The Proceedings of the Old Bailey

 

93.   THOMAS BISHOP was indicted for stealing, on the 8th of December last, twenty large garden mats, value 12 s. the goods of   Henry Hewitt ,   William Smith , and   John Harrison .

  HENRY HEWITT sworn.

I am a nursery man at  Brompton ; I have two partners,   John Harrison and   William Smith ; I lost two bundles of garden mats on Saturday the 8th of December; I set two men to watch,   Simon Abbot and   David Williamson , a little after nine, and they brought the prisoner whom they had detected stealing the mats.

  SIMON ABBOT sworn.

You was set to watch in Mr. Hewitt's grounds on the eight of December? - I was; on Saturday the 8th of December I was watching from a little after six to about seven; the prisoner went up into a window, to Mr. Hewitt's warehouse; I suppose it is about fourteen foot high; he got up the tiles of a shed, where there are coals kept, and he put out two bundles of mats to take away; it was dark we could not see them; but I saw him go up the shed; then I went to call my master Harrison; he was not in the way; while I was gone he came off the tiles, and my partner took him; I knowed him when he came down again, as he lived at Brompton.

  DAVID WILLIAMSON sworn.

I watched with the last witness; presently after we were on the watch, I was in the shed, the prisoner scrambled up upon the tiles of the shed, and went into a little hatch-door that goes into the warehouse; I saw him go up the tiles, but did not see him go into the door; he brought out two bundles of mats, and put them down on the shed, and laid them so that when he got down he might reach them; I went out of the shed, and secured him; laid hold of him as he was coming down; he made this excuse, he wanted lodgings; this was the very man I laid hold of; he has not been out of custody since; we went and brought the mats back again; I knew they were my master's.

PRISONER's DEFENCE.

I had been to Wimbledon; I was tired, and went there to rest myself an hour or two; as I was afraid of the dogs there, I did not stand up on the tiles, nor go into the window they speak of; I have no witnesses; they never saw me meddle with any thing of these people's property.

To Williamson.

Were the mats on the shed, or in the warehouse? - They were in the warehouse, not upon the shed.

Jury. Is that the usual way of putting out the mats from the warehouse? - No; it is not.

GUILTY .

Tried by the First Middlesex Jury, before Mr. RECORDER.