| The theft of an axe and a bill hook |
Glossary
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This example of a Victorian court
case from Hay is about the theft of two very ordinary hand
tools - an axe and a bill hook - in April 1878.
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Feloniously - against the law. | |
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Drawing
by
Rob Davies |
"...one
Iron axe and one Bill hook the goods and chattels [this
means the property belonging to] of one John Howells, feloniously
did steal take and carry away..." The person accused of "carrying away" the tools was William Magness, and another of the court papers showed that he had been found guilty of an earlier theft in 1865. The innkeeper at the Swan Hotel was John Howells, and this was part of his statement to the court... |
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Part
of
court statement 1878 |
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"I am an Innkeeper
and Farmer and live in Hay. On Tuesday last the 23rd April I was told
by my servant George Price that he had missed an axe and hacker
[bill hook] from the Stable"... |
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RDR
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