Thomas Henry Scutt 1877-

[Census 1881 Surrey-91 Sussex-1901 Surrey.] [Surrey Mirror, Saturday 27 August 1892. Chipstead. Daring Robbery from Hooley House by Boys. At the Reigate County Bench on Saturday morning, before Lieut.Col. Seymour (in the chair and Jeremiah Colman. Four boys, Wm. Fisk, 16 Mission Cottages, West Croydon, aged 16: Thomas Scutt, 17 Fullerton Road, West Croydon, aged 15 1/2: James Howard 10 Borne Street, West Croydon, aged 15, and Frederick Lisney, 18 Tamworth Place, West Croydon, aged 15, were charged on remand with stealing 8s. l 1/2d., the monies of Hugh Scott, Esq., Hooley House, Chipstead, on the 15th August. P.C. West proved to arresting prisoners. Harold Page, a lad, aged 12, said on Monday morning, 15th inst., he saw prisoners about 150 yards from Hooley House. They were running and were looking behind them. Frank Grace, Chipstead, said he assisted P.C. West in catching Fisk and Howard in the Merstham Road. They said they and the other two shared the money between them. Sarah Price, cook at Hooley House, said Monday morning, about nine o'clock. Mrs. Scott put 8s. l 1/2d. with the tradespeople's books on the kitchen table. Mrs. Scott and witness then went to the larder, which was some way off, and were there about 20 minutes. On returning witness discovered that all the money had gone except 1d. The money would be seen from the window lying the table. Scutt, the biggest boy, here declared there was 6s.l 1/2d. on the table, not 8s. l 1/2d., and they took it. Lieut.Col. Seymour:Just repeat that. Scutt did so. Lieut.Col. Seymour:How do you know that? Scutt:Because I counted it, sir. Lieut.Col. Seymour: You took it?Scutt: Yes. sir. Prisoners, who all displayed a considerable amount of sharpness, but no signs of repentance, desired to be dealt with summarily, and pleaded guilty. lnspector Hackman stated that a charge by the Metropolitan Police was still hanging over Scutt. The Chairman remarked that this was an excessively painful case, and he would tell them that the Bench before going as closely into the case as they would have been disposed, in lieu of prisoners youth, to have flogged the whole of them. But their age prevented it. Their record of past history was excessively bad. The trouble they had been in and the trouble they had given showed that there were mere shades of indifference between them. Had it been possible, he said before, they would have flogged them all. As it was not, they would have to punish them in another manner. According to the law, they could not treat them all alike. They regarded them as equally bad, but one of them was in the eyes of the law a man. William Fisk, who was just over 16, would therefore be sentenced to one month's hard labour. The others, being under l6, and the hope that this lesson would reform them and give them a chance of recovering their lost characters, would be sentenced to ten days hard labour, and at the expiration of those ten days to go to the reformatory school at Redhill for four years. There they might recover their character, and try to live in future the lives of honest men. Prisoners now for the first time began to show any emotion, except that they had appeared to be relieved when the worthy Chairman told them they could not be flogged. The three who were ordered to go to the Philanthropic School appeared to consider themselves badly used, and upraided their comrade, who was over age, as if he had taken unfair advantage.]