PETERSFIELD
PETTY SESSIONS, Tuesday:—Present: Sir J. CLarke Jervoise, Bart., M.P., J. Bonham Carter, M.P., and J. Waddington, Esq.
— James Parfoot, 19, and George Wooldridge, 17, two tramps, were brought up in custody, charged with stealing at Cold Ash, near Liphook. on Thursday last, one twill slop, value 2s., the property of James Elston. Prisoners were seen by two of complainant’s daughters to take the slop from the door of the house and walk off with it, Parfoot putting it on over his own dress. The young women ran out. and demanded it, and one of them followed the prisoners for a short distance on the road, but they refused to give it up. Walter Lee, police constable of Liphook, on being informed of the occurrence went in pursuit, and overtook them the other side of Hindhead. They had previously disposed of the slop to a man on the road, from whom the policeman received it. He took them into custody and brought them to Petersfield station. On being asked in the usual way if they wished to be tried by the Bench, or preferred being sent for trial by a jury at Winchester, Parfoot elected the former and pleaded guilty, but Wooldridge said it didn’t matter to him, and he refused to express any choice about it. The Magistrates, after giving him several opportunities of making his choice, at length committed him for trial at the Quarter Sessions. Parfait was sentenced to 14 days’ imprisonment with hard labour. It transpired that Wooldridge had only just finished a term of six month’s imprisonment, and as his trial on the present charge can hardly come on at the Quarter Sessions now being held, he will get three months’ imprisonment previous to his trial, whereas if he had elected to be tried by the Bench he would have been at large again in a fortnight.
— ANOTHER TRAMP STEALING TROUSERS AT HORNDEAN—Thomas Karn, another tramp, was charged with stealing a pair of cloth trousers, value 16s., belonging to Charles Day. Complainant and prisoner had slept in the same room at the Red Lion, Horndean, on Wednesday night, 30th Dee. The former got up in the morning and went to his work, leaving prisoner in bed. In the course of the day he returned home, and missed his trousers. Police Constable Henry Grant went in pursuit of prisoner, and found him at the Globe public house, at Portsmouth, with the trousers on. He charged him with stealing them from the Red Lion, at Horndean. Prisoner said be had not been near the Red Lion, but had walked that day from Aldershot. The evidence having been gone through prisoner pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment with hard labour.
— TAKING A RABBIT FROM A WIRE.—Levi and George Voller (brothers) are charged on the information of Benjamin Wells with taking a rabbit from a wire on the 23rd of Dec., at eleven o’clock at night, in a field called Mill Field, in the parish of Chalton, in the occupation of Mr. Thomas Boys. Levi did not appear, as the summons could not be served on him. It appeared from the evidence that Benjamin Wells, James Webb, and George Piercy were watching certain wires which had been set for rabbits by order of Mr. Boys, when about eleven o’clock p.m., it being bright moonlight, they saw the two defendants in the field, about 150 yards from where they (the watchers) were lying. They saw them come along the hedge where the wires were set, stooping and examining them as they passed along, till they came to one in which was a live rabbit. They both stooped down to this, which was about 27 yards from the watchers, and Levi rose up with a rabbit in his hand. The watchers then came out and spoke to them, when Levi ran away and Webb pursued him. After running about 60 yards he threw the rabbit down. Webb still followed, and after a chase of about 200 yards he caught him. The other defendant did not attempt to run away, and was identified by George Piercey, who remained with him till Webb returned with Levi. Piercey deposed that George Voller struck him on the head with a stick, and this without a word being said on either side. Webb also deposed that Levi struck at him when he attempted to take him. Defendant was sentenced to three weeks’ imprisonment with hard labor, and at the expiration of that time to find sureties to the amount of £10, in addition to his own recognizance of £10, not to repeat the offence within one year from that time; and in default of finding such sureties to be imprisoned for a further period of six months. Mr. Bonham Carter, in passing sentence, told defendant that he had narrowly escaped a much severer punishment, for it the blow which he had struck the witness Piercy had been given with a heavier stick—that is, with what is designated in the Act a “bludgeon”—he would have rendered himself liable to seven years’ transportation
— NEGLECTING TO TRIM UP A HEDGE.—Mr Jeremiah Samuel Stubbington, District Surveyor to the Catherington Board of Highways, appeared in support of a summons charging Mr. Walter Symington, of North House, with not pruning and cutting a certain hedge on land in his occupation, whereby a certain highway was injured and obstructed. Defendant did not appear. Service of summons having been proved, Mr. Stubbington deposed that the road in question was one leading from Clanfield to Hambledon. The hedge of which he complained was 284 yards in length, and overhung the road 5 feet 3 inches, the road being in some places only 19 feet wide. The Magistrates, after hearing complainant’s statement, made an order to cut and trim the hedge on or before the 16th January inst.