266. JOHN WOODWARD proceedingsdefend was indicted for burglariously and feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling house of John Fordred proceedingsvictim , about the hour of twelve in the night, of the 23d of January , and feloniously stealing therein, a pair of mens leather shoes, value 5 s. and three pair of womens stuff shoes, value 10 s. the goods of the said John Fordred < no role > .

(The witnesses examined separate.)

JOHN FORDRED < no role > sworn.

I live at No. 430, Oxford-street, near Tottenham-court-road ; I am a shoemaker ; I went to bed about half after ten, on the 13th of January.

Q. Did you take care of the fastenings of your shop that night? - I do notusually, but that night I examined my house, about half past eight, just as the man had shut up the shop, I examined both of the shutters, and I found them safe; I left the door in the care of the man, he is not here.

Q. Did the man sleep in the house with you? - He did, I found the bolts of the shop window all safe; about half after twelve I was alarmed by the watchman, he is here; I went into the shop as soon as I could; I got out of bed as soon as I could, and looked and saw a hole made through the shop window, both through the window shutter and the glass; the shutter was not down, there was some goods on a show board, opposite to the pane which they broke; these goods where there in the day time, and left there at night; they took out the pannel of the shutter, which was about nearly a foot one way, and the length of my arm in length, as near as I can judge; the glass seemed to be broke with the hand thrust through it, the panes are very large sash glasses, much larger than the pannel of the shutter, not so long, but wider; so that any body putting in an arm through the fracture of the shutter, and through this pane could reach the goods which were in the show window with very great ease.

Q. Were the articles, which are mentioned in this indictment in this shop window? - They were standing in that window, the three pair of womens, I verily believe were standing, but one pair I am sure of; the mens I put there the day before myself; I am sure I had in that window that day the mens shoes.

Q. How did it appear that the pannel of the shutter had been broke, had it been cut out or knocked to pieces? - There was a hole made at the bottom of the pannel, and an iron crow put in there and raised it out; when I opened the door, they informed me there were two near the window. About ten o'clock the next day, Mr. Williams, one of the witnesses sent his man, to know if I had lost any shoes, I informed his man I had; Mr. Williams is no officer, he lives on the other side of the street higher up, no great way from me; I went and he shewed me four pair of shoes, one pair of leather shoes, and three pair of womens stuff, I knew them all, and before I went to Mr. Williams's, I had just recollected that pair in particular, as being the pair that was in the window. Mr. Williams gave the shoes into my hands; I have them here.

Q. No other violence was offered to your house? - No more.

Q. And you could not consequently lose any thing more, than what was within the reach of an arm? - No, I could not.

Q. Had the watchman, when he gave you this alarm, any body in his custody? - He told me he had a man in custody, but I did not see the prisoner till I saw him at the watch-house. (Produces the shoes and deposes to them.) There is no mark in the mens shoes, there is a hole in the flap which I observed, when they were brought in from the binder, a fault in the leather, which the white leather should have covered, but it did not; I observed that hole when they were cut out, and I supposed that the white leather would have covered it, but it did not.

Q. At what time had you put that pair of shoes, or remember to have seen them in your shop window? - I think it was sometime in the afternoon; I am certain it was before dusk.

Q. In the same window that was broke? - Near the spot; I have no mark on the womens shoes, whereby I know them to be mine, only that they are my father's manufactory, he is not here; Ijudge of them from the knowledge of the manufactory, I think it is the first I ever had of him, I assisted him sometime before I was in business myself.

Q. How long had you had these shoes of your father? - Not more than two months.

Q. Where had they been usually put? - Some of them were put in the window, I can undertake to say, that they were a part absolutely that I had of my father; my father does not make himself, but I had knowledge of the workmen for several years; two pair of them were made by two different workmen that I know, the other pair I cannot so positively speak to.

Prisoner. Is the prosecutor the proper owner of the shoes? - The shoes are my property; I have no partner; I have only the lower part of the house, Mr. Clarke has the whole house, and lets it out in two parts, and I have the lower part; there is nobody lives in the upper part, and it was empty at that time; Mr. Clarke does not live in the house, nor any of his family; I sleep in a bedroom backward behind the parlour.

Q. Is there more than one entrance to the house? - There are two, one for the shop, and one also for the use of the upper part of the house, I use both, they are both at the front, one is on the right hand side of the shop quite detached from the shop, we make use of that after the shop is shut up to go to our other apartments.

- HAYNES sworn.

I am a settled watchman of Mary-le-bone Parish; just after I had finished crying twelve, on Wednesday the 23d of January, I was in Oxford-street, a little below Rathbone-place, and I heard something crack at the bottom of the road, on the right hand side, I went down to see what it was, and saw the pannel of a shutter broke; it was as near as I can guess about two hundred yards from where I was standing at the bottom of Rathbone-place; I went down, I went immediately by the other side of the road, and I saw it was the shoemaker's, I observed the pannel of the shutter lifted out from the bottom, and the glass broke the same way, I went a little way up Oxford-street, and I saw this young man and another, a little way from the crack; I saw two persons standing still, immediately I crossed to the other side of the way to my own parish to watch them, how they would proceed in the business; I saw these two persons go, this prisoner and the other to the shop window, I am sure he is one of them, and I saw him put his arm in, and I went to him, and I catched him with his arm in, he had not taken any thing when I caught him; immediately he drew his arm out of the window, and chucked something over his shoulder from the window; this other man that was along with him took over to the other side of the way, which was in Mary-le-bone Parish, there was nobody with me; then one of the witnesses picked up what the prisoner threw away.

Q. When you laid hold of him, and he had got his arm in the window, did you then see any thing in his hand? - I did not observe any thing, but I am sure I observed him throw something from him, but what that was I did not then see; I gave an alarm, and there was our patrole came, and was with me after I had taken him, and sprung the rattle.

Q. How long was it after your hearing the crack of the shutter, that you went down there? - I went immediately.

Q. Did you see any body at the window before you came up? - I did not.

Prisoner. It is of no service of me putting to him any questions, he will continue in the same story for the purpose of swearing my life away, he has owed me a spite for this two years.

Court. Have you any spite or any ill will against this prisoner? - Never in my life; I never had any quarrel with him in my life; I always knew him to be a very hard working lad, and before this time, I looked upon him as well as my own brother, and would do any thing for him as far as laid in my power.

Jury. Have you had any quarrels? - Never in my life, since I have known him, and I have known him now going on twelve or fourteen years, and I always thought well of him before this transaction.

Q. How long have you been a watchman? - About four years.

JOSEPH CALLOWE < no role > sworn.

I live in Mary-le-bone; I am a patrole among the watchmen; I have eight men that are under my care. On the night of the 23d of January, I was going down Oxford-road, and this Thomas Haynes < no role > told me that he had a suspicion of something going forward in the St. Ann's side of the road; the watch had called twelve, and he called me over, and I saw a hole in the shutter in which I could put my two fingers in, it was cut with some instrument, the whole pannel was not wrenched out at that time.

Q. Did you see any persons standing in the neighbourhood of this place? - Not at this time, I did afterwards; then I went to two or three watering houses, that are about there, on the same side of the way; I wanted to see if we could see any suspicious people about, we could not; coming back an hackney coachman told me there was something going forward on the other side of the way, for he had heard a window broke, I was not absent above ten minutes, I returned, and Haynes was with me; Haynes went down St. Ann's side of the way, and I went down Mary-le-bone side, and Haynes took the man, and sprung his rattle; I did not see him lay hold of the man, it was the other side of the way, and I ran over to him.

Q. Had you yourself observed any persons at that time, on the side of the way that Haynes was of? - I had not; he sprung his rattle, and I went over to him, and the patrole of St. Ann's came up and Haynes, and the patrole of St. Ann's took him to St. Ann's watch-house; I saw nothing of any property at that time, the prisoner was the man he took.

Q. Was there any shoes produced that night? - I cannot say.

GEORGE SOLOMONS < no role > sworn.

I am a patrole belonging to St. Ann's. On the 23d of January, as I was coming along Oxford-street, I heard the rattle sprung, I ran out to where the rattles sprung, as I came up, the watchman Haynes had hold of the prisoner at the bar by the collar, it was just close by the prosecutor's shop, I asked him what was the matter? he said, he catched him with his hand in that window.

Court to Callowe. You said the first time you went down Haynes and you went over, and you then found a hole cut in the shutter, in which you could put two fingers, did you afterwards make any observation of the shutter before Haynes took hold of the man? - No.

Q. Did you make any observation of the shutter being more broke? - O yes, the pannel of the shutter was out, and a pane of glass broke.

Court to Solomons. Where had Haynes hold of the prisoner? - He was standing close by the shop of the prosecutor's.

Q. Did you take any notice of this shop? - I saw a great hole that I could put my arm in, in the shutter, and a pane of glass broke.

Q. Did you see any thing of any property then? - I did not then, I did the next day.

JOHN HAWTHORNE < no role > sworn.

I am a constable of the night; I had the prisoner given into my charge in the parish of St. Ann's watch-house.

WILLIAM WILLIAMS < no role > sworn.

I am a shoemaker; I live at No. 52, Oxford-street; I was coming past, on Thursday morning, the 23d of January, about twenty minutes before one, opposite the side where Mr. Fordred, the prosecutor lives, he lives on the left hand, on St Ann's side, and I live on the right, I was going from St. Giles's, to my own home; I crossed as I usually do, the end of Oxford-street from St. Giles's, because it is the cleanest, and my feet ran against something, I did not know immediately what it was, they were laying just as I was going across away from the small pavement way, to get from the Boar and Castle, from the end of the road to the Boar and Castle gate; I believe it is about thirty yards more towards Tottenham-court-road, than opposite Mr. Fordred's shop, not above fifty yards from Mr. Fordred's shop; they rather entangled over my ancle, I stopped to see what it was, it was a pair of shoes, and stooping I perceived there were three more pair, I found four pair, and I carried them home, three pair of womens stuff, and one pair of mens leather. The next morning I employed my young man to go and know if any house had been broke open, whether any body would own them, and I understand the first shop he went into, he saw Mr. Fordred, and he recognized them directly. I know the shoes again, they are the same shoes I found.

Q. What do you say on recollection concerning the distance of Mr. Fordred's house? - It was fifty yards; whoever must take them must have run towards Tottenham-court-road.

Court to Haynes. You swear that you saw two persons standing there in that neighbourhood, now when you laid hold of one of them, what became of the other? - He took the other side of the road, which way he went I cannot tell, my back was to him, when he took the other side of the road.

Q. You saw the prisoner chuck something over his shoulder, did you look to observe what became of that thing that he so chucked? - No.

Q. How near was the other man to the prisoner, when the prisoner chucked something over his shoulder? - Very near, close to him.

Q. Was it before the prisoner chucked something, or after, that the other man took the other side of the way? - After, I am sure of that.

Prisoner. When I was taken into custody for this robbery, I had been to a public house, where I had met several men that I worked with, who detained me drinking there quite late in the evening, and I departed from them, and was walking towards my own home; I was walking down Oxford street, and I saw a hole in the pannel of the shutter; I drew pretty near to see whether it was a hole or not, in the mean time I was looking at it, a man about twenty or thirty yards off walked very sharp away, in the mean time I was looking stedfast at it, that man came, and took me into custody, it is impossible to break a shutter, without having instruments. I have no witness.

GUILTY . Death . (Aged 21.)

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