SUPREME COURT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 196, 13 May 1908, Page 4

SUPREME COURT.

' CRIMINAL SITTING. .• ' PRISONERS SENTENCED, .-..v Mr. > Justice Cooper sentenced a number of ■v l prisoners yesterday. Owing to the fact that two of tho eases presented urnibual features. > >i thoro was a very largo .attendance, of-'..tho public. ■ ' A WAIROA CASE . vßaukawa Nuni, who had,pleaded guilty at ■. Wairoa to'a charge of theft, was set forward. . v Owing to the papers in this case not being . . in' order, prisoner was remanded back to .Wairoa. It would appear, His. Honour, rethat a .caution w.as . not . ■ administered. ThcrefcTo he .would loinand - prisoner ■ so that ' tho statutory conditions ■ .- 'might be fulfilled.. FORGERY. SENTENCE OF TWO YEARS Ernoei' Wehrshodt, whohadin tho. Lower ; : Court Admitted having committed ; forgery; handed m a written, request for lenioncy.. t Tho Crown l Prosecutoi said thai might be hotter to postpone sentence as 'pnsonm • would bo called upon to-day to answei ani " other chargoof precisely < the same, liatvne. •■■■■' - His Honour remarked that-prisoner "might : ■ vi. . not bo guilty of the other chaige. Ho thcre- ; V . ' ■' fore thought ■ it'-best to pass sentence. without . .delay. Prisoner' had, no .said, viously convicted for embezzlement, theft j and issuing a false cheque. He had teles graphed for money for his mate, and uwjii .;V. f ' receipt; of / £6. ; ho had handed the . rightful . owner £2. and unlawfully retained, the v bal- : ■ ance- . ; There v.as no reason why- leniency .. ..should bo .extended.. Hojyould or;lcr him. to " bo Tmpri&med for two' years with ''hard -labour.- ■ • THEFT AND FORGERY. SIX 'MONTHS' "IMPRISONMENT"" ■' . . "Alex. M'Donald,who hail, in' the ■■■ ■ ■■■■ ■ trate's• Court at Palmerston North, i; adimtfcpd having' stalcn 1 a p'J 1 &aarid:having'-fMgpfl;an order'for £5, '• ••. .'was. then presented .for sentence. : ;',- j"A : y,'.' .Prisoner handed, in,a . ■■ which ho ' asked, that- he. should 'be .- leniently dealt with owing. to the tact that .ho was ; " under ths'.iuilueneo 'of drink when -'ho- com-. • . . • .nutted tho offences.. . • '•••; : •••; •. .;/ J; .'.Tho Crown Prosecutor stated that',prisoner ■ ' - had \ been ' convicted mvl9o4_ of. drunkenness, .and/ini;l9os^Ydf ; .haring;;rosisted the; police, ; -/-v. and al&o 'of having committed breaches of "the i'i;-v ;• Licensing Act at.-GoroJteur; w .. 'Addressing prisoner, His/ljonour said;-— You havo ibeenioonyictedypreviously .cn,ct}ti;eo ■ .occasions of oftencos winch aroso through, ii!'. : drmk, but did not involve, dishonesty. * When • 'you . were arrested you: did not toll the detectivo that you were under tho lnlluonoo of ■/i'Aff!..(?:■'drink?whenyou oommittedftho'offers;,' now t 'i!"i';: yoU|>'st-atbithat ''mad', with/drink .-at: tKo that you.ikne-w what you were.about at ther"time.-. Howover, I shall treat tho offenceo as being your, first acts' of dishonesty. Tko I'i "tonco "of„ the Court is that you bo imprisoned . - for' six - months and kept at .hard labour* , ■

FORGERY AND UTTERING VICTIM OF THE DRINK HABIT - .Frederick William Jones, who had pleaded 1 ■ guilty to several'.-.- charges. of- forgery . and - .' ' ; uttering, was the next prisoner sentenced. 1 j . .ii Mr.'H. O'Le&ry, who appeared on behalf of :- ' - the : prisoner,' said tltat . had pre.vjoasly- boon convicted- for offences of a simi-. ;-kr. kind.' l He.,mentionedrthat,prisoner. ;.Tjras:. :i : ■ ■;■■ the son of wealthy and respectable people, in- • ' ■ the Wanganui district.:- on military service. m Sputh Africa .he. had • l)fcorf "Broa- <: trated with-Sguo and fever.'.'i*v<fl^-; v - ■•' I "His Honour That would, not account; for ■>, ;■'■■■ his criminal conduct, becauso ho -was' 'cony victed before that dato of pretences.. ; : /Counsel,, resuming,7stated .that .since-his , ' ;■ return.prisoner, had;been, addietod to drink. ■ 1 It* was truo that drunkenness was.no excuse,. ; ;i t :butvin,'tho v present- l caso it'could -be . urgitf iir < , .mitigation. .-As..a .matter ; of fact, prisoner ii.-.j 1 .. ■ had ■ no recollection .. of • committing . tho . v, offences. .He had ordered a .wedding cake at •-■.. V-;, one shop, then . proceeded to a plumber's v .- -, establishment,.and mado■ ,a.'■ ;; ,- . -'later; on v'at , a'. bookseller's biught'■ sixteotf--1 ■■■.-." PrayerJsook«, a jßible, etc;. In-oneiiinstance. •. .•. Kb' attsilipt<id to gani |'raoricy di&J £•-;• honestly, and that was by?.' presenting .a; :!:' ; v /.3choquo -for": & ;.;larger /amount than "tho. total l ' •'-i. of the goods ordered. .After arrest he had to bo treated for. a week.; i • r ,_- Dotective Cassells gave ovidenco that lie. had 1 known.prison or. for twolvo years'; *;'Whils£' under t-ho: influence, of liquor'his, actions wen} . more like those; of-.'.a" lunatic .than '•'thosSi'6f,'a f • cfiminal.' Prisoner was very' much addicted to drink. """ His: .Honour:-, said' tbe .case' was : 'on«-'of ••'a' .;-. ; . .difficult class, which came beforo tho'^'C^Urt''' . - , frequently. It was an: instance, of ; a -man'■ who,, when undor tha influences'liquor,..lost his . moral ''. sehso' rightl and;,: : -f; - offonces .which he would probably never have . ; dreamt.,of had .ho.-boen sober.'*-The longest/' . V ;V, term which tho 7', : • twelve months, which period of incarceration did. not- seem, to. have Jils-appetit-o - 'or 'Arink.'. As something more than a. short ; • i.torm of, imprisonment-,was .-n«;essary-in order i f . , that prisoner's moral control might be' rc- !• stored, he.would be sentenced to a term of 'i;',. two years with' hard; labour: on each -charge,■ the -'sentence 3. to -be .concurrent , with tho one v,':'-,. which : .ho .was :.at present serving, coin'-' i■■■//■ ; menco'from yesterday.. . i':

j THE TUSTiN CASE. v; ''J BREACHES OF THE ■ BANKRUPTCY'* ACT.' SENTENCE OF SIX MONTHS , , , „ .•William.., George Tustiu, painter,' Was i brought- up. ioiv Bontsiico- on • mo' offences.:—^1} That being, a person adjudged bankrupt- at. Wollington.'on • Alay'/l.!,- '11)07/' ; ho did, within thrca years beforo'-thq-com-mencement his bankruptcy, fail to keep : i such books, of . account -•"'as ' are usuiil ' ' and' 1 ' • . proper -in ;the business carried on • by-: him,--'and'-.-.'as sufficientlyset- forth his business; transactions "aiid"'discloob"his.'financial"posV tion, and.(2) that ho could not have had St' -i the time ' when, certain-; of ,-his rdebts;'wfcr6' i contracted—that is to , say,'-'all ' debts .'con- • tractod by him'after''January: 1,; 1906—any reasonable or probable...ground, .of expe.cta-"', tion of being able to pay the same as well as all his-other debts^' : • Mr. T. - Young,' .who appeared , on behalf . -of the. prisoner, drew attention '.'.to the ..fact, that, nil connection with the- offences, the suggestion - of - .fraud was entirely ' nega'tived:' The bankruptcy. was, he pointed out, ,notat , tho wish of. the general body of the credi- ■ tors. As- a matter of fact, 'creditors .to ". whom in all:'over: £5000 .>ya3'i owing wer'e .. agrooablo to an assiOTmeht,;,: the. amounts . dilo to creditors '.who preferred. ■that prisoner should go through the Court ~ .totalled only about £131.. ; Non-e. . debts woro contracted through' i - ' sentation ; the bankruptcy, was due solely te v largo losses ' on several ' contracts. He (oounsol). did not prbpose.to call.cvidonce .'as, to character.- All _he' wonld say under that ■ boad was. that; prisoner had, for. twenty . years - prior, to his / bankruptcy, been a ' Justice of .■> the Peace!; ; He. would: liko to remind His .Honour,that; he liad during-.the : '-' trial. intimated that; ho; thought, the . case was one for- probationy-^-_ ••••. His Honodr: Justice; Williams" lias mlod that-tho Probation Act -does/not,.'apply' ■ in cases of-the kind. : ,,-What,'lrsaid'.at, the' : trial .was that)' unless - there" was. which would prevent mo- from extondingtho provisions of the Act, I should do so 1 Counsel: I submit that probation ha 3 been granted in much worso eases. - You . are not bound by tho ruling'in: question—- . His Honour : The ruling is that of a very. . eminent Judge. . That was the,.first,.time,, that it had been laid down. I don't think that 1 can say that I disagree with it. . Counsel, continuing, remarked that ■ probably Mr. Justice Williams had . not , been aware that other Judges had granted probation in such cases. With all due rcspcct, he would submit that the present case was onn ir wl'icb it would bo sufficient puniih-

■ mont,;,.if-«prisoneisiwere granted probation. If that courso could not be adopted, then the punishmont should bo only of a-nominal character. To 1 enter up a conviction and disohfi.rgQ.,.prisoner* iwould be equivalent to punishment - He might point out- that 1 the-'-cmifgo was laid nino- months ago,,andv ) .that; ; six ; »montlis had passed since tlio trial had taken place. Since tlio pro:Cpe(lings,::hatl~;bo6if /commenced. prisoner had been kept .in thq agony of To a ■ mail who -'had'" Seen in business all . his life .that,jppsgisMi punishmont; it .was _as great as if iio had been on probation for - that. pc.rio:l.. >-"Miv Justice-Williams had hold .in, ft .case, .which lie .quoted that sus■peti v sid>fr*Vf ffl£clfai'g6' was a sufficient pnnish- : .tfclje -; past six months prisoner had /obtained casual 'employment from his largest creditors at £2 10s. per week. Ho (counsel) would submit that ; prisoner had already'ajiffeml sufficiently. , His Honour pointed, out that there were offences under the Bankruptcy Aet in resI>Mt, of ".TChift)((prol)ation cmild' not be granted. Ho felt that lie ought to follow the ruling; of. -Mr.. Justico Williams in a case similar to ■ tlie~jwesent ono. Mr. Justice Williams hatTbefore him a prisoner who bad been convicted of 'having failed t-o keep proper, books,of,n£ijounts, imd who was, in the opinion jofj'^is^Horioiir,' an honest but ■ unfortunates Application been -made..to admitted to pro-. bation:' ' ' Mr. "Jiistico Williams had said that if he adontcd that courso he would be, fulliMift tirMSgfairte,-which -contemplated fjon.sthat- offence; and had como t-o 'the- conclusion that the Act did not apply. He (Mr.-Justice Cooper) had can-fully con-! -BideraMhn-prKsen t case. What lvj proposed t-o do was to sentence prisoner to six months .imprisonment, the term .to date November 18, tho opening.day .of tho sittings at which prisoner was tried, and an order would 'he riin'tlo' t-ht> ■ prisiin<:r shoiild^be- treated as a misdemeanant of tho first division, i.e., no would noß,3f<sliliYEd&ncc, bo required to wear prison clothes', . Thefo would bo no' remission, because prisoner had not been; incarcerated.' The • offence should be treated in .those; of contempt of court and non-pavment of monev. ■ He might I noiiit out_that_Mr._, Jnstico Williams, whom he had "consulted: oil the : Question, was of opinion .that the courso which • he proposed t.p 'nflorA was a liropor one. Of course, ho i rcsponsibilitv in the matter. The term would expire .in .May 17, meant that, prisoner wonlijl Jj^'liitSiii^r^y-"^■ few-days.. In conolusiorrrtiif) .'Honour- said'that ho. was . satis-, fiod prisoner boro' a,-good character, 'and had been- unfortunate, but he was not prepared to' it was ; his -own fault in his' present (position.V Sentence, as outlined', was. then en-tered,-,up.' : -' v. . '