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Thomas Walter Pepper, a lad living at the Cross-Wall, was charged with injuring some chickens belonging to Mrs. Carlton a neighbour living in Round Tower Street. It appeared that the defendant was a neighbour of Mr. H. Pepper, a Butcher of Cross-Wall and that complainant’s premises were near to Mr. Pepper’s slaughterhouse. A great number of fowls had been lost at different times and she had reason to suppose that the defendant had mischievously made off with some of them as he sent word to her that if they came on his uncles premises he would break every ---- fowl’s neck.

The defendant denied that he had sent any such message to complainant, and said that her uncle’s dog had seized three of the chickens a day or two previously upon their flying over the yard. He found them lying on a dung heap apparently dead and he threw them into some water for the purpose of bringing them too. Complainant said she was satisfied that the fowls had been maliciously drowned. When she recovered them they were dripping wet, but they bore no marks of violence such would have been found upon them had they been worried to death by a dog. There appearing to be no evidence in support of this assumption the magistrates dismissed the summons advising the parties to cultivate a proper understanding as neighbours. (1860)