The Sun.
London, England, 1801-09-17 00:00:00

BURGLARY.

joselh Davis, Thomas Head, and Neither Head,
were indiaed for burglariously breaking and enter-
ing a dwelling-house, about the hour of eight in the
night, with intent to steal, and burglariously steal-
ing therein two cloth coats, a shirt and other arti-
cles of wearing apparel, a table-cloth, &c. amount-
ing in-value to ten pounds, the property of Samuel
Chivers. _ _

Mary Chivers, the wife of Samuel Chivers, said
she lived'at a house in Old-street, where she kept a
shop; that on the 15th of August last she locked
the door of her apartment which opens into a pas-
sage, and went into her shop, which is on the other
side of the passage ; she was then in distress on ac-
count of having 'taken a bad 7s. piece of a girl
whom she did not know. Hesther Head used to
deal with her, and at this time owed her some mo-
ney ; she came to the Witness and asked her how
much she owed her ?—The Witness said she could
not tell at that time, but would look, and then said
she had taken a bad 7s. piece of a girl, which the
Prisoner said she lainented, and asked if she knew
the girl ?—She said she did not. The Prisoner ad-
vised her to go after the girl, saying she saw her
going along a little while ago. She went with the
Prisoner, as she thought then, in pursuit of the
girl, but which the Witness now, upon refledion
on her conduet, thinks was with a view to deceive
her, having asked her two or three times to go
into a public-house to drink-some spirits, with a
view to facilitate what was-going pi at the hous'e
of the Witness at that time. When She returned to
her house, she found that her backdoor had been
unbolted and her room opened ; she had fastened 'it
all over before she came away. On looking over
the room she found that all the articles mentioned
in the Indiament, and- many more, were taken
away. A few days afterwards she .found, on ex-
amination, at a Pawnbroker's in the neighbourhood,
a tablecloth, and at another's a shirt, which she
knew .to be the property of her husband. She
suspeaed the Prisoner Thomas Head and his wife of
this robbery, because she had seen them about her
house .two days before making observations, as she
conceived, about the place, and therefore they were
apprehended.
A Pawnbroker proved, that he took a shirt in
pledge of the Prisoner,
Gel,
Davis, and advanced
illm p. en ;,, Cat of 4408r:A last.
Mrs. Chivers swore, that the shirt was her hus-
band's shirt, she knew it by her own work upon it ;
there had been a mark upon it, but that was taken
away. _ _ _

Another Pawnbroker produced a table-cloth,
which,. he said, he received of Elizabeth Davis,
the wife of the Prisoner, Davis, who lives with
hirn. ; and Mrs. Chivers also swore to the
although the mark that had been on it WAS cut off;
bat she knew it. by many
.different little marks that
were Upon it.
Armstrong, a•Police.Officer; apprehenthd the two
Prisoners, Head, on the i Bth of August; and after.
wards, in consequence of an information, 11;!search-
ed a room belonging to a,woman of the name of
Anstin, in a' place near the Surrey Road; and,
under the bed, he found a box containing a dark
lantern, a -phosphorus box; a bunch of pick-lock
keys; chisel, &c. the implements for house-
breaking, and also a piece of cloth, which Mrs.
Chivers swore to be the property of her husband.
The park upon it wa3 torn off, but slit! knew it by
her own work; which was also upon it.
Sarah Austin said, that het sister Mary, Jenner,
brought a box to her lodgings two days before the
Officer came there and found it ; but she said, she
knew nothing about the box herself.
Mary Jenner gave a very strange account from
beginning to end, of what she knew of this mat-
ter. She said she took this box; without knowing
what was in; it for safety, of her• own head ;
and then she said, that she-took it at the re-'
quest of Joseph Davis to her sister's—[She faint-
ed, or seemed to faint, and was' carried out of
Court ; being recovered; and brought' backi—she
said, she never saw the bok opened ; she did not
know what was in it ; she never saw the Prisoner,
Head, in company with Davis t and on a questiOn
put to herby Davis, she said; she received these
thingsin the box of -Mrs. Head, On the Wednesday
after the robbery seas committed, That she said
so before the Magistrates, and that in point of 661,
she did receive them from herb It was in Old.
street she received them, but she did not remem-
ber on what day. The things that Mrs. Davis
gave herr were a dark lantern, and a bunch of
keys ; and she then said, that she herself put them
-in, and put in with them the piece of cloth, which
was produced and sworn to by Mrs. ChiVers:
She.saidafterwards, she did not knoW who brought
-it into the room ; she found it there, and put it
into the box. 4

The Officers, of the Police searched Davis) but
found nothing upon him, nor in his apartment.
The Learned Judge,
_Barlon. HotirAm,
summed, up ,the whole of the evil nce and observed
to the Jury, thatras to Marylerinir; :her story was
so intonsistent and strange, and the manner in
which she gave her evidence was ea extraordinary,-
that she was not intitled to much credit before
them.

With respeCl to the burglary, the Learned judge
said, he thought, fairly enough, they might acquit
all the Prisoners upon that part of the charge; for
it appeared by the evidence, that the- house was
fastened up at eight o'clock in the evening in the
month of August, aml the. Prosecittor'A , wife went

bat. nunediately afterwards ; it Cbuld tidt, then be
dark, and, therefore, said the Leatned Judge, your
consideration will be, whether you believe these
two inn stole these things; I-say these two nien;
for as to the wife of the prisoner Head, she cannot
be found guilty of any larceny that . is done in the
presence of;her husband. Witlr respeet to Head,
the only evidence, I conceive, that affects him, is
his being seen about the house in the cOtirse of the
day, or a few days before; and observed particularly
by Mrs. Chivers, to look about the place ; that is,
to be sure, a circumstance to be taken with others
into consideration ; but at the same time it does not
appear to me to go a great W:ij'; for he might have
lodged in the neighbourhood, and might hare been
in the course of going home, and he might have
been seen about the place, and appear suspicious
without having any bad 'purpose in view. That
does not appear to me to weigh a great deal ;- he
is not sworn to by either of the Pawnbrokers as
having pawned any of the goods ; he is not seen
by Mary Jenner—she had no conversation with
him about the box, and .therefore; it does seem to.
me, that whatever may be your Suspicion, the evi-
dence in point of 'fad, falls short of proof of guilt
as to him ; and his wife, as I have told you already,
is entitled to her acquittal of course, because she is
supposed to have aded, if she did any thing id this
business, under the coutroul of her husband. ,
With respect to Davis, there is Inc-re to be said--.
for, two"days after the robbery, it appears that he
pawned the shirts which Mrs. Chivers swears to be.
the property of her husband., Now if a man pawns
that which is clearly proved to be the property of
another, and does it so recently after it was stolen,
it is incumbent on him to assign to a jury, when
tried for the theft, some reasnu for being in posses-
sion of it, which the- Prisoner has not done ; he has •
said merely it was his own.---That you ate to de_
cide for yourselves upon the evidence ; the .mark is
picked out, a circumstance of suspicion to- be added
to others.

The other Pawnbroker took the-cloth (which has
been produced and proved also to be the property of
the Prosecutor) of Elizabeth Davis ; now as to this
box, you have heard the girl, Mat'Jenner, s,wear-'
ing backwards and forwards, and you have heard.
what it contained, and, to be sure, pirt of this
story bears pretty hard upon the-Prisoner Head,
.for
it appears to have been an interesting thing to him,
that the box shOuld'be taken away from his posses-
sion ; but that is not, perhaps, enough to, convift
him. These are the circumstances, as I have stated,
which affeet the Prisoner Davis ; if you think they
are sufficient to convkt him of stealing the property,
you will say so, but I think you cannot say. it was
in the night, it being about eight o'clock in the
evening, and in the month of Augnsr, about the
middle, it could not have been too dark to distin-
guish the person ofa man, and therefore cannot-be a
burglary.' With respeet to the other Ptisoner, the
case is not so strong, and therefore, I think, you
will feel yourselves disposed to acquit him, what-
ever may be your suspicions (for I will not do. you
the injustice to suppose that you do not susped at
least, that he was concerned in this robbery), but
I- am of opinion that the cvmcnce ants 'olio& L of
proof of guilt in him: You will consider the whole
of the evidence, and give such a vetdift as appears
to you to he jost.
The Jury found the two Prisoners) Head, Not
Guilty, and found the Prisoner Davis Guilty of
stealing the goods, but not of breaking.and enter-
ing the dwelling house in the night time.
Mr. Baron HOTH A Nl.—" Gentlemen, when the
property appears to amount to 161. I cannot ask
you to reduce the value below 40 shillings."

;anti's Austin was indicted for burglariously
breaking and entering the dwelling house of Tho-
s Wigginton, and stealing therein some bed fur-
niture., his property.
it appeared clearly in evidence, that the Prose-
cutor, on the 28th of July last, fastened his house,
and wash house, which adjoins it-. That he was
alarmed by the Watahnian'abotit foqr 'o'clock in the
morning, who produced to itim bundles in which
his property, as stated in the Indiament, was
wrapt up. The Watchman caught the Prisoner in
the a& of coming over the wall adjoining the Prose-
cutor's house with this bundle, and took him up,
but was obliged
.to let hini go, another man having
come up to the Prisoner's assistance, and they pelted
the Watchman with.stones. ilk he knew the Pri.
soner well. He was apprehended zhefollowing
day.

Mr. Justice LE PLANC observaa to the, Jury,
that before a burglary could be committed, it must
be-proved that the stealing was at a time when the
person of a man could tot be•-distint=;uished'; now
the evidence which proved that the Prisoner stole
the goods, proved also; that he did not commit the
burglAry, for the Witness swore he saw the Pri-
soner on the wall with the bundle, and knew him.
It was dayXght, about four o'clock; in July.;—
The Jury. would, therefore, if they b-jieved the
evidence, find the Prisoner guilty of stealing the
goods, but not of burglariousr7;r breaking and en-
tering'the dwelling,house. The value wa4 here bc:
low 4os. and therefore the conviction could cot he
capital,

Guilty of stealing the goods, but not of breaking
and entering the dwelling.house.

josepi? Hui WAS indicted for stealing a lamb, the
property of Edward Kirby the younger,-4ihy.-7
Death,

Nathaniel figh was indiaed for buiglariously
breaking and entering the.dwelling-house of a Sales-
man, about the bout of ten o'clock at night, with
intent to steal, and stealing, coat.
It appeared that: the Prosecutor went out of his
house to go to. a *gtibourfs, about ten at night;
but he was not sure that he shut the door after him.
When he returned, which was almost instantly, the
Prisoner had a coat rolled up under his arm, coming
towards the door. He was asked what he-meant to
do with the coat ? He dropped it, and ran away
was taken and committed.

Mr. Justice LE BLANC told the Jury, that the
offence, as stated in the Indiamint, was a capital
offence—breaking and entering dwellin-g-bouse
in the night, but they dismisi die capital

part of the ebaite; the :13rosEetiiiit could tit
that the door was fastened when he went our; anti
iherefore it could not he taken that the (lc:or was
fast; andif it was not,. there was no br-eaking: Lut
as to the theft, the jury would consider Whether
the Prisoner had any purpose in view but t 6 steal
the coat, if he moved it from the place *here it
was, with intent to take it away by stealth:, it
as much a theft as if he had ailually run array with it:
Giti/ty of stealing the'goods, hilt not Of breakirii
and entering the dwelling-house: