The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-18 00:00:00

MI DD 1 ESE' SES qoNS.—June 18.

:Before Mr. Pasbley, Q.C., Assistant Judge.)

Henry Price, 12, was indicted for stealing caps,
value 155., the property of James Shipway, his
master ; and Edward W. Harrison, 25, was in
dieted for feloniously receiving the same, well
knowing the same to have been stolen.
Mr. Tindal Atkinson, ins;tructed. by Mr. Wake-
ling, prosecuted ; Mr. Platt appeared for Harrison.
The prisoner Price pleaded guilty.
Mr. Atkinson having opened the case.
Price was placed in the witness-box and sworn.
He said—l am 12 years of age. I was errand boy
to Mr. Shipway, and had assisted in his shop for
about four months. Mr."Shipway's shop is in Up-
per-street, Islington. I know the prisoner Harri-
son, and have taken things to him from my master's
shop. I began to do so about three weeks after I
went into his service. Mr. Shipway gave me and
another boy some old hats, and we sold'them at
Harrison's shop, in Wheatsheaf-yard, Islington.
He then told me if I could bring him some caps he
would payme wellfor them. Idid nottell him where
I lived, but he saw from the name inside the hats
where I worked. I took several caps after he
asked me, but I cannot exactly say how many.
took a cap the next morning out of a box in my
master's shop, which I took to Harrison, and he
gave me 6d. for it. The selling price of the cap was
2s. Gd. I took another cap the next day from a
shelf in the shop, which was worth 3s. Gd., and
Harrison gave me Bcl. for it. The next day I took
another cap—it was a two-and-sixpenny cap, and
be gave me Gd. for that. I took two half-crown caps
the next day, and Harrison gave me Is. for the

two. The day after that I took two more caps, and
sold them to Harrison at the same price. On other
days I took several more caps, and Harrison gave
me 6d. each for them. I stole all the caps from my
master. I took this one (produced> in May last.
(The witness then identified some other caps he
bad sold to the prisoner Harrison.) I met Harrison
in the City-road two or three days after a policeman
had been to my master's shop, and ho said, " Ho w
is it that I have not seen you so long ?" and I said
that as I had seen a policeman come to my mas-
ter's shop I was frightened to take any more caps.
Harrison said that he would see that was all right,
and he then left me. After that I took some more
caps and leather bands, which I sold to the pri-
soner.

Cross-examined by Mr. Platt—My master has
not told me what to say. He only told me to speak
the truth. Ido not expect to get off through giv-
ing evidence but I do not expect to be so severely
punished. I took two caps sometimes together
from my master's shop. Ido not know the price
of these caps per dozen. I did not tell Harrison
when I took the cTs that I had been sent by my
mother to sell them, who was very busy making
them. I have taken, altogether, about 70 caps to
Mr. Harrison's shop. Harrison once gave me
10d. for a cap, but the price of that wis 4s. sd. I
have never been in trouble in ray life before.
Mr. J. Shipway, the prose mtor, 89, Upper-street,
Islington, said the boy Price bad been in his service
for about four months. From information he re-
ceived, he watched him. On Saturday, May 9, he
called Price into his counting-house, and told him
that he had been robbing him for some time. He
took a cap out of his desk and asked him if he knew
it. He began to cry, and said he should not have
done so had he not been induced to do so by a man
'in Wheatsheaf-yard. He said the man had given
him Bd. for the cap. He also said be had taken a
good many caps, leathers, and other things.
Other evidence having been given,
Mr. Platt addressed the jury, contending that
Harrison had received the caps under miszepresen-
tations by Price that his mother had made them,
and, being in distress, was compelled to sell them
at a sacrifice.

A witness was called to contradict the boy, and
evidence to character was given.
The jury found Harrison guilty.
The prosecutor very kindly said if the court
would allow him to take the boy Price back into
his employment at • once he would do so, to afford
him still a chance of returning to paths of honesty
and becoming a good man.
The Assistant-Judge • said that was very credit-
able on the prosecutor's parr, and to enable him to
endeavour to carry out his good intention, he should
sentence the boy to three days' imprisonment,
which having already expired, dating from the coin-
mencement of the sessions, he would be at once dis-
charged, and given up to his friend, and the peril
he had been in—for he was liable to be transported
for 15 years for the offence he had committed—
would, he hoped, be a warning to him for the rest
of his life. With respect to Harrison, the case was
a very bad one, but he thought he could property
abstain from sentencing him to penal servitude.
Under the circumstances of his case, and taking
perhaps a too lenient view, he should sentence him
to be kept to hard labour for 15 calendar months.
John West was indicted for having stolen a truss
of hay, the property of Henry Hawker.
Mr. Gent prosecuted ; Mr. S. Carter appeared
for the prisoner.
The prosecutor is a hay-dealer, living at Har-
mondsworth, and the prisoner kept a public-house
at Crawford-bridge, Hounslow. The former bought
a rick of hay of the latter, which was upon his pre-
mises. The case against the prisoner was that he
had purloined some of the hay after it became the
property of the prosecutor. When accused of the
theft, the prisoner acknowledged it, and said he
hoped he should not be locked up.
The jury, after a long investigation, found the
prisoner guilty, but recommended him to mercy on
account of his former high character.
The Assistant Judge sentenced him to three
months' hard labour.