SUPREME COURT.

GUILTY OF THE THEFT OF GOLD.

The ease against James Fitt, of the alleged theft of £314 in gold from Hum Kee, a Chinese fruiterer, of Palmerston, was continued yesterday afternoon, before ■ Mr Justice Edwards, at the Supreme Court. Mr H. G. Moore-appeared for the accused, and Mr C. A. Loughnan for the Crown. Counsel for defence admitted that accused had purchased a cashbox trunk and pair of boots, for which lie paid in goJd. Detective-Sergeant Quirke stated that he visited Hum Kee's premises on 19th September. Hum Kec told witness of the theft of £314 in gold. Accused was present, and was very talkative, and made several suggestions as to how the robbery was effected. . .Accused showed witness a roll of bank ! notes, which he said he had had all the ! week, and it had not been touched. Witness attended the Otaki races and saw accused there. He next saw accused at Hum Kee's premises. On being asked i where ho get the money he was spending, accused said : "At the races." Witness asked accused how he got the £2B he banked in October, and the lalter's reply was that the money was won at the races. Wit. ness, in company with Hum Kee, accused and Constable Gow, visited the house of accused's son, and on the way to the house accused remarked that he had been collecting gold for years. He said he had won ; this money at the races. At the son's house I they found the trunk (produced), which conI tained a brown paper parcel tied with Chinese string. Inside the parcel was a j cash-box, which they took to tf»e police I station. On being opened, it was f<,und jto contain 10 rolls of 20 sovereigns and one roll containing 30 sovereigns. There was also £37 10s in loose gold in the box. Witness then charged accused with the theft.

To Mr Moore: Hum Kee told witness at. the first conversation that the lost money was wrapped in fruit paper. Hum Kee had slated that accused had the run of the shop. but did not suggest that accused was the thief. Accused had told witness that he had been collecting gold for the last three or four years, particularly since the war. Sergeant Henry and Constable Gow corroborated Detective-Sergeant Quirk's evidence.

Arthur Henry Paliaret, accountant at the Union Bank, Palmerston North, stated that Hum Kee's bankings for the past 12 months had been £267 in excess of the previous 12 months, and his total bankings for the 16 months since the war were £3600. J. Fitt, a son of accused, said his father had contemplated a trip home for several years past, and had been saving up his money with this object. He had been turning his money into tokl, pi.rticularly since the war started.

To Mr Loughnan: As far as witness knew, iiis father acted as bookkeeper to Hum Kee. lie had no other source of income. His father owned a section on the Foxton line about three years ago.

A. Fitt, another son of accused, said his father had been talking about taking a trip to the Old Country for the last twelve months. His father had novor aiade application to witness tor money.

James Fitt, the accused, said he was a master butcher, and came to Palmerston in 1890. For some four years rust Je had Ik en keeping books and conducting correspondence for Hum Kee. Witness often had control of the shop, and if he had any intenthion of robbing Hum Kee he huu ller.ty of opportunity of doing so. Witness had been saving gold for almost three years, and wrapped his money up in fruit paper, the same as Hum Kee' There was plenty of paper at the shop, and he had used it. The gold found in the trunk was witness's own property. Witness was present, when Hum Kee reported his loss to the police. Hum Kee said the money was rolled up in parcels of £2O and there was £l4 in loose money. When the money was counted at the Police Station Hum Ke<> did not say there was one parcel of £3O until after the money had been handled. Witness made no secret that he had been collecting gold—he told the police so the day they visited his son's house. Witness always kept £3O or £4O in his possession, independent of his post office account, for speculating. He attended nearly all the race meetings, and usually made money. He had disposed of a section on the Foxton line some time ago for £2lO. He had made £2OO at a race meeting at Napier, some of the gold being that found in his box by the police. To Mr Loughnan: He commenced collecting gold about four years ago. His ob ject In reducing his account at the post office was that he did not wish his family to know what he had. He had no definite source of income, and got no wages from Hum Kee. He had kepi a sum of £l6B in gold at his son's house up till recently. Witness did not inform his son that the trunk (produced in Court.) contain?*! the largo sum of over £2OO in gold. After a short retirement, the jury returned a verdict of guilty, with a strong recommendation to mercy on account of the stronT temptation to which he was subj jected.

ALLEGED ASSAULT. A charge of alleged indecent assault on a girl under 16 years of age was preferred against Jules Emil Magnusson, the offence being alleged to have taken place on the 14th October, at Palmerston. Accused pleaded not guilty, and was defended by Mr Innes. Air Loughnan prosecuted on behalf of the Crown.

Evidence in support of the charge was given by the girl, her mother, and Detec-tive-Sergeant Quirke. The defence was a denial of tho charge. The jury retired at 5.50 and returned at 6.10 with a verdict of not guilty.