TRUE BILLS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXX, Issue 54, 6 March 1899, Page 2

TRUE BILLS.

The grand jury returned true bills 'in the following "cases:—Charles Donfaster, theft; Patrick Dowling, at-, tempted suicide; Patrick Fennell, attempted suicide; John McDonald, i breaking- and entering and theft; Patrick Loughran, having housebreaks in"- instruments in possession; John Charles Wilson, forgery; James Gngg, Cummings, false pretences; James C. Wilson, false pretences; John Connell, forgery; Wm. Olive, false pretences; I George F. Porter, false pretences. j Theft,—Charles Doncaster pleaded ! guilty to having' stolen six pairs of ! shoes, some boots, knives, and laces, ithe property of Henry Hall, of Auckland. Mr F. K. Eaume applied that ithe prisoner might be admitted to probation under the First Offenders ; Probation Act. The case was adjourined till to-morrow morning, Mr ResI ton, the probation officer, to furnish ! a written report on the accused. Attempted Suicide. A man named Patrick Dowling pleaded guilty to a charge of having attempted to com- '■ mi t suicide at Whangapoua on December 2nd. He said he-had been drinkjing heavily, and was suffering from ! loss of sleep for over a week, and i must have lost his reason, or he would not have thought of attempting suicide. Dr. Bull", of Coromandel, said i the man was in a state of frenzy at I the time. He seemed to have been ! drinking poisonous liquor, at any rate very bad liquor. Mr Reston, chief gaoler, said the prisoner was perfectly sane in prison. He was now in his right mind. His Honor advised the accused to take care in future to ababstain from drink, and not to attempt such a rash act again. He ordered him to enter into his own recognisances to come up for sentence when called upon, and told Dowling that if he conducted himself properly he would never hear any more of the matter.—An old man named Patrick Fennell, aged 72, of Shortland, Thames, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted suicide. He said he was very sorry for what he had done. It was four months since he had been arrested. He would never do it again or take tp drink again. A witness stated that drink was the cause of the old man attempting suicide. When he was sober he was quite sensible. His Honor ordered the accused to enter in his own recognisances of £25 to come up for sentence when called on. "Breaking and Entering.—John McDonald was charged with having broken and entered the dwellinghouse of J. M. Brown, at Te Puna, near Tauranga, and stolon therefrom a quantity of clothes, etc., and with having received the same. He pleaded guilty. J. M. * Brown said he was absent from his house for several days last December, and when he returned he found the house broken open, and most of the contents of value gone. Out of four suits of clothes stolen only one had been recovered. Witness valued the stolen goods at over £18. Sergeant Murray, of Tauranga, and Constable Forbes, of Te Aroha, gave evidence. The latter said the accused had been previously convicted for theft at Tirau. His Honor sentenced the accused to eighteen months' imprisonment with hard labour. Housebreaking Implements.—A man named Patrick Loughran, alias Loughlin, alias Robert Jackson, was charged with having been found at half-past two o'clock in the morning last month, in Auckland, with certain house-breaking instruments in his possession, to wit, six skeleton keys, and two ordinary keys. The accused pleaded guilty. Detective Bailey said the man was liberated from gaol about the end of February, 1898. His Honor said that in 1888 it appeared the accused was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment at New Plymouth on five charges, and subsequently got four years' hard labour here. Detective Bailey said he tried the keys on several places which had been broken into here, and found they fitted the locks. His Honor sentenced the prisoner to three years' imprisonment with hard labour. Forgery. —A young man named John Connell was charged with having, last month, forged a certain document purporting to be a cheque, and with having used it as if it were genuine. The • accused pleaded g-uilty. His

father, Alexander Connell, said that the accused had served eight years m the army, and returned to the colony some time ago from India. The accused said he had had sunstroke, and in hot weather he was still affected, so much at times that he was not responsible for his actions. He had imitated his father's signature on the forged cheque. The case was adjourned tilll to-morrow in order that the probation officer might submit a report.