56. THOMAS POINTER proceedingsdefend was indicted for feloniously assaulting George Aylin proceedingsvictim , on the king's highway, on the 1st of January , and putting him in fear, and feloniously taking from his person, and against his will, one watch, inside and outside case made of silver, value 50 s. a copper watch-chain, value 2 d. a brass key, value 1 d. and two copper seals, value 3 d. his property.

(The witnesses examined separate.)

GEORGE AYLIN < no role > sworn.

I live in Bishopsgate-street, a journeyman painter to Mr. Patterson. On the 1st of January, I lost my watch; I was going from Whitechapel to Shadwell ; I was alone; it was between twelve and one in the day; when I came to the cross path leading to Spice Island; when I came there, I saw a parcel of men standing together; I had a mind to see what they were doing; and I saw the prisoner playing at cups and balls; I never saw him before, to my knowledge; he was laying wagers with the rest of the men that were with him; I saw some money won and lost, while I stood looking on; he asked the rest of the men that were there, if they had no more money, whether they would lay a watch against three guineas? some of the men said, no; there might be seven or eight standing about him; he perceived I had a chain hanging out of my pocket; and he asked me if I had a mind to lay my watch? I had not betted with him before; I said, no, I was but a poor man, and could not afford to lose my watch, so well as he could three guineas; I said to him, no, Sir, I shall not lay you any thing; and he answered done, as if I had betted; and he repeated it again, done, as if I had laid him; and I said, no, I do not lay any thing; when I said that, I wanted to get from them, and I could not; the rest of them shoved me close to Thomas Pointer < no role > , the prisoner; and the more I tried to get away, the more they crouded; Pointer then said to a one-eyed man that stood by, that man has lost his watch; no playing was then going on; and the other man answered to Pointer, yes, and I would have it; I went to secure my watch-chain with my hands; and I could not get my hands down lower than my stomach, by the people crowding me, and holding my two arms behind; I am sure I felt some hands upon my arms behind, but I could not see; the prisoner was not one of those; he was in front of me; immediately the prisoner, Thomas Pointer < no role > , snatched thewatch out of my pocket; he said nothing to me at the time; he never laid hold of me: after my watch was gone, I could get from them very easy then.

Court. Will you undertake to swear that your arms were confined, when Pointer took your watch from you? - Yes, they were, by some of the company that were betting; then I said to the prisoner, what makes you catch hold of my watch, and I attempted to catch hold of him, and he made a blow at me, but missed me; he ran away along the path leading to Spice-island, I ran after him; he looked back, and saw me following him, and he jumped over a bank into a field; I halloo'd to him, Go which way you will, I will follow you; he ran across the field, and I after him; at the further end of the field there was another bank, and a ditch; he jumped over that, and I after him, till I came to Spice-island gardens, where there were several houses, and then I called out, Stop thief! he ran down the gardens, and at the end of the gardens I lost fight of him; I came down as far as St. George's turnpike, and lost him: I did not see him till the 4th of January, when he was taken before the magistrate: I went and gave information at Mr. Staples's office immediately after my inquiry at the turnpike; I described the prisoner, to one West, as a good-looking man, full-faced, a blue jacket, light hair, and had lost some teeth in front; I saw him the morning after he was taken, and knew him immediately; I am positive now that the prisoner is the man; I stood near him for ten minutes; I never betted my watch to the prisoner, or any of the by-standers, and money I had none; I staid from curiosity; I saw nobody at play but the prisoner; I never saw my watch since; it was a silver watch, a copper chain, and two copper seals; I have never seen any of the persons that were about the table since; I saw the watch in his hand, and I saw him put it into his pocket, as I followed him.

Prisoner. Did not you put down your watch against three guineas in another man's hand? - No, I did not; I never offered to play.

Did not you get your watch again? - No.

Did you offer to lay half-a-crown? - No, I never offered to lay any thing; I had no money.

JOSEPH WEST < no role > sworn.

I apprehended the prisoner: the prosecutor came to the office about one; I was there; he gave information that he had been robbed of his watch, in the New Road, by a person playing at cups and balls; he said he was a well set man, in a blue jacket, short light hair, a full face, and talked hoarse; he gave no other description than that; I knew the prisoner before; we could not find him till the 4th; then we found him at the Rose and Crown, in Church-lane; he was dressed as he is now, not in the dress the prosecutor described him; I found nothing upon him.

- COOKE sworn.

I apprehended the prisoner, at the Rose and Crown, in Church-lane; Joseph West < no role > , Pirnell, and Riley, were with me.

PRISONER's DEFENCE.

I was coming along this New Road, and I saw a boy playing with these cups and balls, and he lost many shillings, and I laid him 12 s. that the ball was not under the middle cup, and I put my money in another man's hands, and he put 12 s. to it; I took up the cup, and the ball was under the cup; then I yielded my wager lost: then I saw him do it two or three times after, and I said let me try if I can do it; I tried three or four times, and lost three or four shillings, before I could do it; then I thought I had the ball under the middle cup, and I offered to lay any man three guineas to one; and the prosecutor said, I have not a guinea, I will lay you half-a-crown; and I said, no, I will lay you three guineas against any man's watch; and the prosecutor said, I will lay you; he immediately took out his watch, and put it at top of the table, or tub, whatever it was; I said, my friend, you had better put it insomebody's hands, whether won or lost; and he immediately took it up, and put it into another man's hand; and I put my three guineas in the man's hand first; says I, have no mistake; if the ball is under the middle cup, I win, mind; and he answered, yes; and I said, you take up the cup, which he did, and the ball was under the cup; I said, I have won the wager; and as the man was delivering the money and watch to me, the prosecutor ran up and hit me, among the crowd; says he, you shall not have my watch, for you have swindled me out of it; and the man going to give me the watch and money, I was knocked down, and lost one of my guineas, and never had the watch: this prosecutor challenged another man, a sailor, down this road, and the sailor jumped over a ditch, and went across the meadow, and he turned back again, and I met him; he never spoke to me then; I had stopped behind to inquire about my guinea.

JOSEPH MARTIN < no role > sworn.

I live at Mr. Carpenter's, in Church-lane, Whitechapel; he is a grocer, and keeps a coal-shed; I was going of an errand, for my master, to the Three Mackerel, at Bow (The prosecutor was ordered into court, and the other witness of the prisoner ordered out of court); I know the prosecutor; I saw a great number of people, all round in a ring, in the New Road, and I went, like another, to see what was the matter; and there I saw a man, that was the prisoner, playing with some tin things, and a ball under it; and the prisoner offered to lay a guinea that the ball was under, and there was nobody there that would lay him a guinea; then he offered to lay three guineas against any body's watch; the prosecutor was standing there, and he offered to lay him half-a-crown, and the prisoner would not lay him half-a-crown; the prosecutor then took his watch out of his pocket, and reached over, and put it into another man's hand, with three guineas which the prisoner put to the watch; I do not know whose hands they were, the men were all strangers to me; the prisoner was a stranger to me then; the prosecutor lifted up the cup, and the ball was under, and the prosecutor found he had lost his watch then, and they began to make a piece of work, fighting and quarrelling, all the people together; he shoved some one way, and some ran another way; then I went about my master's business; I heard the prisoner calling out, give me my money, but I do not know what became of the watch; I saw no more of it; I was going to carry half-a-pound of tea to the Three Mackerel, at Bow; across the fields was my nearest way.

How soon did you see the prisoner again after this accidental meeting? - The next day.

Where? - Going along Church-lane, as I was in my master's shop; we did not speak; I never saw him after that till yesterday: when I went home, I was telling my master the Monday after, and my master knew the prisoner by using his shop and being a neighbour, and he said to me, as you saw this, you had better go; I told my master what a piece of work there was, and fighting, and how they got a man's watch; I knew of this, because the prisoner was taken up in our lane; my master persuaded me to come here, the prisoner did not send for me.

You have had no conversation at all with the prisoner? - No; I saw him in gaol this morning, and just spoke to him; I was here last night, and did not see him; but the prisoner knew I was here, because my master sent word to the prisoner that I was come to speak what I knew.

Not one of this company was you at all acquainted with? - Not one, to my knowledge; I suppose there might be twenty or thirty round; my master knows the prisoner by using his shop, but I did not know him; I only came from on board ship last Christmas holidays; before that I lived at Stratford, at one Mr. Balcher's; I had been seven months on board ship: I had not betted at all myself; the prosecutor was there about a quarter of an hour before heoffered to lay: I went in this morning to see if I knew the prisoner, and finding I did, I came out again.

Court to Haylin. Be very careful, and consider the situation of the prisoner and yourself; look at Joseph Martin < no role > , do you know him? - I do not know that I ever saw him before.

Therefore you cannot say whether he was or was not one of the party? - I cannot.

Did you ever offer to lay the prisoner half-a-crown, or any sum of money? - I did not, for I had not 6 d. about me.

Did you ever deposit your watch in any other man's hand? - I am positive I never did, my watch was never out of my pocket at that time; it was taken out.

Had you been at work that day? - No; I am out of work.

Had you been drinking? - I might have a pennyworth of beer, but no more: it was offered to me to bet my watch, and I refused it.

Are you very sure that the man you pursued was the prisoner? - I am very sure of it, and no other.

Court to Martin. Are you still positive as to his depositing the watch with another man? - Yes, and he wrapped up the chain round it.

Prisoner. This prosecutor had two more men taken up before? - I did not know any thing of it, I saw none.

ROBERT DAWSON < no role > sworn.

I attend the publick office in East-Smithfield: on Saturday, the 1st of this month, I was coming from Whitechapel to East-Smithfield, and two others with me, who are not here (I did not come on this business); there were a number of people collected in the New Road, near the fields going from Shadwell to Stepney; I came up and asked what was the matter, and they said a man had been robbed of his watch; and I saw a number of people running across the fields, and amongst the rest was the prosecutor; when I came to the bottom of the road, I saw two other persons running before the prosecutor; the prosecutor and me came then close together, and I asked him who were the persons that had got his watch; he pointed to two men in drab great-coats, and said they had his watch at the first, but had given it to another man, whom he shewed me, dressed in a blue jacket; I immediately pursued the two men in the great-coats, and the prosecutor followed me; and about 200 yards from the spot where I spoke to the prosecutor, those two men he pointed to were stopped, and taken to the publick office in East-Smithfield; and, as soon as I saw them safe, I came up again to the place where we parted, to look for the third man, in the blue jacket; I could not find him, and returned to the office, expecting to see the prosecutor there; I waited all day, expected him to appear, as he knew of it, and at night I took them before the magistrate, Mr. Justice Smith, and charged them on suspicion of committing this felony; the magistrate committed them for further examination: on the 5th, the prosecutor, during all that time, had never appeared, and they were discharged that night; and in half an hour after I heard this prisoner was in custody: when I returned to the prosecutor, he had lost the man in the blue jacket; but when I asked him before, he pointed to the two men in the drab coats, and the man in the blue jacket.

Court to Haylin. Do you remember seeing Mr. Dawson when you was in pursuit? - Not to my knowledge I did not; I did not think of the men in drab coats.

Did you ever point out the two men in drab coats? - No, I pointed to the man in the blue jacket.

Did you ever say to Mr. Dawson, or any body else, that the two men in the drab coats had first got the watch, and then gave it to the man in the blue jacket? - No, I did not.

Did you see the two men in the drab coats? - Yes, I saw several run; but the whole of my pursuit was after the man in the blue jacket; I had no notice of the apprehension of the other two.

You do not remember speaking to Dawson? - No, I do not; he might speak to me; several did.

Dawson. Ask him if he did not describe one of the men in the drab great-coats to have lost an eye? - Yes, I did; but not to this gentleman, to my knowledge.

What did you say about him? - I described the man in the drab coat, and that he had lost his left eye, who ran away at the same time that the other ran with the blue jacket, but I gave no information against any man in a drab coat, only that he ran away at the same time.

THOMAS THOMAS < no role > sworn.

I live at the Guy, Earl of Warwick, in Gray's-inn-lane; I have known the prisoner about 12 months; he has been a porter , as far as ever I knew.

What is his business? - He was a porter.

What sort of a porter? - I do not know; he was a porter to a house in Middle-row, No. 9; he always used my house.

What business is it? - I do not know what business it is, the house is shut up now.

Jury. The corner of the court? - Yes.

Jury. It is a lottery-office? - When it was opened, it was a leather-dresser's, but the prisoner was porter there since.

Then what business was carried on since? - I cannot tell; it might be a lottery-office: he was a very honest man; he always behaved so in my sight, at my house.

The prisoner called two more witnesses to his character.

GUILTY , Death .

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