MRS PEPPER 1877 On the 1st August 1877, Mrs. Pepper, an - TopicsExpress



          

MRS PEPPER 1877 On the 1st August 1877, Mrs. Pepper, an attendant at the Beechworth Lunatic Asylum, a most respectable person, and widow of a member, of the Victorian police force, and well known for many years in the Ovens district, brought an action for slander against a draper named John Brown in the Beechworth County Court. It appeared that Mrs. Pepper had been dealing at Browns shop for the past seven years, and that on the 22nd May 1877, she went to the shop and bought same goods. After being served with the articles she required, Pepper was accused by Brown of having pocketed a skein of wool of the value of sixpence and, in order to satisfy Brown that he was mistaken, Pepper turned her pocket inside out. Brown however, was not satisfied, and at the request of Pepper the police. On the arrival of a constable Pepper suggested that a woman or girl should be procured in order to search her, however this suggestion was not acted upon, and Pepper then said that either Brown or the constable might search her. Both men, however, declined, and Pepper then said that as both were married men she would undress before them, and she proceeded to take off all but her underclothing every article of attire being carefully examined by Brown as it was taken off, without any trace of the missing sixpenny worth of wool being found. Brown was not satisfied with this, but still maintained that Pepper had the wool concealed on her person. After Pepper was searched, Brown wanted to her out of the shop, but she refused to go until Sergeant Baber came, the constable having in the meantime left. After a time another constable came, and he advised Pepper to leave the shop. Before this Pepper had got a little girl to come and examine her underclothing in order to show that she had nothing concealed. The defence set up was justification, the defendants evidence being to the effect that the Pepper must have taken the wool because it had been on the counter when Brown turned away to serve her, and was gone when he turned back. The jury awarded Pepper with £50 damages.
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 12:25:16 +0000

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