DUNEDIN.

Otago Witness, Issue 1456, 11 October 1879, Page 11

DUNEDIN.

Monday, 6th October. (Before his Honor Mr JubMco Williams.)

The Quarterly Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court opened yesterday morning, at 10 o'clock.

GRAND JURY.

The following gentlemen were sworn in as Graud Jurors :— Messr3 Martin Marshall, W. T. Winchester, Thomas Austin, James Whitelaw, John Stephenson, John G. Hall, Alexander Burt, William C. Kirkcaldy, Horace Bastings, David Baxter, Andrew Thomson, James Robin, Daniel Grant, Robert Nimmo, Joseph L. Shaw, Daniel R. Hudson, Donald Reid, Goorge L. Dennistnn, John A, Connell, John R. Jones, John M'Neill, William Henry Haydon. Mr Donald Reid was chosen foreman.

JUDGE'S CHARGE. His Honor delivered the following charge to the Grand Jury :—: —

Mr Foreman and Gentltmen of the Grand Jury, — Tho cases you will havo to consider, although comparatively few in number, are, I rc-gret to siy, cf an unusually serious character. The culondar comprises chai g(?B of arson and murder, of rapo, and of the misappropriation of large sums of money by persons placed iv situations of trust. With respect to tha charges arUinp out of what is known as the Octagon fire, you will havo to consider them irrespectively of the finding which we are all awai o was the result of the iiiquiry before the Coroner. You will have to say from the evidence brought beforo you whether m your opinion, a prima facie ease is established against the accused, li you think there is ovidence that the accused intentionally set fira to the building, and that tho death of Wilson was caused by tho flro, you will find a true bill for murder, even though you should think that the accused had no actual intention or desire to kill or injure the deceased. The law iB, thct if one man In the course of committing a felony, happens, though by mere accident, to kill anothor he is guilty of murder. In tho cisc of Beid there r.re tereral charges cf malversation of the lunds of a joint-stock company, of which the accused appears to have been a member and an officer. The charges seem d IvisaMe in' o two groups : in one he is charged with having received moneys on behalf of tho Company from shareholders, and with havinir fraudulently omitted to make entries of these receipts in the Company's books ; while in the other he is charged with having appropriated divers enms of money out of the funds under hia control which belonged to tho Company. To the other casoa I think it Is unnecessary to refer specially. Should you have auy difficulty with respect to them— and I do not ant'eipate you will find any — I shall be glad to assist you. Notwithstanding tho grave naturo of tho charges you have to consider, there i<=, to my mind, one satisfactory feature of the present calendar, and that U tho absence of all crime on the part of those who, havn-g been most severely tempted, might perhaps have been expected— in tome ewes at least— to succumb to temptation. Many of our fallow citizens havo been out of work during the past winter, and much privation and distress have prevailed amongst us, but not a single crime can be traced to this source. The persona accused are for tho moat part of a class considerably above the reach of absolute want; and there is & marked absence from the calendar of the email forgeries, thefts, and tho like crimes which form usually the staple of our criminal business. Tho calendar is, Indeed, as a rule, numerically heavier in good times than in bad. In April hat your, when work at good wages was plentiful, I had occasion to remark to tne Grand Jury at Chriatohureh on the unprecedentedly heavy calendar, and the unfortunate coincidence of great material prosperity with a prevalence of crime The truth is, that while our industrial popu'ation are thoroughly law-abiding, and boar like men the brunt of adversity, yet, when money is plentiful, m-iriy are unable to resist the temptation to ex esaivo drinking, and crime becomes rsmpmt. The chief offences in the present calendar have, however, little to do with drink. They require for their consummation a clear and unc'.oudod brain, and are she offspring, not of drunken foil/, but of calm and deliberately-planned wickedries3. Offences like theae are of the most riangor. us kind ; when prevalent they indicate an unwholesome state of society, and they should be met by prorrlpt and stern repression. Gentlemen, if you will letire to your room the bills will be laid before you.

TRUE BILLS.

The Grand Jury returned true bills in the following cases : — Matthew William Hawkins, embr-zzlement (two indictments) ; Jonathan Richardson, assault and robbery; Andrew Munay, rape; William Waters, murder and arson ; Alexander Rocard, cattle - stealing ; Thomas Chalmers Reid, embezzlement (10 indictments).

Mr Haggitt intimated that he was preparing an indictment in the case of James Smith, committed that day for murder ; and his Honor asked the Grand Jury to raturu to-morrow to consider it.

EMBEZZLEMENT.

Matthew William Hawkins pleaded Guilty to two indictments charging him with embezzlement. The first indictment contained four counts, charging prisoner that, as clerk and servant cf Robert Wilson and George Turnbull, he did fraudulently and feloniously embezzle sums of Ll5O and L 52, on 24th October and Bth November, 1878 ; and the second indictment contained two counts, on which prisoner with having, also while clerk and servant of Robert Wilson and George Turnbull, embezzled the sum of LIOO.

Mr R. Stout said : Please your Honor, I should like to say a few words with reference to the prisoner, with your Honor's permission.

His Honor : Yes.

Mr E. Stout : In this case from the first — in fact before the charge was made, as yonr Honor will have Reeu from the depositiocs, the prisoner confessed Ms crime, and from the tim 9 of his confession down to the present he has not attempted to screen himself in any way by any technical defence or by any other means. It was, in fact, from the prisoner's confession that the trustees and managess of the Society found out that he bad been taking the Society's money. I submib to the Court that seeing the position the prisoner has held, whatever happens, whatever punishment the Court may puL upon him, he is ruined for life; because the maunor in which he earned hiß Hying wa3 by being an accountant and dealing with other pai sons' money. Of course that is now wholly taken from him, and he is left without means ; /or it is not tha same as if he had taken money and applied it to obtain meats of his own; and I submit that, whatever kind of punishment the Court may give, he is a ruined man. The prisoner himself says that when he prat did take any of the Company's money he intended to restore it, but through thiDgß going bad ene way or another he has been unable to do that, and ho has been placed in thi» position. Of court e Ido not cay thai is any excuse for taking the money in the first instance, but ifc shows that it was not taken with the object of keeping it ; fcr of course, a" an accountant, ho must have known that from the er, tries in the books the loss of the luottM.y wijijld bd discovered. I have persons in (Jours wliu have kiiown the aceuied for a joutubar of years : and of oourdo the position he has occupied up to this wili uhww the character he ba3 held. All that the witnesses can say is that up to the time ef his confession they knew nothing against him> Ido not know that it is necessary. His Honor : I hardly think it is necessary to call them. Evidence of previous good character would be rather nn aggravation. It was by means of his good character he was able to do this.

Mr Stout: I would point out that he has shown contrition for his offence from the first, And that, whatever punishment the Court may

inflict on him, his ruin is complete, and that he has a large family depending upon him. Hib Honor : I will not call upon him now. I will look through the depositions, and pass sentence to-morrow morning.

ASSAULT AND ROBBERY.

JonathanSßichardson (29) pleaded Guilty to a charge of having on Bth July, 1879, assaulted one Daniel M'llroy, and with having tfaen robbed the said Daniel M'llroy of the sum of L 4. The circumstances of this case were fully reported when it was heard in the Police Court. Mr Denniston stated that he had been asked to appear for the prisoner by a gentleman from Invercargill. His Honor would see from the depositions that the case was not one of premeditated robbery and assault, but the whole affair aros9 out of a drunken spree between tho parties. Tha prisoner had all along praotically admitted the offence, or _at least had not attempted any absolute denial of the charge. Ho would call a witness as to prisoner's character. Terence Patrick Finu, who stated that he was articled clerk to Mr Finn, solicitor, at Invercargill, said that he had known prisoner for two and a half yeara at Invercargill, and during that time he had always borne a good character. He hud tben been living on his means

Mr Dennis ton also drew his Honor's attention to the fact that prisoner had already been a length of time in gaol. His Honor passed a sentence of six months' imprisonment, with hard labour, on prisoner. RAPE.

Andrew Murray was indicted upon a charge of rape committed on 22 ad June, upon the person of hiß daughter, Jessie Murray, aged

Mr Haggitt (Crown Prosecutor) conducted tho prosecution ; and Mr Stout, with him Mr Dick, appeared on behalf of the prisoner. Mr Hpggitt having opened the case, called the following witnesses : — Jessie Murray, Amelia Mills (a young girl, aged 13, who slept with prisoner's daughter on the night when the offence was alleged to have been committed), Mrs Ellen Goodwin (prisoner's housekeeper), Mrs Mills (mother of Amelia Mil's), and Dr Brown.

For the defence Mr Stout called no witnesses, but addressed the Jury briefly, concluding by saying that had he been addressing a Scotch juryj ury he would confidently have asked for a vardiet of Not Proven, and urging the necessity, before a follow citizen should be convicted of such an enormous offence, of evidence of a bettor and fuller kind than had been produced.

Ei3 Honor summed up, the Jury retired at 10 minutes to 5 o'clock to consider their verdict, and at 10 minutes past returned. The Foreman announced that tho Jury had decided upon a verdict of •• Guilty." In answer to the ordinary question as to his age, prisoner answered that he was 49 next birthday, on the 21st of this month. Prisoner was then asked if he had anything to say a? to why sentence should not be passed upon him, when he answered, " Not a single syllable. Not guilty." Mr Stout : Your Honor, we have witnesses we can call as to his previous character. Up to the present there has been no charge against him j and he still, your Honor, persists in his innocence.

His Honor : Yes. Prisoner at the bar, you are sentenced to bo kept for 15 years in penal servitude. The Court then adjourned Mil 10 o'clock this morning.