Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1862-01-23
Wise ann gtbermiss.
Ir. |


AN Francisco, in 1856. He went
0 seek his fortune, but found the
lephant. He saw the Scritter"
md, instead of digging for gold, !
made up his mind to s.dig out and
,ut for home. He arrived on
Tuesday last in Philadelphia ~
He is well known there, and has
always enjoyed a good character; |
and yet on Wednesday morning
he was arrested for stealing a
watch from Mr.. Benson, his neigh
Dor. The case was examined on
Thursday before magistrate.
estate your case, Mr.. Benson"
"Well, sir, / was at the railroad
depot on Tuesday last, waiting for
the cars to come in. While doing
this l felt somebody snatch my
watch. / Immediately turned
round and seizedshe prisoner, who
was thenearest man to me. Ithen
called for policeman"
"What then?"
awe took him to the station
house, where he was searched, and
the watch found upon his person.
"What is the value of t h e
watch?"
"Some thirty-fve dollars
''Such being the case, the offence
amounts to grand larceny. What
have you to say to the charge, Mr..
Stacey?"
"Nothing, except that / am as
innocent of the crime as you are. :"
Innocent? Nonsense! How
came NJ. Benson's watch in your
pocket" atiiead
"Can't say. All / know is that
it was found there"
And that you must allow is a
very strong confirmation of your
guilt"
81 know it, sir, and yet I'm in
inocent."
The protest, however, did not
avail much. The matter appeared
to be so clear and undisputed an
act of felony that the magistrate
commenced making out a commit
ment. Just as he was putting tail
to the last Y /, a green-looking Gus
toner gotup and asked the magis-
trate if he might shave a swear"
"In what case? tsEzl
"This one about the watch ,
What do you know about its'
administer the oath and then
you'll find out
The oath was administered, and
the examination resumed.
'What is,your nameY' 11ti1
civilian 2. Brown. ~.
"Where do you resides" as,
Gin G--st."
"Have you seen that watch?'''
ls'Yes stree! / have seen it on
two occasions-the last ime'when
it was taken from Stacey's pocket"
"Then you saw it, taken from
Stacey's pocket, did your"
81 did, sir; and l saw more, too.
I saw it go in there. = e.ll = 81
"This is very important, sir 90
You saw the watch taken from
Benson?" f.'' zsa { .stti7.'.
81 did, sir" :.
"And placedin Stacey's pocket?'
81 did, SIR ~
Here, Mr.. R, the counsel
for Benson. limited to the court
that the case might as well close,
as the felony had been proved be-
yond all questioning. The nagis-
trate, however, viewed matters diff
ferently, and decided to let Brown
have his "swear" out. T 800.
~Wcll, Brown, go on with your
story. You say you saw Stacey
place the watch in his poekets'
''No, stree; [ didn't say any
thing of the kind, because it was
not so"
'sNot so? What do you mean?1
Gust this; that Benson placed
the watch in Stacey's pocket him.
self, and then hollered '9Police!' !"
ssPossible?" - !sa9ii.s
Eyes, sir, But that amt all,
squire. [ know what he did it
for. Shall | tell your
''Do so, and in as few words as
possible.
ssFor the last fifteen months
Mr.. Benson has been running a
line with Stacey'swife, and he wish
es to keep up the fun for the re-
mainder of the season. To do
this pleasantly he wishes to get
Stacey out of the city,. To effect
this, he has fastened felony upon