235. WILLIAM HICKES proceedingsdefend and HENRY HALL proceedingsdefend were indicted for making an assault on the king's highway on William Reading proceedingsvictim , on the 11th of February , and putting him in fear and feloniously taking from his person and against his will, a black silk cloak, value 2 s. a cotton shawl, value 2 s. three dimity petticoats, value 1 s. a check linen apron, value 6 d. a cradle linen quilt, value 6 d. and an horn lanthorn, value 6 d. the goods of the said William Reading < no role > .

WILLIAM READING < no role > sworn.

I am a coachman to Mr. Tootelle, Swinton-street, Battle-bridge; my wife and I had some friends to see us last Monday week and they stopped while past twelve o'clock at night, I went home with them; my wife lent them some things to go home with, it had just gone twelve o'clock when I went from Charlotta-street, I went therefrom into Islington; I went through the endof Islington down the City Road; when I got home with them I returned and I had a lanthorn, but the wind was so very high that it went out, and I asked one of the watchmen to light my candle; after that I walked down the city Road and a little before I came to the Shepherd and Shepherdess I was met with by three men, they first passed me and then one came fast back and seized me by the collar, and the other two came back and drew their cutlasses, and took the bundle away from me; the person that laid hold of my collar took the bundle away, and gave it to William Hicks < no role > , the person that took it away appeared to me to be like a sailor and said, we must have this; he had a brown jacket on, after he took the bundle he unbuttoned my waistcoat and asked me if I had any money? after he had searched my pockets I asked him if he would shake hands with me? he said, no, I will not shake hands with you; William Hicks < no role > came up to me and said, I will shake hands with you if he will not; after I had shaked hands with him I parted from them and I went about twenty yards from them, I went back and I asked for my lanthorn, and they told me to go along about my business or they would cut me down; after that I crossed the road and went by the end of St. Luke's, and I told the watchman I had been stopped by three footpads and that they did not strike me; I went then along Old-street road, across Clerkenwell-green to Battle-bridge; I went to Swinton-street and I saw no light there, and I went to my wife, and I went and told my fellow servant in the morning that I had been stopped by three men, and that they had taken the bundle from me.

Q. Did you know these men before? - I never saw them before.

Q. At what time was it? - It was very near one; it was star light and very windy.

Q. Were the men disguised at all? - The man that came to me first had on a brown jacket, and the person that stood behind my back had a dark drab great coat, and the other person had a lighter great coat on, rather taller than he that had the jacket on.

Q. How long were they robbing you? - They might be about five minutes.

Q. Five minutes is a long while. - The first man that came was dressed in a brown jacket, he had a round hat, they all three of them drew their cutlasses, and the man that stood behind me had a round hat on with a drab great coat, the other that stood by the side of him he had on rather a lighter drab coat, they had all round hats, the person that had the light drab coat on he had his hair tied, the other person's hair was short.

Q. Was it a cloudy night? - It was rather cloudy, but it was star light.

Q. Was you alarmed? - I was; the person that was in a brown coat put his hand in my pocket.

Q. This was rather a darkish night and a late hour; was you sober? - I was very sober.

Q. How soon afterwards did you see these two men? - I saw him last Monday morning.

Q. Did you ever see him before the 11th of February? - No.

Q. Did you get any of your property found? - No, none of the property was found.

Q. Their hats was never off their faces? - Their hats were never off their faces, but I saw the person's face that shaked hands with me.

Q. You was not long shaking hands? - But when I asked the person that was in the jacket to shake hands with me, he said, no, go along or I will cut you down, make the best of your way; I observed the person's face that shakedhands with me; I looked him full in the face; I can swear to his face.

Q. But you had never seen that face before nor for a week afterwards? - I saw it the very night that he shaked hands, and I saw it the Monday afterwards.

Q. Do you mean to say that from the mere observation you made while he was shaking hands with you enabled you to swear to his face? - I know it is the same person.

Q. Are you in place now? - Yes.

Q. Was you in place then? - I was.

Q. Who do you live with? - I live with Mr. Tootelle, in Swinton-street; I have lived with him between three or four months.

Q. You have heard there is a reward in these cases? - I never did.

Q. How long have you lived in London? - About seven or eight years; I lived between four or five years at Tottenham High Cross, and I lived at Southgate some time.

Q. Have you been a coachman all that time? - Yes.

Q. Who have you drove for the last three years? - I drove for Mr. Minett, he had a house in Old Broad-street; I never heard any thing of the kind of a reward.

Q. Have you had any conversation with Blackiter concerning a reward? - I have not, I never saw him till Monday.

Q. Did you never hear him say there was forty pounds for each of them if convicted? - I never heard any thing of that kind; I have heard of rewards if any body took any body; I never heard of any reward by any conviction of any person; I have heard of a reward offered in the papers if people were taken.

Q. You are the person that brought these people here? - I was the person that told the officer in the Old City Road the circumstance that happened to me and the next morning it was put in the papers.

Q. How came you just now to tell me that you never heard of a reward? - I did not understand you at first, I have heard of a reward as far as this, that there is a reward offered for taking of people.

Q. You can read? - I am not a very good scholar, I never understood any thing but it was for the taking of a person.

Q. None of your property has ever been found? - No, none.

Mr. Knowlys. You told us you did not see Blackiter till last Monday? - The last Monday of all.

Q. You do not misunderstand me that it was the last Monday? - I do not.

Q. Pray when were these men examined before the magistrate? - On Tuesday.

Q. You was no time in company with Blackiter at all? - When I went to Worship-street, I drove my master to Finsbury-square, and I left the coach and horses in Finsbury-square while I went to the office to see these people.

Q. How came you to know the people were taken up? - There was one of the officers came to Swinton-street, to let me know in the morning; they told me they had taken up some men and they wished me to go and look at them, and when I went on Monday morning I left the coach and horses in Finsbury-square, and I looked at the men, I saw them both; I saw them at the public house adjoining the justice's office in Worship-street.

Q. Who was with you then? - The officer was walking about the public house.

Q. How long did you stay in this public house in the company of the officer? - I was there to the best of myknowledge ten minutes or a quarter of an hour.

Q. These men were taken up for examination that day? - They were, but I could not stop, I was afraid something would happen to my coach and horses, they were waiting in Finsbury square; they were taken on suspicion of robbing me; and when I saw them, I knew them to be the same persons that robbed me.

Q.You knew before you went before the magistrate; you had seen these men, and were told they were taken up on your account? - They were taken up on suspicion of robbing another person.

Q. Blackiter shewed you a coat, did not he? - He did.

Q.Which he told you belonged to Hicks? - He did not tell me who it belonged to, when he shewed it to me.

Q. How often did he shew it to you? - He only shewed it to me once, he brought the coat into the tap room, and he said, do you know any thing of this coat.

Q. This was Mr. Blackiter's private examination before you went before the justice to be examined? - Blackiter brought the coat to me, and asked me if I know any thing about it, I said that is the lightest coloured coat, I would not go to say any thing that was wrong.

Q. What other things did Blackiter point out to you, before you went to the justice at this private rehearsal on Monday? - Nothing else.

Q. How many other of these persons, officers as you call them, was you sitting in company with at the public house? - I was not in company with any of them, I was walking about the room, first in one room and then in another.

Q. You told my lord you never heard of a reward; you lived at South-gate some time? - I did.

Q. That is not far from Finchley Common, and Finchley Common is a very common place for robberies? - It may be so for what I know, I don't recollect any just now.

Court. Are you positive as to Hicks? - I am positive.

Q. Where you always positive? - I was positive since he shaked hands with me.

Q. Have you always said that you was positive as to Hicks? - Yes, always.

Q. Was you positive before the magistrate? - Yes.

Q. Did you swear positive? - I did.

Q. When you was examined before the justice, they took down your very words and you signed your examination; you swear that you verily believe according to the examination? what makes you more positive than you was a week ago? - The more I see that man's face the more it strikes me.

Q. You know there was a hat on his forehead? - I looked him full in the face when he shaked hands with me.

WILLIAM BLACKITER < no role > sworn.

I had an information that William Reading < no role > had been robbed; I went to a house in St. Luke's, the Golden Hind, in Allen-street, in Goswell-street; it is a house where very few people resort but thieves; I went there and I saw the two prisoners there; William Reading < no role > said he was robbed by three men; there were two men in dark coloured coats, one a little taller than the other, and one with a sailor's jacket on; but the one with the sailor's jacket on was not there; he gave me no other description than that, I knew the persons before; I took Hall to New Prison, Hicks called himself the landlord of the house, and I was in doubt about it till I went out; coming back from the prison I went and took Hicks. On Monday morning they came up for examinationbefore the magistrate, the servant that was robbed came to Worship-street, and he did not stay five minutes, I lost him; I did not know where he was gone to; the magistrate sent for him to come up the next day at eleven o'clock, and he came, he said before the magistrate that he had his doubts about Hall being the man; he believed that Hicks was the man that shaked hands with him.

Q. How came you to slip out that word believe? - I did not hear him say believe; he said of Hicks that that was the man.

Q. Did he sware positively to Hicks? - He swore that was the man that shaked hands with him; he declared that he had his doubts about Hall, because he stood behind the sailor. While they were at the office the justice ordered us to go and search the house, to see if we could find any goods, any thing of the robbery; Armstrong, Harper, Ray and I went and searched the house, we found these two slicks, and facing the door of the cellar in the yard, I found these three cutlashes, with about a wheel-barrow full of stuff over them.

Q. Who keeps the house? - Mrs. Lucas, she is a widow woman; her husband is in trouble for debt; this house is a common resort for thieves, and finding a man there in dark coloured clothes I took him immediately.

Q. The prosecutor did not pretend to have the least doubt in the world before the magistrate about Hicks? - No, not the least in the world.

Q. Was the examination read to him? - It was.

Mr. Knowlys. You have been in this way of business a long time, how many years? - About ten or twelve years.

Q. You have got to the New Police office now; is it your practice before persons go before the magistrate to produce every thing to them, and examine them? - Not in general.

Q. Therefore of course you produced nothing to this man, to ask his opinion about it? - I never saw the prosecutor till he came before the magistrate; I never saw till Monday.

Q. How came you first of all to say that you did not see him till he came before the magistrate? - I mean that he was at the office door, and the magistrate was not come then, and he went away again, and he was remanded on Tuesday.

Q. Mr. Blackiter be a little correct, because you know what evidence is; how came you to say that you did not see him before he came before the magistrate? - I did see him, but I said so because he did not see the magistrate at all on Monday.

Q. Now we will try a little more of you. You say then you never produced property before a person, till he appears before the justice? - No sir, I never examine before the magistrate.

Q. Nor did you in this instance? - I never saw the man before.

Q. Is that an answer to my question? then you never produced any thing before him for his opinion before the Tuesday that he was before the magistrate? - No.

Q. Then if he has sworn that you did, he has lied most abominably. - I never saw him on Monday, only he came into the public house and went out again, he told what he had lost then, and that was all that passed.

Q. Now this man had no knowledge whatever of any reward? - I never told him there was a reward.

Q. Is there any man more likely to know of a reward than a coachman driving on the road? - I don't know.

Q. Do not you know, that there is a reward of 80 l. if these two men are convicted? - Certainly.

Q. How long have you been in your situation, as a person apprehending people that committed robberies? - Ten or twelve years.

Q. How came you first of all to say that the man said he believed? - Upon my word I should be very sorry to say any thing that was not truth.

Q.Don't you know that in relating the difference between the man's believing and being positive, stands all the chance of receiving the 40 l. or not? I will have an answer. Do not you know that if the man only swears that he believes, you are not so likely to receive the reward, as if he swore positively? don't that make all the difference of the chance? - As for the reward, I would not wish to take any reward.

Q. Will you give me an answer? - Yes, I do.

Q. Why it comes from you like a drop of blood? - The man said every time he looked on Hicks, he knew him more and more.

Court. Had you any conversation with the prosecutor on Monday? - I asked him if he had been robbed on Monday? and he said yes, but I did not even ask the prosecutor what he lost on Monday; it was not the prosecutor that gave the information.

JOHN RAY < no role > sworn.

I am an officer belonging to Worship-street, I know nothing about the robbery; I was only at the apprehending of the men.

Q. What was their description? - I did not know their description before I went.

William Hicks < no role > GUILTY . Death . (Aged 23.)

Henry Hall. Not GUILTY .

Tried by the first Middlesex Jury, before Mr. COMMON SERJEANT.