Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1889-10-17
CUMBERLAND COURTS.
THE WORK OF THE OCTOBER
TERM FINISHED.
The Prisoners Receive Their Sen
tences and Court AdjOurAs.


Stephen w. Arthur, indicted for steal
ing watch from Mrs. Elizabeth F.
Belknap, of Vineland. consumed the
criminal session of the Court this after.
noon.
Mrs. Belknap testified that on Sun
day, June 23d last, about o'clock in
the evening, Stephen w. Arthur, a
colored man in her employ, entered
her residence and took from a drawer
in her bureau a gold watch and chain;
the value of both was about $125. She
said she saw him enter the house at
the back door while she was in the
garden, but thinking he only entered
to get drink of water, took no notice
of it. The other doors of the house
were all locked. When she went to
get the watch to wind it on retiring
for the night, she discovered it was
gone. 1t was subsequently recovered
at a pawn brokers' on South street,
above 9Th Philadelphia, where it had
been pawned by Arthur's brother
Isaiah or his wife's brother David
Wright.
An immense amount of testimony
was produced which is OF very little
interest. The defense was that
Stephen Arthur had found the watch
and chain on Landis avenue. on Friday,
June 21st, that he had gone to Esquire
Brown on the next day and asked the
Squire what to do about it. The
Squire directed him to advertise it
and go to the Journal office to do so,
but not being able to find the Office he
told his brother Isaiah about it on
Monday. Isaiah went and got the
watch from Stephens wife, took it to
Herbert Mason for him to secure a
eward of $50, which had been offered in
an advertisement for its return, and got
Herbert to take it to the Journal office
to get the reward. Payment of the re-
ward was declined by Mrs. Belknap, and
the watch was returned to Isaiah, who,
together with David Wright, accom-
panied by Stephen, took it to Phila-
delphia and pawned it for $500.
Isaiah gave the pawn ticket to w.
Berault, ESQ.,. Mrs. Belknap's lawyer,
and the watch and chain were re-
covered.
The witnesses included large por-
tion of Vineland's colored population,
some of them being card-readers and
fortune-tellers, whose aid had been in
voked in recovering the watch. The
case had got about half through when
court adjourned last night.
These proceedings were being had
in the Grand Jury room before Judge
Hoagland, while the Circuit court issue
of the Tyler-Cook VS. ). J. Reeves case
was being tried in the court room.
THURSDAY MORNING.
The case Of the State against Stephen
w. Arthur was resumed in the Grand
Jury room this morning before Judge
Hoagland. The case of John Tyler,
Jr., Assignee of I. O. s. Cook, against
Jas. j. Reeves, Executor of David
Rose, was continued before Judge
Reed in the court room; the evidence
for the plaintiff not being all in yester-
day it is thought the case will not be
concluded to-day. Harry Sharp was
brought before Judge Hoagland and
retracted the plea of not guilty to the
Indictment found against him, and
pleaded guilty. George Robbins re-.
tracted his plea of not guilty and
pleaded guilty to the indictment for
assault and battery found against him.
James Keen, John Ryan and William
Garrison all retracted their pleas of
not guilty to the indictments charging
them with keeping disorderlY house
and all entered pleas of guilty.
The Arthur case was resumed, the
first witness called being Mrs. Elizabeth
Arthur for the defense. She is the
wife of the prisoner.
She said that Mrs. Belknap told her
that she had lost her watch on the
street, she thought near the Baptist
Church, Mrs. Belknap told her, she
said, that she had some eggs in pocket
which had got broken, and stepping
out on the grass to throw the eggs from
her pocket, she supposed she must
have lost the watch from her bosom.
The defense rested and David
Wright and Isaiah Arthur were called
| in rebuttal.
Wright related about going to the
city to pawn the watch. He said he
pawned it himself and gave the money
to Stephen, who was with him at the
| time.
Isaiah Arthur was recalled, and said
that the prophetesses, Mrs. Smith and
Mrs. Miller, had told him that they had
cut the cords and tossed the caps for
Mrs. Belknap, and told her that five
head" were concerned with the watch,