APPENDIX A.

last six years.

jo give a fuller account of the audacious, and, to some extent, the cunning manner in which robberies were committed from the New Forest, we extract several passages from the evidence given before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1848 and 1849. Mr. George Fletcher, a timber-dealer in the neighbourhood of the forest, said:

You state that you have been in the habit of attending sales of timber in the forest? Yes, for the

Do you know where the timber chiefly goes to after it is sold? It goes to Sunderland, Newcastle, Aberdeen, Shields, and Arbroath.

Does it go to the ship-building ports? Yes; the parties building ships have advertised that they will not allow any timber in the north to be used for first-class vessels, vessels classed A.B. at Lloyd's, as the timber in the south of England is so superior.

Can you state what arrangements are made for the sale of timber in the forest? Mr. Reed goes round and marks what timber he thinks fit to be sold.

Is the timber put up in lots for sale? Yes, the first thing that takes place is that the bark is sold, or offered for sale.

When the timber is offered for sale, how is it put up? It is put up, so many trees, and so many lots, and a price is put upon them.

If a lot does not fetch that price, is it bought in? Yes; but it is always sold after the public sale.

How soon after? Within 20 minutes or half an hour, or at all events soon after the sale.

Is the timber offered for sale by public contract? Yes, generally; but it is sold in the forest in this way: the party who buys the largest quantity of timber after the sale is over, has the first offer of the timber which is bought in, and if he refuses to take it, it is offered to the party who has bought the second largest quantity.

Are as high prices realised by private sales as by public auction! I cannot say.

Did you ever hear of any combination among the purchasers of the timber? No; that would never answer the purpose, because they are liable to be convicted by the crown; but Mr. Reed takes very good care that Mr. Sign shall buy the timber, because I have heard it said from his own mouth, "I will make it up to you;" that is, if he gives a high price, Mr. Reed will make it up to him, so that it shall only cost him a certain price.

Do you mean to say that Mr. Sign is favoured at the sales? He is.

In what manner? You will find that in four sales out of five Mr. Sign is the largest purchaser, and the reason is this: if you will look at the catalogue (for I have noticed it, and have taken a good ( deal of trouble about it), you will find that, when the bark of a certain walk is put up for sale, there are 750 trees mentioned, and when the timber is put up for sale, there are only 570 or 580 trees in the same walk.

What do you infer from that? When they advertise the bark of a certain walk, they say, "the bark of so many trees;" and then they will let it stand for four or five months before they put up the timber in the same walk; and then, when that is put up, there are only 570; they have run away with the rest, or it has been sold separately.

You infer that the remainder has been disposed of privately? Yes.

Without a public sale? Yes.

Is the timber sold by measurement or by ends? It is sold by measurement; but parties are apt to look over the bills of sale to see if the contents are accurate.

Do you bid by measurement? No; they ask what we will give for the lot.

What is the meaning of the word "ends?" The pieces of timber; "ends" is the forest term for "sticks."

Did you ever count the ends at a sale and find them not correspond with the bill? Yes; in the New Park sale there were 750 ends of timber as advertised; and at the sale there were not more than 570 ends; the others had gone.

Is any portion reserved for home purposes? Yes, but the sides and tops would be sufficient for that.

Did you ever hear of timber being sold by private contract which had not been sold by public auction? Yes.

Can you mention a case? Yes; I can mention a case of Philip Andrews.

When was it? Within the last six months.

Where does he reside? At Eling, near Southampton.

Was that timber that had not been put up to public auction? Yes.

Is the timber sold by private contract marked with red paint, like that sold by public auction? No.

Is it marked with the hammer? No.

Who puts the mark upon the timber? Mr. Reed, as surveyor, is the party to put the Crown mark on before he sells the timber. Does he always do it? No.

Who does it? Sometimes they take it away without the mark being put on.

By "they," you mean those who buy it?

Yes.

At what time of year was this timber sold to Mr. Andrews? About the month of March.

Had it been marked? No, and he brought it home at once; he did not even take the trouble to hew it before he brought it away, which makes it so much more expensive to bring it home; he brought the timber home in its rough state.

Was that the same timber of which the bark had previously been sold by auction? Yes.

In what part of the forest?

About four miles from Beaulieu,

close to the Duke of Buccleuch's estate.

Were those parties in the habit of going round and looking at the lots before they were put up to public auction? Yes.

After it has been barked and cut? Yes.

Do the parties who purchase timber by private contract get long credit? That I cannot answer; I know they did when they purchased by auction.

At present do they get long credit? I think, since this Committee has been sitting they have all been very much pushed for money to pay off what they owe; some of them owe as much as 2000l. or 3000, and they have paid it off in the best possible manner they could.

Do you know any thing of the right of fuel-wood in the forest? Yes.

Do you know of any abuses in that respect? When Mr. Sturges Bourne used to superintend the forest, he used to take a good deal of pains in riding about the forest, in order to see that the wood was

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properly cut, and that the parties entitled had had the fuel-wood; but since that time, Mr. James Reed tells a party of the name of Pearce, who are the right owners of this fuel-wood, and he says to him, "Go and buy this fuel-wood, and I will make it right to you;" Pearce goes and purchases it at 10s. a cord, which would be a fair price if it were "What cut in a fair manner; Pearce goes to the parties, and says, will take for you fuel-wood?" Mr. Morant and other parties say, your "If you like to give 10s. for it, you shall have it ;" and then, instead of having merely the fuel-wood, he has some very fine beech timber. Who has it? A person of the name of Pearce, who is a labouring man on the forest.

In

Who is it who has the beech-wood cut? Mr. James Reed. the forest there is a certain quantity of fire-wood to be cut every year; but instead of having it stacked up, as originally it was done, they give to Pearce good timber.

Your statement is this: Pearce goes round to the parties who have a right to fuel-wood, and offers to purchase their rights, and having purchased those rights, instead of receiving fuel-wood, he receives good timber? Exactly.

Have you known Pearce long? I have known him two or three years; a few years back he used to hew the timber; in fact, he hews timber at the present moment.

Does any body do this besides Pearce? I know of nobody else. W. L. Freeman, Esq., after his inspection of the New Forest, said: Did of instructions from the Commissioners of you, in consequence Woods, put yourself in communication with Mr. William Reed and his two assistants, Mr. William Reed, junior, and Mr. James Reed? Yes, I did.

Had you any communication with Mr. James Reed? I think only on one occasion.

Did Mr. James Reed obey your orders? No, he did not.

Did he set you at defiance? I cannot say that he did that, but it almost amounted to that; when I spoke to him of the impropriety of his conduct, he declined to admit any thing, or to say any thing upon the subject, but that he was prepared with his solicitor for his defence; and when I found that was the case, and that he was trying in the course of his conversation to throw a great deal of blame on his father, I ordered him out of the room, and afterwards had no further communication with him.

Did he endeavour to throw blame upon his father? He did, in an indirect sort of way, which I did not like.

When did Mr. James Reed abscond? I am not prepared to say exactly.

Was it some time after you went to the forest? Yes.
Was it after the trials at Winchester, or before?
Did you know Isaac Holman? Yes.

Before.

Had he been a foreman employed by the government? Not a foreman; he was employed as a sort of hewer of timber; when timber was preparing for sales, or cutting down, he was generally then in the service of government, but perhaps half the year he was working upon his own account as a task and job man; he was not a regular servant of the crown.

Did you hear of any communication which Mr. James Reed made to Isaac Holman before he left home? Yes, I did.

Did you hear that James Reed upon that occasion uttered any threat? Yes.

Will you state how you acquired a knowledge of it? It was generally spoken of, and I ascertained afterwards that it was quite true that James Reed went to his house, and told him that if he split he would have his brains blown out.

Did not the unfortunate Holman, in consequence of that, attempt to commit suicide. It occurred that the following day I wanted Holman, and I sent for him, and under the apprehension that he had been under from Reed before, he thought it was upon that subject upon which Reed had threatened him, and he was in that state of excitement that he went and cut his throat instead of coming to me; it was only the manner in which he held his head over the brook which prevented his cutting the main artery, but he almost separated his head. Is he dead? No, he has recovered.

What was the subject on which you understood that James Reed had threatened him? The improper disposal of the wood and the fagots.

Was it mere conversation which you have heard in a general way? It is not mere conversation, because those facts have been proved by a variety of ways,--by depositions which have been taken before the magistrates upon oath, and which appeared at the trials at Winchester.

Did you hear of any meeting among the timber-merchants when you went down, with regard to defending themselves? There were continued meetings and reported subscriptions.

Were they in the habit of meeting at Mr. Sign's house occasionally? Yes, I think they did meet there, but more particularly at the Swan, a small public-house just above Lyndhurst.

Do you think that many parties have been engaged in this system