QSR1888/4/5/2b

Depositions of William Pettit, farmer of Carlton, William Ansell, labourer of Carlton, John Bolton, labourer of Carlton, James Busby, police Sergeant of Turvey, PC Charles Harlow of Stagsden and John Golding Howard, farmer of Biddenham. In the case of Alfred Wallinger accused of stealing 16 sheaves of wheat.

29 September 1888

From: 1888 To: 1888

PC James Busby: on the night of Sunday 23 September, in consequence of information received, he went to the prisoner’s house at Carlton in the company of PC Harlow. They arrived early Monday morning and asked if he had grown wheat that year. The prisoner said he had not and Busby asked him to go to the barn. Walllinger was asked to account for the wheat in the barn and he said he had picked it up whilst out gleaning with his children. Wallinger said he had no oats and pulled out some sheaves to prove this. Busby noticed several of the sheaves were tied with string and said that it looked like the string of self binders. Wallinger said he had it in the house for 12 months and had tied it up. He left Wallinger in the charge of PC Harlow and went for Whitworth. On returning he told Wallinger he had gone for Whitworth and Howard and Wallinger replied it was not Whitworth’s wheat and that he had bought it from a man obliged to sell it to pay his rent. Wallinger refused to give the man’s name. 10 sheaves of red and 6 of white were found in the barn. Some of the red was tied with twine. Harlow said to Wallinger that it was strange they had picked up thistles too whilst gleaning and Wallinger replied they could pick up what they liked. William Ansell: resided at Carlton and worked for Mr Pettit. He had cut, tied and helped stock some white square headed wheat. On 13 September he went to push the shocks down. He had not put less than 8 in a shock. 4 people had been shocking but had worked on the same shocks. He had seen the shocks produced and they matched with the shocks in the field. The sheaf produced was cut with a scythe not a machine. William Pettit: lived in Carlton and had a field of white square headed wheat near the reformatory. Ansell and 3 others helped shock the wheat. The wheat produced was similar to that in his field and he would believe it had not been gleaned. John Golding Howard: he had been cutting a field of wheat of Mr Whitworth’s at Turvey. The twine on the sheaf produced was manilla twine which was not commonly used in England. The knot had not been tied by hand. PC Charles Harlow: he had gone with Sergeant Busby to the prisoner’s house at Carlton. The prisoner was asked if he had grown any wheat and he replied he had not. There were several red and white sheaves in the barn. The prisoner said he had obtained them by gleaning. Harlow said it was strange he had also picked up thistles but Wallinger said he could pick up what he liked. When Busby had gone, Wallinger said he knew nothing about oats but the wheat he had bought from a man that had an allotment and wanted to sell the hay for his rent. He refused to say the name of the man. Wallinger’s wife’s mother came in and asked what the matter was and Wallinger said “I have to go to jail for taking 2 or 3 sheaves of wheat”. His mother in law replied “you must be a fool”. Harlow took Wallinger to Sergeant Busby’s house and the prisoner said he had done wrong but it was the first and last time. He said the wheat was not all Mr Pettit’s and he had been cutting beans for Sam Stevington of Turvey and they had been wheat in the beans, which Stevington said he could have. Wallinger said his boy gleaned it and made it into 3 sheaves. Earlier Busby had remarked it looked like the sheaves had been tied by machine. Whilst Busby had gone away, the prisoner went to the barn to get some string to tie some beans in the garden. After the prisoner left the barn, Harlow found a sheaf loose which had been previously tied up. One Busby’s return Wallinger was challenged about this but insisted the sheaf had been loose before and then said he had not cut it but Harlow had. Statement of the accused: he pleaded guilty to Mr Whitworth’s but not all of Mr Pettit’s. He was sorry for what he had done but he was in distress and did not know what to do. He had only a bit of food for his children and thought he would grind it into flour

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Wallinger, Alfred,
Pettit, William,
Ansell, William,
Howard, John Golding,
Busby, James,
Harlow, Charles

CARLTON, TURVEY, farmer, stealing, wheat, gleaning