The Sun.
London, England, 1868-09-21 00:00:00

211 E CASE OF JAMES BELL.

It will he remembered that on the 28th of March
last a young man named James Bell was convicted
at the Middlesex Sessions, and sentenced to live
years' penal servitude for sheep stealing. The evi-
dence given on that occasion was to the effect that
the prisoner was a cattle drover, in the service
of a Mr. Goodge, who was employed by Alessr°.
Elmore and Co., meat salesmen, in Pewter Platte',:
yard, to drive 58 lambs to their slaughter-hOO°—
on the 27th of February. On their arrival 13elistig;
gested to his master that the lambs should be counte
adding, " lest some should be taken away ill th;
;
night." They were accordingly counted, and it
the following morning twelve had been stole".
to
was afterwards stated by three policemen that the
saw the prisoner driving some lambs &col the
direction of the yard to the Islington-market stil%
e°
o'clock the same morning, and he was given ilit
custody. At the station-house he asked a boy'
tell his mother that he was " nicked" for the
~,.
sheep. At the trial his father, mother, and brother'
in-law were called, and stated that the priselleo
was in bed at the time he was sworn to ba,',
been driving the sheep. The jury disbelieve'
the alibi, and the prisoner was sentenced
to five years' penal servitude by the As3istalt
Judge (Sir William Bodkin). Immediately after ther-
sentence, Mr. Guerrier, a salesman, believingt.bee-if
had been a miscarriage of justice, interested hi'aie
in the case, and spared no endeavours to get at re,
truth. Through his exertions and those of the "Is
latives of the prisoner Bell, they learnt that hew4,3l
perfectly innocent of the charge, and that the r"
culprits were Thomas Daley and Edwin Wilider,
who had since been convicted of sheep-ates Lit
and Frederick Winder, the brother of the 'Telg
named. On the 28th of August last Frecle iocr
Winder was brought before Mr. Sergeant ling
at the Middlesex Sessions, charged with stes jets
39 sheep belonging to Henry Cook. The e°11:090
Daley and Edwin Winder were then made witness
against him, and they proved conclusively that • a
oth3
were the real thieves, and that Bell had 0-; take
whatever to do with the robbery. The 133'5aed
had arisen through Bell being very like I)3l:.Ye'ltivg
0
through the witnesses for the alibi preva""` i3ce
in some essential particulars. Bell was at -or
liberated after having served six months'
tll'
prisonment, and Messrs.. Elmore, the prosp-ic,,ilaced
took him into their service. The judge sent
Winder to 14 years' penal servitude, it „co
proved by Inspector Thomson that he had "the
a sheep-stealer for years. Mr. Guerrier'
cur,
salesman, had been put to great expense in se r
o\l.
ing Bell's liberation, and Mr Alderman Lusk-, base
had applied to the Home Secretary to reini
leL
these expenses. On Monday last he received art gr,
ter from Mr. Adolphus Liddell, stating th 3,, to
Secretary Hardy was prepared to reconuneu"errier
the Lords of the Treasury to repay to Mr.
whatever reasonable and proper expenses de'
have incurred in convection with this case, &tailed
siring him to furnish, with that view, S(X
retarY
account of the money so expended to the
of the Treasury.

PLOUGH Tile?
PLOUGHING MATCHES.—At Warwick, on - 4t
day last, awl at Faringdou, on Thursday, all the
131P,0
prizes iu the men's classes were won With 14115°°
ploughs.