PETERSFIELD, Saturday, November 25.
PETERSFIELD PETTY SESSIONS, Tuesday.—Present, the Hon. J. J. Carnegie (chairman), Sir W. Kighton, Bart., M.P., Mr J. Bonham Carter, M.P., and Mr J. Waddington.
Trespass in Search of Game.—Jesse Stevens appeared upon a summons charged with being in pursuit of game on an allotment of land belonging to Ciddy Hall farm, in the parish of Liss, on the 7th of November.—Richard Thomas Legg Barnett deposed: I live at Liss, at the Railway Hotel. I caught the defendant on Tuesday, the 7th of November, upon land in the occupation of Mr. Nash, on Liss Common, with a gun in his hand, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, 74 yards from the road, crawling upon his hands and knees in the direction of a covey of partridges. I asked him two or three times for his name; he then told me. I took the gun from him, which was charged, and then charged him with being in pursuit of game.—Defendant said when he (witness) took it out of his hand he said it was in pretty condition. The gun had been charged seven weeks. He called John Knowles, who deposed; On the 7th of November I was on the Common, near the road, and I saw Mr. Barnett come out of a field through a hedge. Stevens was in the middle of the road. Mr. Barnett took the gun from him, and went back; it was about 3 o’clock.—Cross-examined: he was not quite upright. I could hardly see him. He was in the road to Hatch Gate. I swear he was not off the road.—Mr. Barnett was recalled, and said:I saw Stevens with another man an hour and a half. I took the gun from defendant 74 yards from the road. I measured the distance he had come out of Ciddy Hall Copse.—The witness Knowles, in reply to the magistrates, said: I was coming from Liss. Stevens was coming down the road. I had only seen him five minutes. I was 100 yards off.—The defendant was fined £1 1s. and 11s. 6d. costs, and, in default of payment, was sentenced to three calendar months’ imprisonment.
Night Poaching.—Henry Pennecott was brought up charged with night poaching on Sunday morning, the 19th of November, in the parish of Buriton.—Thomas Chitty deposed: I am under gamekeeper to Mr. Rowe. On Sunday morning, the 19th of November, I heard a gun discharged about twenty or thirty yards in a hedgerow belonging to Sir William Jolliffe. Mr. Rowe has the shooting. I saw the flash of the gun. I was in the meadow adjoining Nursted Copse. I went in the direction where I heard the gun, and saw defendant going away. I jumped the river and got before him. He had a gun, which I took from him. He gave me a pheasant. I searched him, and took him in charge. He said, ‟Steady, Tom.” I said, ‟All right.” When I heard the gun Buriton Church clock had struck about ten minutes. (The gun and pheasant were produced.) The pheasant was warm, and the gun had recently been discharged.—A previous conviction was proved by Police-constable Henry Elderfield, in October last, and prisoner was sentenced to three calendar months’ imprisonment with hard labour; at the expiration of that time to find sureties of £5 each for one year, in default, to a further imprisonment of six calendar months.