38. THOMAS FULHAM proceedingsdefend was indicted for stealing on the 16th of November last, two square wrought iron bars, value 5 s. the goods of JAMES JONES proceedingsvictim .

JACOB ARCHER < no role > sworn.

The prisoner is a labouring man in the manufactory , he has worked there these twelve years.

What is Mr. Jones? - He keeps an iron foundery and smith's shop , and I am foreman in the same shop; we had great suspicion of loosing iron, and we could not find out who it was; this man was a labourer in the furnace, and used to go backwards and forwards to fetch coals for the furnace. There was a large pile of iron in the yard, I imagine about five or six ton of wrought iron generally together, at the bottom of this coal yard there was a large pair of gates to come in, and we had been laying in coals all day, and the marks of the wheels were very considerable. These bars were placed in the rut, and a woman (the wife of one of the workmen) coming in the evening to her husband, kicked her toe against the bar and had like to throw herself down; she gave information of it to me, and I went immediately to the place, and there I found one bar seven foot nine inches long, and another three foot eleven, they weighed thirty three pounds, and were three-fourths square; when the men left work we fixed ourselves on the outside of the gate, and in about three minutes the prisoner came and stooped to pick them up.

You left them where you found them? - Yes; we left them to see who came to fetch them, and fixed ourselves opposite the gate, at the distance of about five or six yards across the road.

When the prisoner came what did you see him do? - He stooped down and took hold of the end of the bars, and I immediately ran and seized him with the bars in his hand.

(The bars were produced in court.)

What did he say for himself? - He could not give any answer at all.

The bars are both your master's? - Yes.

Are there any marks upon them? - Yes; there are four little notches that I cut with a file at each end of them.

Is that the mark you use? - That is the mark I marked them with, as they were lying in the rut before I catched the prisoner.

You are sure they were your master's? - Yes.

Before you cut these notches, they had no particular mark had they? - No; it is not usual to make marks, there is a stamp upon them to shew what sort of iron it is.

Cross-Examination.

You say the wife of one of the workmen, who works for your master, hit her toe against these bars as they were lying in the rut that the wheels of the carts had made? - Yes.

Now who put them there? - I know nothing of that.

Don't you think that any other person might have hit their toe against these bars as well as this man's wife? - Probably they might.

If you had hit your toe against them, would not you have stooped to have seen what they were? - To be sure I should.

And you would have picked them up? - I would have shoved them into the yard.

Suppose he had returned them next day upon a supposition they were your master's property, would not they have been equally safe? - They might; but I seized him before he had taken them away.

Are you sure he meant to steal them? - I should suppose so, else what was the reason of his putting them there.

The prisoner lives in a house belonging to your master? - Yes; he does.

Now did you never wish to have that house? - Never in my life.

Are you quite clear in that? - I never asked the question in my life of any person living.

There has been some little matter of disagreement between you and the prisoner I believe? - None at all; no further than his getting drunk and my shoving him out of the yard.

JOHN VAUX < no role > sworn.

Do you work in the foundery? - Yes.

What do you know of this matter? - One of the men's wives coming to bring the key to her husband about nine o'clock, kicked her toe against these bars that laid in the rut at the back of the gate; she acquainted the clerk, and we went to look and found these bars; we thought it proper to set somebody to watch, and a little after nine this man came, and stooped to pull the bars out of the rut.

When he came up did you see him stumble against the bar? - No; he stooped directly and took hold of it.

What day of the month was it? - The 16th of November.

Could you see distinctly? - I was not so far from him as I am from you.

What did you do upon that? - We went and catched hold of him.

What did he say for himself when you laid hold of him? - He said he knew nothing about it.

What did Archer say to him, did he say what he laid hold of him for? - He said nothing about that.

Cross-Examination.

This was about nine at night was it? - Yes; thereabouts.

How near were you? - I believe about the same distance as I am from you across the road.

Was it moon-light? - No.

How could you possibly tell whether he struck his foot against the bar or not? - I saw him stoop to pick it up.

Did not he hit his foot against it? - I can't tell whether he did or not.

If you had been in his place you would have stooped and taken it up? - I should have carried it where it belonged to.

Did not he ask what was the matter? - Yes.

ACQUITTED .

Tried by the Middlesex Jury, before Mr. RECORDER.