West Kent Guardian, Saturday 2 March 1844.

Trespass.

James Miller, and notorious character, belonging to a gang of desperate fellows who infest the neighbourhood of Strood, was brought up under a warrant charged with having trespassed, before others, on the land of William Manclark Esq., of Strood, on the 18th, of December last, in search of rabbits.

Samuel Gray, disposed, that in the middle of the day in question, he saw for men in the bank of Mr. Manclark's field grubbing rabbits out with sticks. The prisoner was one of the party, and he stood in the road and took a rabbit from one of the men named Bath, it was in the field.

William Dawes, constable, received a warrant to apprehend the prisoner, and others on this complaint, but hade never been able to execute it. The prisoner, having, as he believed, absconded from the towns.

The magistrates convicted the prisoner in fine and costs £2 3s. and in default of payment he was sentenced to one calendar month and hard labour.

The Superintendent of Rochester police, Mr. Tuff, being present, observed that he had attended the Court to prefer a charge against the prisoner, for breaking into the workshop of Mr. Nash, at Shorn, and stealing a quantity of tools. From information he received on the last 1st of January last, he obtained a search warrant and on searching the prisoners lodgings, in a box he found a number of tools, which he believed to be Mr. Nash's.

Mr. William Nash being present, was sworn and said:- I reside at Shorn, and have a workshop at the edge age of the turnpike road. There is no dwelling attached to the workshop. On the afternoon of the 17th of last November, I left the shop fastened up with two locks on the door. The next morning, a little before 7 o'clock, I found a piece broken out of the door. I unlocked the door, and on entering the shop I discovered my tools have been stolen. The whole of the tools I left safe the previous afternoon. The tools stolen consisted of 2 draw shaves, value 3s, 3 spokeshave, value 3s, 3 chisels, 2s, 2 saws, 10s, 1 axe, 5s, 3 compasses, 1s, 12 gimlets, 2s, 1 stock and 36 bits, £1, 3 doesn't files, 4s, 1 smoothing plane, 3s, and 3 plane irons, 2s. About three weeks after the robbery two of the chisels were brought to me, they having been found in a hop garden. I never saw the prisoner in my shop. After the robbery I gave information to the station house, at Rochester.

Mary Anne Olever, wife of James Olever, who keeps the "Plough," beer shop, in Cage lane, Strood, said that she had known the prisoner many years. He had lodged at her house for nearly 12 months. He left his lodgings about Christmas last, but his wife kept them on sometime after that. She left them about 3 weeks ago. The prisoner and his wife occupied of front room over the bar. Witness remembers Mr. Tuff coming to her house; the prisoner's wife was there at the time, and went upstairs with Mr. Tuff into the prisoners room. The prisoners wife always paid the rent for the lodging. Witness cannot say whether the prisoner had any boxes in the room. She had not seen the prisoner since he left her house, until this day.
John Tuff said that on the 1st of January he received a warrant to search the prisoner's lodgings, for some goods that had been stolen from a barge lying in the River Medway, above bridge, and in a box he found the tools now produced. He took the prisoner on Friday last.

Mr. Nash identified some of the tools produced as his property; and the prisoner was fully committed for trial at the next excises.