Ashmead

Defendants were convicted of the crime o-f burglary. At the trial there was evidence that on the night of October 30* 1896, a building, the property of one Douglas, was entered *509 and certain farm produce belonging to Douglas was stolen therefrom; on the same night defendants were arrested and had then in their possession—in a wagon driven by them—the produce aforesaid with other property of perishable character; at this time they made certain explanations to the arresting officer relating to their movements on the night in question and relating to the said goods in their possession; these statements, if true, tended to show the innocence of defendants; the court adrúitted testimony of the declarations thus made to the officer, and it is argued now that the same was incompetent because not preceded by proof that such statements were freely and voluntarily made. The objection is groundless; the declarations were not confessions of guilt; whatever inculpatory force they had arose, not from their intrinsic effect, but from the comparison of them with other facts appearing in the case. (People v. Hickman, 113 Cal. 80 .)

Defendants told the officer who arrested them that they had…