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L Holywell Special Sessions.I

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L Holywell Special Sessions. I THESE Sessions were held on Monday last, before ALEXR. COPE, Esq., (chairman), and U: SANKEY, Esq. Charge of Copper Stealing. Joseph Amos was brought up in custody charged with st( a'ns a copper pan, belonging to Messrs. William Keates, Samuel Newton, and George Ounslow Newton, his employers. The flrst witness called was George O'Neil, who said he was a hawker, and lived at Penvmaes that he knew the prisoner Amos, as he had lived next door to him that about five or six weeks ago he bought some copper from Amos, who had pressed him to buy it; that it was a piece of old copper, and weighed about 6lbs.; he had told prisoner that he should not buy it until he had first seen Mr. Jukes; that he took the copper to Mr. Jukes, who gave him 3s. for it; Amos had previously asked for 15d. or lOd. for it, so when witness bad sold it he gave prisoner lOd. for it, as he did not demand any more Amos asked him if he could get him an old axe to chop "iip s'jjre timber, so that he (witness) might swop with him for the copper, when witness told him that if he could do anything to oblige him he would do so when I got the copper (continued witness) he told me there was no harm for taking it, as it was good for nothing; the copper is not in the same state as it was when I bought it from the prisoner, as it was folded up and flattened a little when I bad it; it was thin sheet cop- per, something like that produced, only that it was crushed; prisoner said it was an old pan, and of no use. The prisoner cross-examined the witness, and stated that when he was paid for the copper witness had in- formed him that there was only 2|lbs., and ,-t was at the rate of 4d. per pound that he was paid. This statement was wholly denied by O'Neil. Edward Jukes was then examined, who said—he was a marine store dealer that on the 10th November last, somewhere between 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning, George O'Neil had brought him a piece of eopper to be sold; it was thin sheet copper doubled up and flattened asked O'Neil where he got it from, and he said from a person living in the neighbourhood, but he did not know Lis name, though he bad known him by sight for several years told O'Neil that I could not buy it without the name of the person whom he had it from, whereupon O'Neil left the shop with the cop- per, which he placed in his bag; he returned in r. few minutes, and saiJ I had nothing to fear in buying it from him, as he knew it was the man's own property I then told him that if he choose to leave it till the evening he would ascertain whether it was safe to buy it or not; O' ell consented to these conditions, and 1 ft the shop; in the evening Se, ge int Hughes came iuto ihe shop, and he saw the. copper, which was ex- amined by both of us, when we came to the conclusion that it was an old copper coal pan; in the evening O'Neil came, and I paid him for the copper at the rate of 6d. per pound, as it was not worth more, because it was very dirty, it seemed as if it had been buried afterwards I placed it aside in my shop under the count or, as I would anything else I might buy; in a day or two after this I gave up the copper to Sergeant Hughes and Mr. Thomas Hughes, of the copper mills; it weighed Gibs, good, with ihe dirt that was on it. Sergeant Hughes sworn, Jeposed—on the 12th of November I accompanied Mr. Hughes to Mr. Jukes' shop Yv-as present when Mr. Jukes gave up the piece of copper to Mr. Hughes, which he handed over to me in the shop; in about haif-an-hour afterwards I took it to the cop; v works, a id gave it Mr. Hughes at the office; it wu, a piece of thin sheet copper flattened up; was present at the office when Amos anl O'Neil were called up; O'Neil there said that Amos had told him to say that h.: had the copper in a sewer, but not to tell it was from him hat he got it, which statement Amos there and then denied; on Saturday night last I apprehended the prisoner upon the charge. ftThomas Hughes said that he was manager cf Messrs. Newton, Keates and Co.'s copper mills, at Greenfield; Joseph Amos was in their employ as a washer of metal; had been so for the last 2 years on the 12th of November he was discharged in his occu- pation they generally use seives, though occasionally thev used copper pans to carry the metals prisoner had a partner who worked with him; the pans occa- sionally used are such as those which I now produce; on the 12th November 1 accompanied the Officer Hughes to Mr. Jukes' shop, when the copper was handed over to me; it was a piece of thin sheet copper folded np and beaten flat; I handed it over to the last witness (Hughes) who again delivered it to me in -.about half-an-hour afterwards, and it has been in my custody ever since; it was opened and formed into its present shape in my presence; it must have been forged into that form as it was impossible to be done in any other way the pans are made at our mills for our express use from enquiries which I made in the metal washing department I found that there were two of these pans missing; I produce two other pans which exactly correspond with the stolen one, got from Mr. Jukes, and which weighs about 6tbs, and of the value of 5s.; I am prepared to swear that it is the property of Samuel Newton, George Ounslow Newton, and William Keates; O'Neil stated at the office that the prisoner told him he had got the copper from a sailor, which however, the prisoner denied. This was the case for the prosecution, whereupon the prisoner addressed the bench on his own behalf. He denied ever having stolen a pound of copper from his employers, and as to Mr. Hughes' identifying the cop- per he had himself said that he (prisoner) might be very proud that he (Mr. H.) could not identify the copper or it would be worse for him. He (Mr. H.) had also said he would identify the copper at a future time, but he failed to do so up to that day. Mr. Hughes admitted that he had said so, but the copper he immediately identified after it had been opened to its original form. The prisoner-It was opened when you had it in the office for two hours inspecting it. After tbo charge had been read over to him he pleaded Not Guilty," adding We never used copper pans in washing, it is open seives that we had." The prisoner was then committed to take his trial at the next Flintshire Quarter Sessions, to be held in the forthcoming week. Stealing Provisions, &c. John Williams and Joseph Smith, both of Penyball- Holywell, were brought up in custody, charged with stealing various articles of provisions, &c., on the pre- vious Thursday night, the property of John Roberts, Bron Eirion, Yseeifiog. Jane Roberts, wife of the prosecutor, said-that on Thursday last she went to Holywell with some geese, which she sold she afterwards made several purchases in the way of groceries, which she placed in a sack on a donkey's back this was about 8 o'clock at night; she then went to the Crown for her husband, leaving a little girl with the donkey at the door; after being there some 15 minutes, the girl came in to them, but went back again, rud immediately afterwards ran in saying the sack had been stolen; the articles produced are a part of what were stolen. Witness' daughter (the little girl above referred to) corroborated her mother's statement. John Roberts stated to his having ran out of the Crown when the little girl cried out that the sack had been stolen away, and he saw the prisoner John Williams standing in the corner by Mr. Garner's shop; went up to him and asked him his name, which he re- fused at first to give, and threatened to knock his (complainant's) brains out; after I got his name I gave information to the police the sack produced together with the articles are a part of what were stolen. P.S. John Hughes said tbtit on the previous Saturday night he was locking for the prisoner Amos; he called at the M:ners' Arms, and there saw a person named Peter Stephenson, who asked him if he was looking for theives, when the officer said Yes, and I wont be lor g before I catch some too the prisoner Jol.n Williams was there, and he got up and said that he had found a sack, two pairs of stockings, some linen and a basket on Friday morning last in a field near his house, but the stockings he had given to Smith; went to the houses of both parties last night, and had all the articles I produce from Williams, excepting the stock- ings, which I had from Smith took them into custody. This closed the case for the prosecution, and the prisoner Williams made a long speech in his behalf,— alleging that he had not stolen the property, as he had not seen a donkey near the Crown that night, and stating as his reasons for detaining his name that the man John Roberts came to him in such a hasty manner, and without saying what he wanted his name for the things produced he had found in a«*i.;id by his house on Friday morning last; he did not tell the officer that he had given the stockings to Smith; the officer must have mistaken his statement. Smith stated that he know nothing at all about the things being stolen, as he had not been to the Crown that evening; the stockings were brought to him by his little boy, who had found them in the field. The magistrates committed the prisoner Williams to take his trial at the Quarter Sessions, and remanded the other prisoner till next Tuesday.

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