James Henderson: reward

ESCAPED FROM JUSTICE.

JAMES HENDERSON, residenter in Aberdeen, commonly called Egg Jamie, and sometimes Meal Jamie, accused of various acts of Housebreaking and Theft, in the town and neighbourhood of Aberdeen.

The said James Henderson made his Escape on the 9th curt., is about six feet high, appears to be about 50 years of age, has short fair hair, reddish whiskers, (if not since cut away), grey or blue eyes, is fair complexioned and smooth faced, speaks the south country dialect; he is well known over the country, as he was in the practice of frequenting the Country Markets, particularly those held to the westward and northward of Aberdeen, and of buying large quantities of eggs and butter weekly from country people, bringing the same to Aberdeen for Sale.  When he made his escape, he was dressed in a mixed grey coat, under a drab coloured great coat, wore corduroy trowsers.   About twelve years ago he was a carrier and grain dealer in Leith or Edinburgh; his father, it is believed, was formerly a farmer near Dunse in Berwickshire and is now living near Linlithgow.

Whoever shall apprehend the said James Henderson and secure him in the nearest Jail, will receive a reward of FIVE GUINEAS, on applying to Mr Alexander Cadenhead, Procurator Fiscal of Aberdeen.

Published in the Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday 17th December 1817.

Court cases to be heard at Inverness

The following persons have been indicted to stand trial at the ensuing Spring Circuits at Inverness, viz;- -  James Chisholm and Roderick Cameron, assaulting and deforcing revenue officers. - Barbara McKay, housebreaking and theft.  - John Strachan, theft.  William Fraser, alias McKenzie, and Simon Fraser, theft and reset of theft.  - Robert Dempster, assault. - John Ross, sheep-stealing. - Helen Stewart, theft and reset of theft.

Published in the Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday 16th April 1817.

Circuit court: cases of William Law, George & John Downie and Joseph MacHardy

On Monday last, the Circuit Court of Justiciary was opened here by the Right Honourable Lord PITMILLY.

There were only two cases before his Lordship.  The first of which was that of William Law.  The libel against him was of a very formidable nature - not less than two separate charges of housebreaking and theft, aggravated by prison breaking.  The pannel pleaded guilty of the crime of prison breaking, but denied the rest of the libel.  Owing to the panel having acknowledged his guilt of one of the charges, by petitioning the Sheriff of Kincardineshire for voluntary banishment on a prior occasion, the Public Prosecutor departed from that charge, and confined himself to the charge against the pannel of breaking in to the house of Isabella Smith, in the neighbourhood of Stonehaven, and carrying off various articles narrated in the indictment.

It appeared that Isabella Smith had, about the end of the year 1812, left her house, and gone on a visit to a daughter in Arbroath; and during her absence, her dwelling house had been forcibly entered, and completely ransacked of every article of value.  Sometime after, a bed and bed-tick, the property of Smith, was traced to the house of John Duncan, broker in Montrose, and was clearly proved to have been purchased from the pannel; but none of the other articles were ever heard of.  The Public Prosecutor attempted to bring the housebreaking home to the pannel; but the evidence on this part of the libel, though strongly presumptive, was by no means conclusive on the point.  The Jury were enclosed, and returned a verdict yesterday morning, when they unanimously found the pannel, upon his own confession, guilty of prison-breaking, and of stealing a bed and bed-tick, the property of the said Isabella Smith; but found the other parts of the libel not proven.

His Lordship then pronounced sentence of transportation against the pannel for 14 years.

Thereafter came on the trial of George and John Downie, and of Joseph Machardy, accused of assaulting and deforcing Malcolm Gillespie, excise officer, to the effusion of his blood and danger of his life.  The Public Prosecutor passed from the charge in so far as related to Machardy; and the pannels, George and John Downie, pleaded "guilty in part" which was afterwards explained by their Counsel to import a denial of the deforecement, and a denial of having assaulted or beat the exciseman to the danger of his life; but they admitted, that they had been engaged in a scuffle with the said exciseman, and had struct him so as (they were since informed) to draw blood from his body.  The Advocate-Depute acquiesced in the accuracy of this qualified confession; and thereafter an appeal to the clemency of the Court and Jury was made on behalf of the pannels, in respect of their candid confession, - their submissive and voluntary appearance to meet the justice of their country, - and their previous good characters, of which a proof was offered by respectable witnesses then attending.  The Court judged it unnecessary to go into any proof on the matter of previous character, of which no impeachment had been made; and a Jury having been enclosed, they unanimously, and without leaving the box, found the pannels guilty in terms of their confession; but recommended them to the clemency of the Court.

Sentence of imprisonment in Bridewell for the period of nine months was pronounced upon them, after a suitable admonition from the Bench, and at the end of the period of their confinement, to find bail for their good behaviour for three years.

Counsel for the Crown, Mr Home Drummond; for the Pannels, Mr Gordon.

Published in the Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday 28th September 1814.

Court of Justiciary Trials (2)

The Court next proceeded to the case of Jean Davidson, from Banff, accused of housebreaking, theft, and of being habit and repute a common thief.  This was a very distressing case.  The prisoner, a young creature, and apparently pregnant, appeared in the most calamitous circumstances, totally friendless and forlorn.  She instantly pleaded generally guilty; but the Court having permitted Mr Gordon to converse with her, it was reporter by him, - that the prisoner was neither aware of her situation, nor of the proper mode of communicating to the Court her real meaning; that she did not mean to admit her guilt as to the housebreaking, or the habit and repute; that she was innocent as to these charges; and that her only guilt was, a participation in the thefts libelled.  The Advocate-Depute, with great humanity, expressed his happiness at this explanation, and his satisfaction on the whole, that this was a case which he was at liberty to restrict from the capital pains, under circumstances singularly affecting in the history of the prisoner.  She then repeated her plea of guilty, under the qualifications stated by her Counsel; and a jury having been impannelled, were directed to return their verdict on Tuesday.

On Tuesday the Court resumed its sitting.  The jury, in Farquhar's case, returned their verdict , finding, by a plurality of voices, the libel Not proven; whereupon the prisoner was assoilzied and dismissed from the bar, after a suitable and impressive admonition from the Court.

After this, the jury in Jean Davidson's case returned a verdict, unanimously finding her Guilty, in terms of her confession. - Sentence to-morrow.

Published in the Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday 27th April 1814.