prisoners at the Bar. •If
they believed the evidence for the Prosecution, They