William Mason

Level 350

Maureen Withey on 13th June 2021

William Mason, Thomas Mills, and Samuel Mills, were tried for breaking into the dwelling-house of Joseph Gent, at the borough of Walsall, and stealing two shew glasses, thirty gold rings, and quantity of other jewellery, his property. Mr. Cripps, called the prosecutor, who deposed to leaving his doors, leaving his doors &c. secured on Saturday night the 15th of February, and that on the following morning found his shop-door open, and two show glasses containing jewellery as well as other articles left in the shop the night before, were gone. The property stolen consisted of gold rings, brooches, seals, &c., and was estimated at 40/. value. Frederick West, police-officer, stated that on the 16th of February, he compared the shoes of Thomas Mills with a shoe-mark made in some soft mortar, in the cellar of Mr. Gent, through which place the rogues had gone in their way to the shop. One of his shoes was remarkable, and it exactly fitted the impression made in the mortar. In two days afterwards witness searched the house of Wm. Mason in which Samuel Mills also lodged. In Samuel Mills’ bed-room he found a small piece of looking-glass, and in tea cup on a ledge in the wall, brooch and seal. Down-stairs in a room occupied by Mason and his wife, he found in a bird cage, a breast-pin. Witness afterwards saw Thomas Mills who told him that in order to clear his brothers (then in custody,) who were innocent, he would tell all the truth. He then said himself and another man called Hitch had committed the robbery. Witness told him he had searched Mason’s house, and found very little. Prisoner said he must said he must dig deeper in the cellar. Witness searched Hitch’s house and found nothing, but on digging deeper in Mason’s cellar, he discovered, tied in old apron, a great heap of jewellery, which on its production in Court, was identified by the prosecutor. John Rainham deposed to finding the upper part of spoon upon Wm. Mason, which Miss Gent swore was in one of the shew glasses on the night of the 15th of February. Samuel Mills said he was only a lodger, and could not tell who went into his bed-room while he was out working. He never saw the things before the constable found them. The Jury found them all guilty. The learned Judge said, they had been most righteously convicted of the crime with with which they were charged, and it was most proper that such desperate characters should be sent out of the country; but in the case of one of them, he should make difference in the punishment, he had manifested a desire to save his brothers from what he considered an unjust charge, and to do so had made disclosure that led to the recovery of the property. The learned Judge then, in most emphatic manner, described the extreme severity of the punishment that now fell upon all those who were sentenced transportation; and which if it were better known, (his Lordship said), would operate powerfully to deter men from the commission of those crimes, which expose them to its infliction. William Mason and Samuel Mills to be transported for life. Thomas Mills for fourteen years. Staffordshire Advertiser, 15 March 1834.