London's Bicentennial (Snippet 24)

 A Criminal Caught - 1898

Arizona Republican, Oct. 10, 1898

Punishment Forthcoming

The Times (Washington), March 30, 1899

For more about this crime see, "Marion 'Peg-leg' Brown", where a picture of the murdered Constable Michael Toohey is also found. "Death, Disaster, and Disgrace in Victorian London - Walking Tour," . p.33.

London's Bicentennial (Snippet 13)

    I have been away for a bit and slow to resume blogging. I am lacking in the creative energy required for even the most mundane of posts and am not lacking in other things that I should be doing instead. Still the resumption will be attempted and I will begin with another London item and you will now have been given a baker's dozen of them. 

  This one occurred just over one hundred years ago when two men were hanged in London on the same day in 1924 and the report is found in the Casper Daily Tribune (Wyoming). Mr. Murrell killed someone while robbing a bank in Melbourne. Mr. Topping murdered his girlfriend.

The Bonus:
   Since I don't feel like doing those other things mentioned, I will offer here an editorial comment since it is a "reactionary" one that I would prefer go unnoticed. Perhaps we should bring back hanging as a punishment. That sounds harsh, but I am not advocating hanging all criminals, just those who are guilty of crimes, such as stealing from public institutions, as opposed to private corporations, where more leniency could be justified. 
  Given that this is a London snippet, here is an example from London:
"Alleged fraud worth $60M uncovered at London Health Sciences Centre,".
   "An audit has uncovered a decade-long fraud at the region's largest hospital network with the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) filing two separate lawsuits implicating five former executives, a contractor and companies hired to do work.
   The lawsuits total more than $60 million and allege that some executives knew about the scheme and did nothing to stop it. One of the lawsuits also links more than 60 "suspicious properties" worth almost $20M to three people involved in the alleged scheme, purchased after multi-million dollar contracts were awarded by the hospital....
"The Fraudulent Scheme was a calculated, multi-year campaign of deceit and theft, deliberately engineered to misappropriate public funds for personal and unlawful gain," the lawsuit that was filed Wednesday alleges."

  It was announced more recently that 288 Registered Nurses at the LHSC were going to be laid off, a not unrelated development. 

  Admittedly, hanging is a bit harsh for our time, but perhaps we could at least bring back the pillory and erect a few of them at the intersection of Wellington and Commissioners where the guilty could be displayed for a very long time and even in the winter. 
Sources:
  The article quoted above is by Kate Dubinski, CBC News, July 9, 2025.
  For more about hangings in London see "Hanging Days" by the late Christopher Doty. 
  For more about hanging generally, see "The Gibbet".

The Great Huron County Chicken Heist(s)

 Have You Seen These Chicks, Or Any of the Other 44,996?

   Perhaps it is because I grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where Perdue is located and poultry and pullets were often discussed, that I noticed recently a report which indicated that 30,000 chicks were stolen from a farm here in southern Ontario. Soon after that, another 15,000 went missing from the same farm near Exeter in Huron County. Apparently this farmer was not guarding the henhouse.

   The raising of poultry is still very important on the Eastern Shore and Perdue is one of the largest agribusinesses in the U.S.. Ontario is Canada’s largest chicken producer and those involved contribute $5 billion to the province’s economy. Although the scale of the operations, both here and in Maryland is huge, one would think that the stealing of 45,000 chicks is worth noting and that the monetary loss is not just ‘chicken feed.’ The stealing of 45,000 of anything is worth noting.

   I am noting it here, for two reasons. The chickens are still missing and the thefts have not been solved. If you know anything about this heist, call the Huron County OPP. I also think that the great Ontario chicken thefts will be a major story on CBS’s 60 Minutes or NBC’s Dateline, either soon (since it is a big story), or when the thieves are caught (which surely will be an interesting one.) If you watch only the CBC, you will appreciate the background I am providing and will not be totally surprised when this news appears in the U.S. and eventually comes to your attention. That such a story will not be on the CBC is explained by the fact that it is lacking in diversity, in that all of the members of the flock were of the same colour and age. As well, no Indigenous people were involved, as far as we know. 

  The questions you now have are many, the first one likely to be, “Why such a rambling prologue?” The others will be related more directly to the crime(s) and I will quickly present some here, along with brief answers which can be verified by consulting the sources provided.

   How does one sneak up on a farmer or the chicks, in the middle of the night without causing a bit of a ruckus? Particularly since more than one person would have to be involved, along with some very large vehicles. How does one corral 30,000 chicks and then have enough nerve remaining to return and grab 15,000 more? Or, are there other groups of chicken stealers? Is this only a misdemeanour, or are the 45,000 chicks worth something? Each chick costs about $1.40 and that number is a small one compared to the number of eggs they would have produced, or the number of breasts for the BBQs. These issues and more are covered in the references below, but the major question, “Who stole the chicks?” remains unanswered at this time.

   Readers of Mulcahy's Miscellany who noticed my recent post about urban crime, (Signs of the Times - Shoplifting), may now have another question about the magnitude of criminal activities in the country. In short, other farm thefts have been recorded and you now have something else to worry about. For example:

- Not long ago, 44 pigs were stolen from a farm near Stratford and in 2019 

130 pigs disappeared in South West Oxford Township. The pigs were much heavier than the chicks;

- Eight beehives were taken from a bee-keeper near Peterborough;

- Using as many as a dozen trucks, 400 tonnes of corn were taken from a farm northeast of Montreal and that probably reminds you of "The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist", when 16,000 barrels of it were taken from a warehouse in Quebec.

-Even dead animals aren't safe. In Caledon, around $1.5 million worth of moose, elk and stag antlers were stolen from a taxidermist.

Sources:

"30,000 Chicks Stolen From Huron County Farm," CBC, April 21, 2023.
"Someone Stole 30,000 Chicks From Ontario Farm," National Post, April 24, 2023.

"Police Investigate 30,000 Chicks Stolen in Ontario," AGDAILY, April 24, 2023.

"How Does Someone Steal 30,000 Baby Chickens," Calvi Leon, London Free Press, May 16, 2023.

"Great Exeter Chicken Heist Still a Mystery," Calvi Leon, Clinton News-Record, May 24, 2023.

The Second Theft:

"Another 15,000 Chicks Reported Missing From Ontario Chicken Farm," Kevin Nielsen, Global News, June 19, 2023.

"More Chicks Stolen From Ontario Farm," Andrew Joseph, Farms.com. June 20, 2023.

"$1.5 Million Worth of Antlers Stolen From Ont. Taxidermy Shop," London Free Press, Aug. 14, 2016.

Nothing Is Sacred and Nothing Is Safe.