SUPREME COURT. —Criminal Sittings.

Auckland Star, Volume I, Issue 286, 9 December 1870, Page 2

SUPREME COURT. —Criminal Sittings.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9. [Before His Honor Sir G. A. Arney, Knight, Chief Justice.]

His Honor took his seat on the bench at ten o'clock.

Embezzlement. — John George William Cann, late a sergeant in the 2. ew Zealand militia, was arraigned upon an indictment charging him with three different acts of embezzlement of moneys the property of Her Majesty, he being at the time a staff-sergeant of the above named carps (1). On the,Bfch of May, with embezzling £1 10s., (2) with embezzling on the 15th of June, £1 ss. 6d.; (3) and on the 20th of the same month with embezzling £5 7s. 6d. Before being called upon in the ÜBual manner the prisoner pleaded guilty. The prisoner handed in a certificate of character from Colonel Harrington, formerly commanding the Bay of Plenty district, which stated that the writer knew the prisoner since April, 1864, and always considered him an upright, honest, and zealous officer and public servant. Colonel Moule verified this certificate. — Mr. Abraham Warbrick spoke of the prisoner in similar terms. —Sergeant Griffiths, of the Armed constabulary gave similar witness. The prisoner filled the office of sub-storekeeper, and was always highly spoken of. —His Honor said that thiß was one of a class-of cases in which a good character could not be of much avail, for it was by virtue of his good character that the person accused obtained the confidence which he afterwards abused. His Honor sentenced the prisoner to imprisonment with hard labor for the term of eighteen calendar months. Stabbing.— Joseph Escallion, a Spaniard, was arraigned upon an indictment charging him with stabbing John Williams, a man of colour, with intent to do grievous bodily harm, under the following circumstances :— Mr. Fernandez was sworn interpreter. —John Williams said : Ho was a fisherman, residing at Tararu. On the 23rd of September witness and James Pikaio, and the prisoner left Grahamstown to go to Tararu. While on their way prisoner calfed to witness. He sang out " John, wait." Witness waited for prisoner, who rushed at him, and stabbed him in the right breast. Had no previous quarrel with the prisoner, who was sober. Wituess had three shirts on. The knife penetrated the three shirts. Witness , opened his shirts and found that he was bleeding. (Shirts and knife produced.) —James Pikaio gave similar evidence. He was one of the three persons mentioned. Prisoner called out to the prosecutor " wait," and when he came up to Williams, said, "I will give you something before you go,'' and stabbed him. Dr. Lethbridge said*tho prosecutor was brought to the hospital suffering from an incised wound in the right breast, about an inch-and-a-hall long, and half-an-inch deep. The knife appeared to have struck the body in an oblique direction, and glanced off the bone. Tlih wound was not very severe, but the blow must have been given with considerable fore. to have penetrated .through three woollen shirts. The prosecutor was under witness's charge for two or three days.—John Doran

said that the three men appeared at the timo to be under the influence of liquor. —Constable Cochrane deposed that he went in ■ search of the prisoner. Went first to his i house. Fonnd him afterwards in the bush, j showed the prisoner the knife produced, and he acknowledged that it was his. Prosecutor appeared to be sober when witness saw him immediately after the. occurrence, but the ■prisoner and the other man looked as if they had been recently drinking.—William Rykes saw the three men on the beach. They were all rolling together. The prosecutor .was not then stabbed. Met the prosecutor afterwards,' who said he w.as stabbed. They passed by witness's house apparently good friends. They were all singing.—The prisoner in his defence said that he did not stab the prosecutor with a malicious intention. He was in liquor at the time. As there were two to one against him he pulled out the knife in his defence. ' All three were quite drunk at the time. If the other two had not insulted him he would not have done what he did. —His Honor having summed up the evidence, the jury retired, and after an absenceof ten minutes, returned into Court with a verdict of guilty of stabbing.—The prisoner, having been challenged in the usual way, had nothing to say.—His Honor said the jury had taken a merciful view of the case, and acquitted the prisoner of the intent to do grievous bodily harm, and sentenced the prisoner to nine months' imprisonment with hard labor. Forcible Entey.— James Faulkner Samuel Richard Savory, arid Hugh Connor, were charged with having, by force, taken possession of a house in (irahanistown, in the possession of George Keats, and kept him out by force, to the great loss and injury of the prosecutor. —Mr. Beveridge appeared for the defendants, who pleaded guilty.—Mr. Brookfield said that arrangements had been come to with the counsel for defendants, for the restitution of the property, and the ends of justice would be satisfied by an order of the Court for complete restitution, and binding over the defendants to come up for judgment when called on.— The order was made accordingly, and each defendant entered into his own recognizances of £50 to come up for judgment -when called upon.