Star.
London, England, 1802-03-11 00:00:00

NORTHAM P I'ON ASSIZES.

On Tnefday a caufe was tried of great impor-
tance to the public, wherein Mr. Thomas Pirkins'
farmer and grazier, of Eaftcote, Northampton-
(hire, was Plaintiff, and William Watkins, mer-
chant, of Bedford, Defendant. The action was
brotight to recover the fum of 351. I9c. tld. being
the balance the for fome vetches and peas fold by
him to Jonathan Tebbutt, the Defendant's agent,
at Blifworth, and delivered at the warehnuies there.
after deduding the price of a load of coals, re-
ceived
in return. The Defendant refiftel this de-
mand, and attempted to prove that Tebbutt was
his agent for one purpnfe, but not for another;
and, as fuch, that he was not liable. It appeared,
however, that, on Tebbutt's abfconding, the De-
fendant hisdelf came to Blifworth, ordered the
wareboufes to be locked up, and the property to
be taken care of,afterwards hired teams and canfed
all the corn (amongft which was a part of the
vetches and peak as well as the Plaintiff's lacks)
to be conveyed to his own houfe, at Bedford. The
Jury, therefore, gave a verciiC for the Plaintiff
for his whole demand, and cods of fuit.

HERTFORD ASSIZE. 3, MARCH 9.
MAIL ILOBEERY.

games Snool was indified for felonioufly affaulting
on the King's highway John Stevens, the poll-
boy, who was employed to convey the letter-bags
from Tring to Hemel Hempfied ; putting him in
fear ofhis life, and taking from him the laid let-
tef-bags.
The darknefs of the night prevented Stevens
from having fuch a view of the robber as to be able
to identify the perfon of the prifoner ; but the fol-
lowing chain of circumfiantial eviderca was rub-
mined to the Jury, to guide their determination as
to the guilt of the prifoner:—
Several witneffes proved that he had been teen
in the neighbourhood a few days before the rob-
bery, riding upon an iron•grey horfe, and one of
them had met him cobbling the girths of the fad-
dle which had been broke. The morning after
the robbery, an iron-grey horfe, the fame de-
fcription, and a (addle, the girths of which had
been broken and unficilfully cobbled, were found,
with tome of the letter-bags, in a field adjoining
to the place where the robbery was committed.
A confiderable number of witneffes were brought
forward on the part of the profecution, by whom
feveral of the notes that were taken out of the let-
ters in the bags were traced up to the prifoner,
who fent them into circulation the day after the
robbery. The circunillances of the prifoner being
poll-died of this property the day after the robbery,
his being a man of no vifible means of livelihood,
or poffibility of coming honeftly by thofe notes ;
his having difguifed himfelf by affuming different
names; having abfconded, and at the time of his
arrell having a brace of pifiols in his pockets; to•
gether with the general evidence of his having been
Peen in that neighbourhood a few days previous to
the robbery, formed fuch a mars of circumflantial
evidence, that the Jury, without hefitation, found
him Guilty.
Juftice HEATH, in his addrefs to the p: ironer,
previous to palling fentence upon him, obferred,
that there would be no fecurity for the lives or
properties of his Majeffy's good fubi ~:ts, if the
midnight depredator was lure of efcaping the juf-
tice of the country, when he had concealed his
perfon either by the darknefs of the night, or under
a difguife ; he told him, that his clime was of a
nature fo deflruaive to fociety and the commercial
interells of this country, that he mull not flatter
himfelf with a thought of pardon.
The fentence was, that he Ihould be hanged
on Thurfday, near the fpot where be committed
the robbery.