432. THOMAS HARRIS proceedingsdefend was indicted for burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling house of Octavius Bradley proceedingsvictim , about the hour of eleven at night, on the 21st of June , with intent to steal, and burglariously stealing therein, a coat, value 20 s. a waistcoat, value 12 s. a pair of breeches, value 40 s. a piece of woollen cloth, value 2 s. and a handkerchief, value 2 s. the property of John Wells proceedingsvictim , a coat, value 12 s. the property of William Lake proceedingsvictim , a pair of boots, value 30 s. the property of John Hookamfreer proceedingsvictim .

Second Count, For like burglary, only stating it to be the dwelling-house of John Wells < no role > .

JOHN WELLS < no role > sworn. - I live at No. 7, Newcastle-court, in the Strand ; I keep a shop and dwelling under Lincoln's Inn gateway .

Q. Who sleeps there? - A. My apprentice used to sleep there; the person that occupies a part of the house is a brace-maker , his name is Octavius Bradley < no role > ; I rent the whole of the premises.

Q. Did any person sleep on the premises belonging to you on the night of the 21st of June? - A. No.

Q. How is that part of the premises separated that belongs to you from the part that belongs to Bradley? - A. By a slight partition; there is a door out of my shop into his shop.

Q. Bradley has no business at all with that part of your house where you lost this property? - A. No, it is a twelvemonth ago since my apprentice slept there.

Q. What was the name of your apprentice ? - A. Thomas Harris < no role > , the prisoner at the bar.

Q. Your apartment was not slept in either by you or any other person at that time? - A. No.

Q. How does Bradley enter his premises? - A. By the door under the gateway, the same way as I do.

Q. This was on the 21st of July? - A. Yes, it was.

Q. Was the prisoner in your shop on that day? - A. Yes, he was; I left him there on that evening, at better than half past eight o'clock; I returned no more that night; I left him in charge of the shop; he had one key and I the other; on the 22d, about a quarter before seven o'clock in the morning, I went again to the shop; I then found the door a little a-jar, I had not been in the shop five minutes before he came in; I had perceived a great many things were gone; I could not recollect what exactly at the time; I said to him, Tom, you left the door open last night; said he, I did not, I double locked it, I took particular notice of that; and he said, he came by betwixt ten and eleven o'clock that evening, on the 21st, he thought the door to be fast but he did not try it. I found afterwards a suit of mourning missing, which ought to have gone home at that time, but not being quite finished I thought to let them go home on the Saturday morning; they belonged to me at that time; I missed a pair of boots, and a brown coat; the boots belonged to the Right Hon . John Hookamfreer < no role > , they were in my possession, and left with me by the servant, in order to take them to the Minories to get them stretched. I went round to the different pawnbrokers, but could get no intelligence; on returning home, I saw William Lake < no role > , and from his information I authorized him to get a warrant; in consequence of that he was taken in my shop between two and three. He told me that they had taken off the scutcheon of the door. I went afterwards to No. 11, Shire-lane, to a chandler's-shop, and there I saw his box; I desired the officer to bring the box to the shop, that I might see the things.

Q. Did he actually lodge in this place in Shire-lane? - A. Yes, one night he had slept there I believe: I found all the articles in the box that I had lost, the suit of mourning, a piece of cloth, which a few days before I had cut a coat from the same piece; the boots and the brown coat and a bundle handkerchief, and a patent cord pair of breeches.

Q. How long has the prisoner been with you? - A. On and off for five years, he had not been continually with me; there was no dependance upon him.

WILLIAM LAKE < no role > sworn. --I am servant to Mr. Fraser, in Lincoln's-Inn: On the night of the 21st of June, I had occasion to go from my master's house to his chambers; I saw the prisoner at the bar standing in the road-way, facing No. 5 in the New-square; I called to him, but he made me no answer; I went up to him to see whether I was right or wrong, and when I came up to him I said, holloa Tom, is it you; he said, yes; I said, you are here very late to night; he said, I am waiting for a person; I staid some minutes with him, but no farther conversation passed; I wished him good night, and went away from him, I went as far as No. 3, by Lincoln's Inn gateway, and then returned to my master's house, and staid there some time.

Q. Where is your master's house? --A. No. 2, Searle-street; I went back again to the same No. 3 the second time, which was about a quarter there before eleven o'clock, and then I saw the prisoner atthe bar stand facing No. 5, where I formerly had left him; I did not speak to him the second time; I saw no more of him that night; I went home to my wife and family; I did not observe that he had any thing at all about him. On Saturday morning, the 22d, at half past seven, I called at Mr. Wells's shop; he informed me that he had been robbed, and that they had taken away a coat belonging to me, and a pair of boots belonging to the Right Hon. Mr. Hookamfreer; I had left them there till such time I took them into the Minories to get them stretched.

JOHN STANTIFORD < no role > sworn. - On the 21st of June, I was watching at Lincoln's-inn for one of the porters there; I was doing his duty from ten o'clock till near a quarter before eleven o'clock.

Q. Do you know whether the door was fast at that time? - A. I believe it was fast; I stood against the door all the time, I was there talking to some persons that were moving some goods into Mr. Fraser's chambers; I did not try the door, the shutters were all up.

JOHN DAY < no role > sworn. - I am a locksmith; Mr. Wells bought the lock of me; I sent my man on Saturday, June the 22d, to take the lock off, and upon examining it I found it not damaged in the least; it is what they call a full warded lock, they could not open it with a picklock without breaking the wards; it must have been opened by a skeleton key, or a key that fitted the wards of the lock.

JONATHAN TROTT < no role > sworn. - I am an officer belonging to the Public-office, Hatton-garden: I took the prisoner into custody on Saturday, the 22d of June, at his master's shop, as he was sitting at work on the shop-board; I searched him; he was very unwilling to have his left hand breeches pocket searched; I directed my brother officer to hold his hands while I searched him, and pulled out this key; it is the key of his master's door, as I understand; he used to have one, and his master the other; I asked him what he had got else; he said, nothing else material to me; I put my hand into the same pocket, and there I found the scutcheon belonging to the door that had been broken open.

Q. Did he give any account of that scutcheon? - A. Yes, he said he picked it up against the door as he came in on the morning, or some part of the day, I cannot take upon me to say exactly; I searched him the same day; he said he picked it up, and I think it was the morning; I found a little key in the same pocket; I asked him how he came by that key; he said it was a trifling thing, I might throw it away, he had picked it up in the street at the same time; I told him I would not throw it away, it might be of service hereafter; I took him into custody; he told me he lodged with his mother, I think the place is called Ship-yard; I went there with him, and enquired of the mother if he lodged there; the mother said, yes, he did; I thought he did not from some circumstance that occurred; I searched the house, and found nothing there; I then took him to the Office, and he was committed for re-examination on Wednesday. On Tuesday morning, I received information from the prosecutor and another witness that there was a box at a house in Great Shire-lane belonging to the prisoner; I went there, and saw it, at No. 14 I believe; I tried this small key I had found on him, and it fitted the lock of this box, and all these things were in the box; the prosecutor and Stantiford were present with me; and as a convincing proof that this box belonged to the prisoner, I have had him in custody before, and the master agreed that he should be sent on board the Tender, and the master, instead of doing what was proper, kept the indentures; he should have cancelled them; and here is his discharge from on board of the ship.

Q. Who keeps the house where you made this search? - A. I do not know the person's name, it is a chandler's shop; the woman behaved very civil indeed; she shewed me the box, and said, if she had known that he was such a kind of a person, he should not have come there to lodge.

Q. What kind of a lock has that box? - A. It appears to be a common one by the key, it is very strong.

Q. (To the prosecutor.) Look at these articles, and see which is your's - do you know these articles? - A. The clothes and boots were in my possession; the clothes I swear to be my property.

Q. (To Lake.) Look at these boots? - A. I can take my oath they are Mr. Hookamfreer's property, I was to take them to the Minories to be stretched; I am servant to Mr. Fraser, but my sister-in-law and brother live with Mr. Hookamfreer; the boots are perfectly new, and his name is inside of them, and there is not one boot in a hundred that has such a strap, it is a brown webb strap; they generally have a white one, but this was made for strength, as I was informed.

Q. Have you any doubt that you left them at Mr. Wells's shop? - A. I have no doubt.

Prisoner's defence. It is my first crime that I have committed, and I hope you will have a little mercy.

GUILTY, aged 19,

Of stealing, but not in the dwelling-house .

Transported for seven years .

First Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Baron Chambre.