SUPREME COURT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 273, 17 November 1902, Page 7

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. £ (Before Mr Justice Conolly.)

The last criminal sessions of the " Supreme Court for the" present year opened this morning at the Supreme Court. The following grand jury was I empanneUed:—Messrs Alfred S-JBank-b art (foreman), Charles C Baker, John " Eanbury, H. VV. Batkin, John Francis 7 Uoylan, H. S. Brabant, Alfred W. 1 Chatfield, Philip Augustus Edmiston, } Robert J. Entrican, Patrick R. Fras- ' er, D. K. Gray, Thomas Mackay, fc Josiah Lawry, William Charles Mack* " low, Thomas D. Macklow, John JVtar- ; shall, Walter Mitchell, Neville JNew- • comb, Henry Edward Partridge, John Atkinson Walker. THE JUDGE'S CHARGE. His Honor, in charging the Gi'and ; Jury, said he was sorry to have to . ' state there was a very large number ■of eases- The list would have been Ij an unusually large one, in fact, al- • i most a record one, had not a number :j of prisoners pleaded guilty in the ; | lower court and been dealt with un- • cter the new Act. He understood also that there Were several others who admitted t«heir guilt, but their pleas could not be taken before Justices of the Peace. It was a most salutary Act, saving expense, and the time, not only of the court, but witnesses and jurors. Df the cases to be heard, however, many were of a simple character, ten being for thefts, three breaking and entering, cue of perjury, and one of arson. There were nineteen cases altogether, winch appeared clear enough not to require any colnruent from him. . There was a charge against two men of breaking and entering tfie Paeroa railway station anil attempting to blow up the safe. The connection of the two accused with that act depended upon a train of circumstantial evidence. Whoever made the at- ■ tempt to blow open the safe made uoise that caused a person '. to open a door, and the men evidently saw the light aud decaaiped. The evidence against the two accused showed that they vVere seen in company ou the nigtit of the occurrence, as well ns before and afterwards. Some gelignite was also found iv the possession of one of the accused, also a portion of a wrapper, which corresponded with anouier portion found at the station, lie thought the grand jury would find enough to send the accused foi- trial. Another charge was that of breaking and entering the VVaihi Company's storehouse at the Wadkino lattery and stealing thereirom a quantity of slimes. The case would require careful examination i\3 to whether there was suilicient evidence against this man. That breaking and entering Had been done by .someone was quite clear, but appor-l ontiy the accused was not near the place when it occurred, and in that respect there was apparently nothing to connect hifh with it. He was however, charged with having- dealt with the stoleu property. Two men who had already been convicted lor the breaking and entering would be | material witnesses against the accused as having participated with them in the gains. Their evidence would however, require to be taken with careful consideration, as, according ' allot T °™h: o/ vi? S they wcreaccornplices. Even if the grand jury saw | fit to put the man upon his trial he !w^ * la*l eSS thS evidence of th °™ , two men was corroborated they I ought not to find the man tfU ilt£ llneie dad, however, appear to be There were two cases under the Bankruptcy Act, which as business men the Grand Jury would find Sufficient evidence offered to warrant sending the cases to trial fie r7 gretted to find there were a number ©f cases of violence against the person, and some of a very grievous' nature. One case of assault seemed to have arisen out of a dispute, and one man struck at the other with a knife, fortunately only cuttingthrough the shirt to the skin. Ano&I ther was a case of doing actual bodily harm. The prisoner appeared to have been locked out of a boardinghouse. He went into the yard, and was charged with having inflicted a large lacerated wound upou a man who was there. No evidence was given as to any provocation. There was a charge of assault with intent to commit rape, in which there would be the evidence of men who went to the woman's assistance. There was another case, in which a woman was charged with attempting to murder a man with whom siie had been carrying- on immoral intercourse for many years. He appeared to have told her that he was going to be married, and she, according to his statement, said he would be sorry ! for it if he did. The man was married, and the accused appeared to have reached the Thames late at night and tried to shoot him. The man arrived at the gate of his house about 10.30 at night, when he saw what he thought was a man. He attempted to put the man out when he was shot with a revolver, but the wound was not very serious. The man Whelan asserted that all along he believed his assailant to be a man. She returned to the hote? about a quarter past twelve o'clock and left early next morning. His Honor then quoted from the evidence, stating that the woman when arrested did not appear to try and conceal anything-. There was no doubt a deal hi tl»is case

which would excite sympathy, but the grand fory had to deal with bare facts. Another case was ona in which, unfortunately, violence resulted in death, which appeared to be caused by a blow from the fist of a strong man given to a weaker one. They seemed to have been anything but a respectable lot iv the ease. His Honor then detailed some of the facts of the case as set forth in the evidence taken in tlje lower court, and said the prisoner finally put Driscoll out of the house, and when Driscoll got an axe accused struck him a blow with his fist, which must have been a severe one, as accused upon g-oing inside said, "I believe I have hurt him." Next morning when Driscoll was found dead the accused said, "Good God! It might have been the blow I gave him." The post mortem examination showed that might have been the case, as the injuries might have been caused by a blow; also it was quite possible for Driscoll to have got up and walked a distance before he died. The evidence would disclose a clear case of manslaughter. Hiß Honor, in conclusion, said he was glad to notice that an Act of Parliament would come into force on ' the Ist of January which compelled second-hand dealers to be licensed by the local authorities, and also provided for books being kept in which records shall be entered for the inspection of the police at any time, giving particulars as to the date and name of persons selling goods. He was very glad to see such a law in force, as j,t had been long- wanted. He had had cases before him frequently where stolen articles had been sold for small sums simply because no questions were asked.

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