268. (M.) FRANCIS MERCIER proceedingsdefend was indicted for stealing a chesnut gelding, value 20 l. the property of William Hudson proceedingsvictim , and a bay gelding, value 20 l. the property of Edward Elliot proceedingsvictim , Esq ; Dec. 7 . +

Matthew Emerson < no role > . I keep a riding school, and rent some grounds of Lord Holland, behind Holland-house : I lost from those grounds two horses; I think on the 6th of December: the one a chesnut gelding with a full tail, four years old coming five this grass, had a very small white streak under his forehead, the legs shaded with white, but not white, rather a lighter colour; the other had a black mane and tail, a full tail and no white about him; I described him in hand bills; he was coming fix this grass: that bay horse has been in my care these eighteen months; it is the property of Edward Elliot < no role > , Esq; I take in these horses to grass; the chesnut horse was the property of one Mr. William Hudson < no role > . I advertised them with their marks; we did not miss the chesnut horse first. I found the bay horse, which was particularly advertised, on the 8th; he was taken away we suppose on the 6th at night; I found him at one Mr. Oliver's, at the Bull and Gate in Holborn. By my publishing these hand bills the other was found; the prisoner took these horses to one Mr. Phillips, who was then buying horses, as I am informed, for the French king; by these bills being put into the stable yards, they came and gave me information that they believed that the horse I had advertised was to be shewn to Mr. Philips; I found out the man that rid the horse for the prisoner; I sent my man to Mr. Oliver's; I saw the horse there; I am certain that is the horse that was stolen; I had not seen him for two or three days before he was lost; we recovered the chesnut horse on the Monday following; the 6th of December was Sunday; I sent my man to Mr. Henley, a dealer in horses at Datchet; he sent me word he had got the horse, and that he bought it of Mercier. I had bills brought of horses that were stolen at Colnbrook; the prisoner was coming from Colnbrook to a neighbour of mine who gave information of it.

Q. Did you know any thing of the prisoner?

Emerson. No, I never saw him till he was taken at Mr. Oliver's.

John Ingle < no role > . I am a servant to Mr. Emerson; I look after his horses in the field.

Q. When did you see them in the field?

Ingle. I rode the bay horse on Sunday the 6th; by turning another into the field I made a mistake in my number, and did not recollect seeing the bay gelding in the field; I think he was gone on Saturday; I do not recollect seeing him then; I am sure I saw him on Friday. I went into the field on Monday morning the 7th and missed the bay gelding.

Q. What might be the value of him?

Ingle. Twenty pounds I suppose.

Q. You understand horses?

Ingle. A little. I did not miss the chesnut till the Friday morning following.

Q. Have you seen them since?

Ingle. Yes; Mr. Emerson has them both.

Q. Are you sure that the two horses that are returned to Mr. Emerson, are the two horses that were at grass under his care?

Ingle. Yes, they are. I found the hedge pulled up on both sides of the gate of the field; I followed him by his feet being without shoes; the bay gelding had only a half shoe. I traced him to the road: I followed him about 40 yards into the road, then I could see no further; the turnpike-man at Kensington Gravel Pits said there was such a one went through about one o'clock, and that a Frenchman rid him.

Emerson. My ground goes by the Acton road from one road to the other.

John Linnell < no role > . I keep the Green Man at Paddington: I had a good many horses in and out; there were some horses in my yard: about a quarter before four I looked out at the window, and saw the prisoner go by with a horse in his hand.

Q. Did you ever see him before?

Linnell. No; he led the horse; it was a bay horse.

Q. A full tail?

Linnell. A prerty deal of hair upon it. He told me when he came back he had lost himself, and said he brought the horse from Harrow; he called for a pennyworth of purl and a pennyworth of gin in it; he went to sleep immediately. I went with a candle out to look at the horse seeing it had no saddle upon it; it had a cramped-up white bridle which seemed to have been in somebody's pocket; I took his foot up to see if he had any shoes on; he had none on either foot except a bit of a shoe on one of the fore feet.

Q. What day was this?

Linnell. Monday morning between three and four; I always get up early on account of the teems; I said, God bless me, where have you been with this horse without shoes; he said there are two or three of us who buy them for the French king, in the country; he said he had been home long before now, but that he had met with two hussies last night who kept him up all night; he said he went about to buy horses; I asked him if he knew Baldock and Dunstable; he said very well; I asked him if he knew Harrow, and whether he came up or down a hill, or saw a river; he said me see no bill; he could not tell me which way he came from Harrow; there is a very steep hill down from Harrow; then I apprehended he had never been there; I knew he had not been at Harrow by that. His horse stood tied at my door; he said he should be glad to have him shoe'd; I sent a boy for the blacksmith; he took the horse over and had him shoe'd; when the horse was shoe'd and brought back again, he gave me a 9 s. piece that wanted about 3 s. of weight; I scrupled taking it; he had money enough to pay me all but a penny, and he had another bad 6 s. 9 d. I said your money is not very good, nor I do not believe you are, I believe you stole that horse; he made no excuse but said me buy them for the French king. I bid my man put the horse in the stable; he was marching away; when he had got five or six pole my man called him back, and told him his horse was in another stable; he came back and took it away; I stopt his gloves for a penny. He came about two, or between two and three in the afternoon, and went to the Brazen-head, which is about ten pole from my house, and sent an old man with a penny for his gloves; I said I would not deliver them to him; then he came himself on this chesnut horse; it is a very good horse indeed, with a swiss tail; he had got another dress on then; he rid to the door with a very great air and called me.

Q. How was he dressed?

Linnell. In a lightish coloured cloth coat with a red cape; he said, you charge me with stealing a horse, take my good name away; I have seven or eight besides this; me punish you; and seeing him upon that horse I did think I had let my tongue run too fast, but however the Frenchman never came near me any more; he rid back again up Bell-lane; I looked after him and instead of going the way to go through the turnpike; he went over the rails a-cross the field.

Q. Are you sure he is the person?

Linnell. I am positive he is the same person.

Q. Have you seen the horses since?

Linnell. No; but by the bills they appear to be the same horses.

Q. Describe the bay horse.

Linnell. It had a black tail and a black mane.

Q. Has he any white about him?

Linnell. No, a black mane.

Q. How high?

Linnell. He might be about fourteen or fifteen hands: a middle sized horse.

Q. Did he shew for a bred horse?

Linnell. He looked to be a sort of an Arabian.

Q. to Emerson. How high is he?

Emerson. About fourteen hands: he is a bred horse, and I believe his fire was a bred horse, but he is a remarkable airy horse; he had quite the shew and action of a foreign horse, remarkably so.

Prisoner. He said I had a red cape to my coat, I had no such thing.

James Beard < no role > . I am a journeyman farrier: I had a horse of the prisoner at the bar, when I lived at Whetstone to shoe.

Q. Had the horse any shoes on?

Beard. He had three feet bare, and a piece of a shoe on one of the fore feet: he paid me.

Q. What sort of a horse was it?

Beard. A bay horse with a long tail and black mane.

Q. Had he any white about him?

Beard. I did not see any.

Q. Had he the appearance of a bred or foreign horse.

Beard. Yes, he had.

Q. to Emerson. What shoes had the horse on?

Emerson. The horse when turned out to grass had tips put on before; that is a sort of half shoe; all my horses that are turned out I pull their hind shoes off.

Beard. It was about six in the morning; I will not swear to the man; it was dark at six in the morning.

Q. to Linnell. Did he pay you, or offer to pay you, before the horse went to be shoe'd or after?

Linnell. After.

Q. Did he produce any silver when he came to you?

Linnell. He did; I believe he gave me 6 d.

Thomas Oliver < no role > . I keep a stable-yard at the Bull and Gate. On Sunday the 6th of December, the prisoner, who I knew by having horses with me the week before, brought a chesnut gelding to my stables; I did not see the horse till next morning.

Q. What horse did he bring before?

Oliver. A chesnut horse the week before, not the horse here but another; he stood at my stables only one night. He came on Sunday at that time, and sold him the next day; that on the 6th was a chesnut. On Monday morning he brought this long tail bay horse in; the chesnut horse was brought without shoes, and he ordered him to be shoe'd; that was one of the horses that was returned to the prosecutor; the bay horse he brought between six and seven in the morning; I saw him come in with the bay horse between nine and ten on Monday morning; I said you have got a fine horse, meaning the chesnut horse; he said yes, but if you did but ride this bay horse you would say he was a very fine horse, much finer than the other; he told me he should have three more, one of which cost fifty guineas; he said they were to come that evening; he staid in our tap room till towards three in the afternoon; he borrowed the same bridle and saddle and let out with the chesnut horse, and left the bay horse there; he said he was going to meet the other three which were coming that evening. I never saw him from that time till the Thursday night following; this was Monday between six and seven in the evening; during his being gone with the chesnut horse, Mr. Emerson came and challenged the bay one; when he came on the Thursday I stopped him, and we had him to Sir John Fielding < no role > 's; he sold the chesnut horse to a farmer at Datchet; he returned without that.

Prisoner. He said I came between eight and nine at night; it was only six when I was in my lodgings; it was the boy that brought the horse.

Oliver. I learned from my servant that a boy brought it, but the prisoner followed it.

Q. You have heard the description of the horse, was it as they have described it?

Oliver. Yes, the description of both the horses as to age and all; I have seen them since Mr. Emerson has had them; the bay horse looked like a foreign horse.

Joshua Earling < no role > . The prisoner came to Datchet, near Windsor, on the 8th of December, last year. My father is a dealer in horses; he came about twelve o'clock to our stables to see our horses; he told me he was employed by one Mr. Philips that bought horses for the king of France, who had sent him to see if we had any thing to suit him; I shewed him the horses I had; he said he was going to London; he came again upon Thursday morning; he said all his money was gone; I said I had been in France and was well used, and would lend him half a guinea; he said he was obliged to me, but had a horse to dispose of; he went and ordered the man to bring it out; he said he had been bid seven guineas for it; I should have it for seven guineas and a half; I said I was very cautious how I bought horses for I had had several stolen ones; he said if you dispute give me a guinea in part of payment, and I will bring you the man that I had the receipt of; he said he bought him of a woollen draper at Acton, five months ago. He said he had taken a house and was going to set up; that his profession was a doctor; he was dressed in a light coloured coat and waistcoat, a pair of new buckskin breeches, a pair of boots, a new brown great coat and red collar, and he had very much the appearance of a gentleman; I was going to pay him all the money but he would not take it; he would only have a guinea, but I would have him take two; he gave me a receipt for them in part of payment; he ordered a supper at an alehouse in the town; this was Thursday morning; he was to be there on Friday night. I lent him a horse and went with him to Lingley; he took the coach, got into it, and took the bridle and saddle that came on the chesnut horse with him; he said it was not his own property; I never saw it afterwards Mr. Emerson's man came and enquired for us upon Monday morning, with a letter desiring us to deliver the horse to his man, which we did directly.

Emerson. That was the same horse I gave an account of. Mr. Earling immediately sent me the horse.

Prisoner's Defence.

One of my witnesses lives in Bell-yard. I made an acquaintance with an Irishman; he saw me in Ireland; he knew I was a surgeon by trade; he told me he was to go into the country; he told me he would sell me a horse, that he was old and had but one eye; he said he would sell it me cheap; I took him in hopes I could give him the sight of one eye; I tried but could not do it; I had a lodging in that house; the man came to me and said he had an acquaintance, a Frenchman, that bought horses for the king; he said sell him, he will give you something for it; he said he had several others; that next day he would shew me a fine clever horse, the Sunday evening; he desired me to be there between three and four; I was there with a man that was to be here; the horse was without shoes; he said he was just come from grass; he asked me ten guineas for the big horse, the chesnut.

Emerson. The bay horse was very deep, what we call a blood bay.

Prisoner. This was the chesnut; I gave him seven guineas for the horse; I bought it near Hyde-Park-Corner, the road to go to Acton; he told me if I would go in the morning he would bring me a fine clever horse; I said I would; he said call in a month's time and he would find me twenty horses; he was to have brought me three horses on Wednesday upon the road to Oxford; there was only his servant there; then I went six miles further, and they were at the King's Arms, eleven miles from town on the Oxford-road. I wanted to sell the horse and they directed me to the horse dealer. I went to the Bull and Gate, and they stopt me directly.

Guilty . Death .