YE ANCIENT SHEPHERD OF DARTMOOR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1844, 2 September 1913, Page 7

YE ANCIENT SHEPHERD OF DARTMOOR.

MR. LLOYD-GEORGE'S PROTEGE IN TROUBLE AGAIN. By Telegraph—Press A6Sociation-Gopyrifflit London, August 31. Davies, Mr. Lloyd-Gcorgc's famous Dartmoor shepherds lias becii arfested for robbing a cliu-rch at Whitby. Davies first came into proininenco in Nav-embor of 11)10, ,'wli-eii Mr. LlcydGeorge, in his Milo End speech, said of him: "My friend the Home Secretary and I t'lio other day paid a visit to Dartmoor. On that bleak, misty-sodden upland I saw an old man of (i 5 in ,a convict garb who had been sentenced to- 13 years' penal servitude because, under tho influence of drink, lie had broken into a church poor-box and stolen- 2s/'

In answer to a question in the House of Commons a, few days later, the Homo Secretary. Mr: Winston Churchill, ' said the case had engaged his attention for more than six months. This was the most serious and severe sentence ever imposed under the system of preventive detention under the new Prevention of Crimes Act. _ He Hind advised the use of the prerogative of tho Crown to release the old man, who had now serred for more than a year, in the course of the next few months. Davies was later released from gaol to go to a f.ituation obtained for him near Wrexham. It was stipulated that lie could not leave of his own accord under a period of six months without the permission of the Home Office. Two days after his arrival at, the farm Davies disappeared, and the police had since been searching for him. Tho Opposition press meanwhile discovered that the object of Ministerial compassion was a, very old offender indeed, and waxed merry at Mr. Churchill's expense. Davies's record was .as follows:—

1870—1 -month's hard labour; larceny. 1870—8 months' hard labour; stealing a gun. 1871—7 years' penal servitude; burglary. 1877—10 years' penal servitude; stealing watch and chain 1887—15 years' penal ' servitude; burglary. 189!) —1 month's hard labour; sacrilege. 1902—5 years' nenal. servitude; stealing • £1 Gs: Gtl. and p-c. 1907—3 months' hard labour (license revoted); stealing -Bs. Old. 1905—3 months' hard labour (license revoked); breach Prevention of Crime Act.

In t'ho course of a long explanation Mr. Churchill said: "I am well aware i!hat these grimly brief records of wrctcliccl lives of crime and suffering do not furnish all the materials necessary for exact comparisons. But when every allowance has been made, I do not bolievo it is possible for any sincere man to resist the conclusion that David Davies has been treated, both in previous sentences and in his present sentence, with a. severity which, if not unparalleled, is certainly exceptional and excessive."