CRIMINAL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 143, 18 June 1891, Page 6

CRIMINAL.

George Jas. Clarke, late Secretary of u.o Oddfellows" Lodge at Port Chalmers, has been committed for trial for embezzlement A woman named Caroline Peyman has been arr ted at YVanganui on tho charge of causing the death of a young woman named Emily Kate Spicer, aged 22, a domestic servant, by procuring abortion. A'o the inquest on the body of the girl the jury found Lho following verdict:--"That Emily Kate Spicer came by her death at the hands of Caroline Peyman, and we record a verdict of wilful murder against tho said Caroline Peyman." Frederick Beart, late rato collector for the Hobson county, has been committed for trial, charged with embezzling £10 of the county's money.

Jt l.as transpired that the man Chemis, who is undergoing penal servitude for the Kaiwarru murder, made a determined attempt to commit suicide in the Mount Eden Gaol, Very little has been allowed to transpire concerning the occurrence, but it appears that Chemis intlicted a wound on himself with an ordinary tin knife supplied for the gaol use and lost a pint of biood, bub has now recovered.

A young man named Thomas Melville Ford, alias John Williams, was charged at the Police Court on June Bth with a series of embezzlements. He pleaded guilty to embezzling the following sums from his erstwhile employer, Thomas Billington, £1 Bs, £1 18s, 12s 2Ad, 12s, 10s, £1 ISa sd. 10s and 83 3d. The Bench sentenced him to six months' imprisonment on the charges to which he had pleaded guilty, and committed him for trial for the two charges of embezzlement and forgery.

A native difficulty has arisen up Thames Valley, on the Patetere Company's land. The Company some time since let large contract? for ploughing amounting to several thousand acres. As soon as the contractors started the natives came down in large numbers to turn the ploughmen oil, threatening to throw the ploughs, tents, etc., into the creek. For some

time the natives annoyed the contractors by continually stopping thft plough teams, getting the women generally to interfere. As a consequence a man named Mihinui and his wife have been arrested, and are now lodged in gaol at Hamilton.

A man named John Mills was charged at the Police Court on -June Bth with having on the 6th Juno landed 1001b of tobacco from the schooner Maile without having paid duty on the same, contrary to the provisions of the Customs Law Consolidation Act, 1882, section 210. Prisoner was lined £50, or six months in default.

Capt. Jackson, R.M., gave judgment at Huntly on Juno 2 in the case of the Queen v. Collins, manager of Ralph's mine, in which a fatal accident took place some months ago. The judgment of the Court was that the defendant should pay a fine of £20 and costs. Ife is estimated that outside of the tine and Court coats, the defendant will have expended at least £350, while the costs to the Government will be very considerably in excess of that sum.

John Liddell Kelly, editor of the " NewZealand Observer and Free Lance," appeared at the Police Court on June 16th before Dr. Giles, R.M., to answer to the following charge : " That he did unlawfully and maliciously write and publish, and cause and procure to be published, a certain false, scandalous and defamatory libel of and concerning Hugh .Shortland, thab is to say : ' Miss Annie Wynn, who figures as mother of a little stranger in search of a father, haa a pleasant outspokenness of manner, which is quite refreshing to meet with in these days of sham and humbug and conventionality. The other day she addressed Mr Hugh Shortland, solicitor, in her most polite manner, calling him a blackguard, and saying that he had murdered his wife,' published in the New Zealand ' Observer, , January 31st, you, the said John Liddell Kelly, well knowing the libel to be false, being an indictable offence." Evidence having been taken, Mr Kelly was committed for trial.

His Honor Mr Justice Conolly took his seat-at the Supreme Court on June Ist, to open the Court for the hearing of criminal charges. The following gentlemen were sworn in as the Grand Jury : —Messrs G. L. Peacocke, Samuel Luke, Chas. Williamson, W. R. Walker, C. B. Stone, J. Lawry, F. Japrger, J. F. Boy lan, F. Winter, R. M. Watt, Wm. Shera, J. H. B. Sellars, W. Skinner, W. Itattray, John Mowbray, C. V. Houghton, A. R. Harris, H. Goldstein, C: C. Fleming, J. H. B. Coates, A. Buchanan. Mr Coatee was chosen foreman. His Honor in making hischargesaidthe indictments were not very numerous, but in some the evidence was so lengthy and of such a complicated character that careful consideration would be necessary. John Henry Taylor, charged with the larceny of a watch, some jewellery, and a considerable amount in cash, the property of Marion Stuart, of the Provincial Hotel, wae sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour. Guetav Adolf Peterson pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary and of robbing one Michael Baines of certainbootsandclothing, and was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment with hard labour. John Richard Considine and Matthew Charles Parsons, a youth, were charged with the larceny of a sum of money from Jane Hobbs, a Maori woman. The prisoner Considine was sentenced to three years' imprisonment with hard labour, and the prisoner Parsons to fourmonths' imprisonrnentwich hardlabour. Richard Irwin, for a violent assault on Constable Lamb, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labour. Brabazon Disney O'Halloran pleaded guilty fco five charges of embezzlement of public funds while postmaster at Whangarei, and was sentenced to three years' penal servitude within the colony of New Zealand, the sentences to run concurrently. Aporo Apiata and Taupe Te Tivitere were charged with feloniously conspiring against Francis Bernard Scott and his wife, with the object of injuring their characters, and were sentenced to three months' imprisonment each. Thomas Fry, otherwise known as Floyd, was indicted that on the ( 23rd March, 1891, feloniously, wilfully, and of malice aforethought he did kill one William Veifcch, against the peace of our Sovereign Lady the Queen. The jury returned a verdict of "Manslaughter," and prisoner was sentenced to 15 years' penal servitude.