Theft of Newspapers at Conisborough

At Doncaster on Wednesday, a schoolboy, Frank Rowbotham, aged nine years, living at New Conisborough, was charged by the great Central Railway company with having stolen five dozen newspapers.

Alfred Drinkall, passenger porter, Conisborough, deposed that on Friday, the ninth inst, he was on duty on the platform. There was a parcel of “Catholic Times” came at 1 o’clock, valued at 5/–, and was in charge of the great Central Railway company.

The prisoner was on the platform, and witness ordered him off. From something that was said to witness, he looked for the papers, but could not find them.

Thomas Ross (nine) said he was down at Kilner’s glassworks at 3 o’clock on the date named. The prisoner came down with some green books, and the “Catholic Times” produced was one of them. He had about seven papers, and said the stationmaster had given him them to give away.

PC Wailes, stationed at new Conisborough, deposed that at 9:15 p.m. on Thursday night, he saw the prisoner at his home in Balby Street and charged him with stealing the papers, and he replied: “We took them from the platform, threw some in the water, and gave Tommy Ross some.”

The chairman asked prisoner’s grandmother to take care of the boy, and he would be discharged. He would also be bound over under the first offenders act to come up for judgement when called upon.