524. JOSEPH HICKMAN proceedingsdefend and JAMES DYER proceedingsdefend were indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 24th day of March last, one hundred and fifty pounds weight of lead, value 20 s. belonging to the Rev. Carrington Garrick proceedingsvictim , clerk , and then and there affixed to a certain building called Hendon Church, of the said Carrington Garrick, then and there being, feloniously did steal, take, and carry away .

A Second Count, laying the lead to be the property of John Bond proceedingsvictim and Ralph Mitcheson proceedingsvictim , the church-wardens , as church-wardens.

A Third Count, laying the lead to be the property of the inhabitants and parishioners of the said parish.

The witnesses examined apart at the request of the prisoners.

JOHN BOND sworn.

I am one of the church-wardens of the parish of Hendon ; on the 24th of March last, the prisoners were both taken with a quantity of lead upon them; I was in town, the plumber came to me, and informed me on the 25th; I went down to Hendon to examine whether the lead was belonging to the church or not, it corresponded exactly; we have found all the lead since by information of a man who is in Court, one Lively, we found it in a dunghill in Edgware-road.

THOMAS JONES < no role > sworn.

I am a plumber at Hendon on the 26th of March last, I was called on by Mr. Bond, the church-warden, to try some pieces of lead which had been found on some people that had been taken up; I had leaded this church before, here is a piece now in Court which matched exactly, and corresponded.

(The piece produced.)

Mr. Bond. It has been in my custody; I marked the lead with my own name, and I left it with a gentleman here in town.

Mr. Jones. I applied it and it corresponded exactly; I have no reason to doubt but it is the very same lead that was on the church.

WILLIAM RUTHERFORD < no role > sworn.

I am an inhabitant of one of the bye lanes on the Edgware road; on the 24th of March last, just turned eleven in the forenoon, I saw the two prisoners coming down the bye lane facing my door; I keep the Harp on the Edgware road; they had two bags, like carpenter's nail bags, as I suppose they had been formerly; I had some suspicion of them, and I watched them about two hundred yards from my house, they got out of the road over a gate, and in about a quarter of an hour these two men came by my house without the bag, I went and searched for the lead, and in a field I found a bag with two sheets of lead; Sermon found a bag over the hedge; these are the men that had these two bags on their backs.

Are you sure they were the same bags? - Yes, I am.

Prisoners. By what marks do you know the lead? - I know I saw you carry it.

THOMAS HAWKINS < no role > sworn.

I was in company with the last witness in searching for lead; I was coming along the Edgware road, near the five mile-stone, on the 24th of March, I stopped for a pint of beer, the two prisoners came by empty handed, going towards the country, the landlord came in and asked me if I saw them, he said they had been by before, loaded with lead or copper; we went together, and took a pair of pistols with us, and searched a barn, and up came another young fellow, and asked us what we were after, we told him, and he helped to search after it; I was not present when the lead was found.

JOSEPH SERMON < no role > sworn.

I was present with Rutherford in searching for some lead, I was coming down the road, and Rutherford and Hawkins were seeking for something; I asked them what they were seeking for; he said, here is a man has used Mr. Rutherford ill; I got over to them, we looked round, and I found a bag laying in a ditch, and I pulled it out, the bag contained lead, but I cannot say the weight of it; Hawkins and I went in pursuit of these two men, and took them at a public house, better than a mile off, they denied it very strong.

Prisoner. I suppose Rutherford is a man that will say any thing, he has two young men here, that I never saw, that will take my life away.

MARY BATT < no role > sworn.

On the 24th of March, a man in a lightish coloured coat threw a bag off his shoulders, and covered it over with some dung.

Court. Can you say it was the prisoner? - No.

Then you need not be examined.

JOHN LIVELY < no role > sworn.

Do you know either of the prisoners at the bar? - Yes, my Lord, I was here last sessions for a small trifle, and I laid in the same ward with them.

Court. Was you tried here? - Yes.

Was you convicted? - No; when I was coming out after my trial, they asked me if I would dispose of a quantity of lead for them.

Which asked you, both, or one of them? - Both of them; they said they believed there was about six hundred weight of it, if I would take it and carry it to Oxford-road and sell it; I went there, and took a man with me, and I was detected and stopped between Kilbourn and Paddington; we were taken to the watch-house, and from the watch-house to the Rotation Office, then to New Prison; and they advertised the lead, and they could not make it out, so they discharged us: after we were discharged, we went and looked for more, and there we found three hundred weight more; then we went and acquainted the Gentlemen of the Parish, I went to Mr. Bond's house.

Court to Bond. Was this last lead applied? - We applied part of it.

Prisoner. What he says is very false, this young man lay in the upper ward, and I never changed ten words with him.

Lively. You lay by me every night.

Court to Jones. Does this lead appear to have come from the church? - It appears to me to be the same kind of lead; but there is some deficiency in the quantity, the last witness says he was detected with two hundred and a half, which I have not seen.

Court. Have any of the witnesses a knowledge of these two men at the bar.

Bond. I know the man with the cut lip, that is Dyer, I have seen him loitering about the roads frequently.

Prisoner Dyer. I never was there in my life.

PRISONER HICKMAN's DEFENCE.

I was out of work, and this young man asked me to go and seek for work, so we went to Mr. Rutherford's house, and I came into the road again, and I went to have a pint of beer, and we drank it and called for another; these gentlemen came up and said, I take you into custody on suspicion of stealing lead; I asked him what he took me for, he could not say, and the justice committed me.

Jury to Rutherford. Did you take them into custody? - Yes.

The prisoner Hickman called one witness, who gave him a good character.

Court. In my apprehension it cannot be the property of the vicar, for he has no freehold, and this is a part of the freehold: it would not have been an indictable offence, if it had not been for this act of Parliament, it was therefore necessary to have a special law for the purpose. If the indictment is to be supported at all, it must be on the third count; but whether by coupling inhabitants with parishioners will prevent them from being convicted under it, will be the subject of a future enquiry.

BOTH GUILTY .

Sentence respited till next Sessions .

Tried by the first Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Baron PERRYN < no role > .