AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 68, 21 March 1910, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN ITEMS.

BOY CHARGES WITH MANSI^ITGHTSR. NEW YEAE'S MORNING TRAGEDY. SYDNEY, March 16. At the Central Criminal Court yesterday, Augustus McLeod, a youth, was charged Tviththe manslaughter of Albert Brown, at Picton, on January 4. He pleaded, not guilty. • .The Crown case "was that a party of eight youths were camping out near Picton. from December 27 till the New Year. On..New Year's morning there were four left in camp, the remainder having returned home. Those in camp were, the accused, the deceased (Albert Brown), James Elliott, and another lad named Cox. They had four Winchester rifles with them, and 'between six and seven o'clock on New Year's morning McLeod was sitting down cleaning his rifle, while Elliott and Cox were aIEO about the camp. Brown had not yet . risen. He was in his bed half asleep and half awake, and would not get up. Aftei cleaning his rifle, McLeod, loaded it ready for use. A few minutes later the lads were laughing and joking together concerning Brown's reluctance to get up, when McLeod said, "I'll wake him up," and pointed the rifle at him. Elliott, who was a few yards away from the tent, heard a report, and hurrying up, met the accused, who was staggering about in an almost fainting condition, and who said, "Oh, I've shot Albert." They found Brown with a bullet wound in his head, and improvising a bag stretcher, they carried him to the roadside, •where they stopped a' sulky, and had him conveyed to Dr. Parry's hospital, where he lingered, till his death on January 4. McLeod, made a statement to the police to the effect that he had cleaned his rifle, and afterwards placed a cartridge in it for use later on. The boys were ■laughing and joking, and one of them said, referring to Brown, "Wake him up." McLeod continued, "I took up the rifle to wake him up. I pointed it at Brown, and it went off. I had my finger on the trigger guard, but it slipped off. I forgot it was loaded." The Crown Prosecutor, in his opening address, said this was one of those sad occurrences where the offence was in one sense the result of an accident. The Crown did not suggest that Brown's death was anything but the result of accident, for the boys i were all _ good friends. The question to be considered was whether the accused was not responsible by reason of culpable negligence. The accused made a statement from the dock, in -which he detailed the circumstances. He said he cocked the rifle., and pointed, it at Brown to frighten him, and -make him get Tip, and it went off. He thought ,at the time that it was not loaded.

When the jury had been in retire* ment a little over four hours, and had failed to agree, they -were called into Court by his Honor. Acting-Justice Fitzhardinge thereupon, availing himself of power conferred upon him by the Crimes Act, dealt with the case. He said: "If the accused had been convicted, .1 certainly would not have passed more than;a'nominal sentence upon him. In all probability I should have bound him over to come up for sentence if called upon within three yeare. Under the circumstances, gentlemen," added his Honor, turning to the-jury, "as it appears to mc that, had the jury brought in a verdict of guilty, the Court would only have passed a nominal sentence upon the accused, I now, without your returnirig any verdict, discharge you from your attendance, and the result of what I now take upon myself to do amounts to an acquittal." The accused was then discharged, after an admonition from his Honor to' ■be more careful in handling firearms in future. GIRLS' TRAGIC END. A shocking fatality occurred at Lithgow last Monday. The body of a girl, Mary jMillicent James, aged 15 years and 8 months, was found at an early hour next morning on the railway line, some distance beyond lathgow railway station. Deceased, who was the daughter of William James, a resident of many years' standing, had her head nearly severed from the trunk, while the body was otherwise injured. The body was found by Driver Freestone, who was in charge of a light engine running from Clarence to WaUerawang. The remains were identified by the girl's father. _ The indications point to deceased having been knocked down by a passing tram while she was returning home by a commonly used track which ran? alongside the railway line. EX-CONSTABJuES COIfVICTED. The charges against Francis William Toohey and Thomas Smith Bartlett, expoliceinen, who were sentenced at Lismore to three years' hard, labour and four years' penal servitude respectively, exUted considerable interest. Toohey pkyded guilty to three charges, of breaking, entering and stealing, and Bartlett to llwo. The latter, however, denied four other charges. One charge was that of stealing three scarf-pins, the property of Dr. -Smith, who died at the Hotel JSyan. It was stated that the accused and •other constables were in deceased's room on the night of his death. Inspector Kenny, on searching Toohey's box at the police-station, found two pins which Toohey said he had had a long time. Senior Constable Bartlett deposed that he found the third pin in a box on the dressing table at Bartlett's residence. Sergeant Lewis deposed that Toohey told him that he did not steal the pins, and that Constable Holdorff had given them to him; prior to leaving for West Armidale. Holdorff, when called, said that he waa present in the room oa the death of Dr. Smith, but that he did not take any property. He denied that he had the pins in his possession. His Honor said it was necessary that the sentences should hs such as to show other members of the force the danger attaching to a departure from the paths of honesty..They had pleaded guilty, to the charge of breaking and entering the store of Mason and Hague, and to a charge ol steaUng at Syer's. They had been convicted of the larceny of the pins at Ryan's Hotel.' The sentences could not be light- With no idea of furthering tho ends of justice, the accused had made an attempt to brand another man as a criminal: If their information agalns; | Holdorff had been made in the iuteresfcs! of justice, it would have been quite a [ different thinsr, whether he was guilty or I not gitilty. Their only motive, however, must have been personal feeling against, him, and in that aspect he thought their conduct despicable.

FIVE YEARS FOE ASSART. | In the Criminal Court at Perth om ' Monday, the' jury convicted , Joseph' wJJ Billing of an attempted assault <m C 16-.year-old daughter of a farmer \l : - > Mount Rokeby. Billing was employed V the girl's father, and lived in a tint J, ' '■ the farm. When the father was "ateent•''','■ Billing went to the homestead on-> niX in his stockinged feet, knocked down'„ ■ severely assaulted the girl's mother- ' , dragged the girl from her bed, despite V^, . piteous appeals, and attempted:ib assault her. Billings, who denied hein S , on the | place at the time, was arrested early next ' '* - morning, riding a horse belonging ±n fhl % girl's father. Mr. Justi^v^^yfH passing sentence of five years' hard labour, said he regretted that the ture had abolished the death penalir for ' : this class of offence. :(:'''*'■.; f^f