169. WILLIAM WALKER proceedingsdefend was indicted for feloniously making an assault on the king's highway in a certain field in the parish of St. Mary, Islington , on the 12th of January , upon Thomas Oldfield proceedingsvictim , putting him in fear, and taking from his person and against his will, a sixpence and two halfpence, his property .

THOMAS OLDFIELD < no role > . Q. What are you. - A. I am a cow keeper at Islington.

Q. Were you robbed last month. - A. Yes, on the 13th of January, just about eight o'clock in the evening.

Q. Where were you going. - A. I was going home from town.

Q. Had you been drinking. - A. I drank part of three pints of wine.

Q. Were you intoxicated with liquor. - A. I was quite sober.

Q. What sort of a night was it. - A. Very moon light.

Q. Tell your story how you was accosted. - A. About half way from Pentonville and my house, I had turned out of the foot path into a grass field, it being the cleaner way to walk; I saw a man step over the rail just before me, and he says rather politely, have you got any money.

Q. What do you mean by rather politely. - A. He spoke so pleasant; I was surprised at the question, and I said, money! He said give me your money; I said give you my money; he said, yes, give me your money; I put both my hands in my breeches pockets and pulled out a penny from one pocket and sixpence from the other; I rather fumbled with the other, I took them out and held them to him, and he took them; we looked one another full in the face some little time, and he said how much is it; I was terrified at the question, and I saw his eyes recline downwards to the money that he held in his hand; when I perceived his eyes rather bent downwards I struck him on the side of his head, he had like to have fell, but did not; he staggered very much, he was very near falling; I then rushed on him and we grappled a great while, and at last he came down under me; I perceived his face as he lay under me unguarded; I struck him a very large blow on the nose. I struck him once or twice more but it had no effect, and I believe when his face was most unguarded he was pulling a bayonet from before him, I saw the bayonet and he was making towards me; I catched it in my hand; he had got the bayonet in his right hand and I catched it with my left; when I saw the bayonet I cried out very loudly murder, many times; and I held him down; he struggled very hard; I held him down a great while; he then got with his back upwards, each of us holding the bayonet; I was on his back, and when he offered to rise with his hands off the ground I tipped him down again; he immediately gets on his belly, and rose up in spite of me, and we had a long struggle; he was on his back, and when he offered to rise I tipped him down again; we laid looking at one another, and I said, have you met with your match; he says, will you let me up, I have not hurt you; I said you could not deliver your bayonet; he says I will, if you will let me up; I answered I will not; we were pretty still a bit longer; I said deliver your bayonet, he said again, I will if you will let me up; no, I wont, I said again, why do you not deliver your bayonet; he says, will you give it me again; I says I will - upon your honuor - upon my honour - you will give it me again upon your honour; I will give it you again upon my honour; he laid his hands down and was rather flat on his back; he says I have let go, and instantly I saw his hands unclasped; I then went to get up and he laid quite still; I got up and said, you are a dead man if you come near me, I thought he wouldcome and rush on me; he says give me the bayonet, it will betray me; I walked backwards some yards, I thought I heard a noise behind me; I looked and my son was coming as hard as he could; I said seize him, he has robbed me; I turned my head the other way, he was gone off, running very fast. I believe my son would have catched him but he fell down and so he got away; he ran one hundred yards after him, he did not get him.

Q. What was the reason of your delivering your money. - A. He demanded it.

Q. Did he shew his bayonet at that time. - A. No, I saw the round of the bayonet; I thought it was a pistol.

Q. So then under that apprehension you delivered your money. - A. Yes.

Q. Do you know the prisoner at the bar, is that the same man. - A That is the same man.

Q. How long might this take up. - A. Near a quarter of an hour.

Cross-examined by Mr. Knapp. He was very agreeable at first I understood you. - A. The first question was very pleasant, the next question was very rough.

Q. At first you were not alarmed. - A. I knew what he meant, I was alarmed and frightend sadly, I thought I saw a pistol about him.

Q. You knocked him about pretty much. - A. I knocked him when he was down one blow.

Q. That was rather cowardly. - A. I think if you were down with a man, and a drawn bayonet, you would have done the best you could.

Q. Have you always been of opinion that he is the man. - A. I know that he is the man.

Q. I believe at the magistrate's you said you thought he was the man. - A. You are wrong sir.

THOMAS OLDFIELD < no role > . JUNIOR Your are the son of the last witness. - A Yes.

Q. Did you see the prisoner on the evening we have been speaking of. - A. I had a slight view of the man.

Q. Look at him, do you think it is the same man. - A. I cannot say; I pursued him and fell down, I pursued him after that about an hundred yards, he ran faster than I did.

THOMAS BELL < no role > . I am corporal in the royal West London Militia, the prisoner was a private in the same regiment; this Walker was a recruit, he had only been in the regiment three weeks upon the drill, he came on Wednesday morning the 13th of January, after the gentleman was robbed; and when he came to drill, I being drill corporal, I asked him how he came by those bruises we kept him at drill two hours and then the Bow-street officer came with the head corporal; and Mr. Oldfield with the bayonet; he said he had been robbed, and he wanted to know who the bayonet belonged to; the drill serjeant directed him to the City of Chester in Bunhill-row.

Q.(To Prosecutor). Did you detain the bayonet. Yes, it is here; I delivered it to Cox the officer.

Bell. When I saw the bayonet and the letters on it that signified the company, it was number 38, the same company the prisoner belonged to, I told them I could not tell where to find the prisoner; I know a man of the name of Lane, that knows the prisoner; I would go with him to that man, I went along with the officer, and Mr. Oldfield to this Lanes house. The prisoner was in Lanes house; he saw me coming Lane said.

Q. You must not say that Lane will say it. - A. I into Lane's house.

Cross-examined by Mr. Knapp. The bayonet had 38 on it, that is the company's mark; that would be the mark of all the company. - A. No, they go on from one regular to 38.

Q. Does 38 belong to Walker. - A. I have the fire-lock to prove it.

JOHN LANE < no role > . I belong to the West London militia. I am a private.

Q. Where you present when Bell came. - A Yes; the prisoner was standing in my room when Bell came, he took him from my house; he had cohabited in my place during six or eight weeks; he worked with me about nine or ten weeks; when Bell came he was at my place cleaning his things.

Q. What did he say when Bell came. - A. I said stand your ground, whatever may be the consequence.

Q. Why did you say stand your ground. - A. He went towards my back door when Bell was coming in at the fore door.

Q. Who does the bayonet belong to. - A. The second company.

Q. Does it belong to the prisoner. - A. I have seen it and the piece that belonged to it at my house.

Q. Then you were afraid that he was apprehensive of Bell for something or other. - A. I thought that he might have made away with some of his linen; when I said stand your ground, he came back again and went with Bell.

Cross-examined by Mr. Knapp. During the nine or ten weeks he worked with you did not he behave exceeding well. - A. Yes, he worked hard along with me.

MARK COX < no role > . I am an officer of Bow-street; I produce the bayonet, I got this the next morning of Mr. Oldfield; it has been in my possession ever since.

Prisoner's Defence. On Tuesday evening I was going down the City road about a quarter before eight o'clock; I was intoxicated with liquor, I met three men; as I was coming up the City road one of them pushed me down and bruised my face; the bayonet fell out of the sheath, and one of them picked it up and ran away with it.

The prisoner called five witnesses, who gave him a good character.

Court to Jury. William Walker < no role > stands charged of a capital felony, that of committing a robbery upon Thomas Oldfield < no role > in the King's highway, by putting him in fear, and taking from his person and against his will, a sixpence and two halfpence his property. As to a robbery having been committed upon Thomas Oldfield < no role > , there can be very little doubt of, after you have heard what the witnesses have said; and I think there can be little doubt of the person, of the prisoner; there can be no mistake in that. He tells you it was a clear moon light night, there was a tussel between the prisoner and him; that he got possession of the bayonet, and that his son came up to his assistance. It appears by the evidence on the next day, the prisoner appeared on the drill with his face bruised, as if he had been struck in fighting; the prosecutor has told you he gave him some strokes upon his face when he was down and he can swear to his person; this continued about a quarter of an hour, here further by the bayonei that iproved to be a bayonet belonging to a private of the same company, No. 38; the firelock is produced belonging to it, and when Bell went with the prosecutor to Lane, the prisoner saw him; he was going out on seeing Lane coming in; his comrade advised him to stand his ground. There seems to me very little doubt of the prisoner's guilt. The prisoner has called several witnesses, who has said that he was a hard working man till the time of his committing the robbery; that ought not to operate upon your verdict. We can only lament that a person who bore a good character, up to the time of committing such an offence as this, by doing this he had forfeited that good character.

GUILTY - DEATH , aged 21.

The prisoner was recommended to his Majesty's mercy by the jury and the prosecutor on account of his good character.

First Middlesex jury, before Mr. Justice Heath.