Huddersfield Chronicle 1881 to 1900
HUDDERSFIELD CHRONICLE 1881 TO 1900 1 January 28 1881 BASE COIN IN THE BLACK COUNTRY At the Stafford Assizes yesterday morning, Mr Commissioner Wills QC had before him for sentence a number of prisoners charged with passing base coin in the neighbourhoods of Wolverhampton. Walsall and West Bromwich, who had been convicted on the previous day. In all the cases, the “smashers”, who are believed to have got the spurious coin from Birmingham, went to small shopkeepers and, purchasing a trifling item, tendered a counterfeit coin in payment, frequently getting change without suspicion. After remarking on the enormity of the offence, the learned commissioner sentenced George Brown, locksmith, to five years penal servitude; Harry Hanson, horse dealer, to 12 months; Thomas Goodfrey, labourer, to six months; George Fuel, slater, to 12 months; John Farley, boatman, six months; and Ann Davies, a bad character, to six months. 2 February 24 1881 Borough Police Court THROWING A BOY INTO THE CANAL George Goodier, boatman, Wakefield, was charged with doing grievous bodily harm to Tom Fletcher, a lad of 16 years of age, on the 23 rd October last. The allegation of Fletcher was that on the day in question, between half past four and five in the afternoon, he, his mother, and three boys were coming to Huddersfield from Colne-bridge, along the canal bank. When they got near the lockhouse, they passed prisoner, who was in charge of a boat. Without anything being said, prisoner, who was the worse for liquor, exclaimed, “I'll drown you young -----”, and caught hold of Fletcher by the neck and breeches and dropped him into the canal, letting go of his clothes.
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