FIRING OF A WHARE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1088, 29 March 1911, Page 23

FIRING OF A WHARE.

MASTERTON CASE. JUDGE'S COMMENT ON COUNSEL. (From. Our Special Correspondent.) Masterton, March 28. ■ The Supreme Court sessions were continued at Masterton to-day, the Chief Justice (Sir Itobert Stout) presiding. . A young mnn named Leo Barker was charged with having, in March, 1009, set firo to a two-roomed cottage in Cockburn Street, Masterton, occupied by one Maggie Young. Mr. C. A. Pownall appeared for. the accused, who pleaded not guilty. Mr. bunny (Crown Prosecutor) ' briefly stated tlie circumstances of the case. Edward Prnguell, a member of the Masterton rirc Brigade,-' deposed that 011 March G, 1909, in response to an alarm, ho proceeded to Cockburn Street, where a two-roomed cottage was on lire. The building was gutted wheu he arrived upon the scene. He was of-'opinion that it would cost <£40 to reinstate the building. By Mr. Pownall: Tho building was an old one, and lie valued it, before tho fire, at from .CIS to ,£2O. Maggie Young deposed that in March, 1909, she was living in a two-roomed cottage in Cockburn Street. A man named Edelsten was living with her. On March 6, the house in which she was living was destroyed by lire. She saw bvo young men leaving the direction of the building. On the evening of March'.6, when she was proceeding to town, Edelsten called her attention to two young men: who were proceeding to Kuripuni on bicycles. Her house subsequently took:flre, and she lost everything which she possessed. She estimated licr loss at between ,£25 and ,£3O. By Mr. Pownall: She was married to a Chinese named Su Young. She admitted •having sued her husband for maintenance, and having stated that she was without •effects Henry Edelston, who had been living with the last witness, stated that on the day of the fire two young men came to tlie cottage. One of these was Robert Andrews, and the other, he thought, was the accused. He could not swear to • the identity of the - accused. On the same evening, when he was out with Mrs. Young he saw tho two young men proceeding towards Kuripuni. He afterwards heard the firebell ring, and learned that the cottago had been destroyed. He had lost £'8 in notes by the firi, besides effects. . ■ By' Mr. Pownall: He admitted having served a term of imprisonment. Jasper C. Ingram, landlord of the cottage, gave cvidenco as to amount of loss. Herbert Martin Wilton, telegraphic linesman, deposed that in March, 1909, he was living in Ccckburn Street. The accused, Barker, had been living with him for about three months prior' to March G, 1909. Accused had on three oi; four occasions said' that ho would set fire to tho cottage occupied by Mrs. Young. He said that he did not want a place like that near where ho lived/ Witness advised . him net to do it. On tho evening of ' March G, accused told witness that .ho had set fire to tlie building. ..Witness went out to feed his pigeons, .and saw that tlie building was ablaze. .When ac-' .cused said that he had set- tho houso alight, witness asked "What alight?": Accused replied,. "Mrs. Young's building." Witness replied, "You must be mad!" By Mr. Pownall: Accused had spoken to witness -several times before tho Uro about his intention.. He had stated that he would not havo a houso of ill-faino near ivhero he lived. Witness had' said nothing about the fire until about a year and nine months after : the occurrence. Accused had come to Masterton to give evidence against witness iii proceedings instituted by his wife, and ho (witness), after consulting his solicitor, had informed Constable l)unn. He was afraid"that' the accused would charge him with'.firing tho building. He had heard threats.. Constable-. Du'niv deposed .that, ;on' Dc- ] comber 17 last, from information received fco had interviewed accused and asked him if ho knew-'anything'about a fire at Mrs Young's. Accused stated', that he did,'arid' lr.ado a statjnymt in having set fire to the"builaingl I This was the case for tlie prosecution. : Mr. Pownall, for the defence, said he would prove. that the building did not conio within the Crimes Act, as it was not attached to tlie soil; Ho would also' show that, although accused admitted throwing a match into a box near the" building, he did not actually set fire to it. Leo. Barker (the. accused) deposed tjiat ho had been living with Wilton for twelve or fifteen months. There was an old building within a few chains of Wilton's" plaoe. Wilton had often urged witness to light it. On the night of the fire, wit- . ncss went over to the building at tho suggestion of Wilton, who started away with ■him. There ■ iras an empty box by' thd eirlo of the' biJilding, and he (aiceused) ■ throw a match-into it. Thero was, no.-, ■thing in the' box.' He saw the whare on firo ■' about- three-quarters; Of an hour later. ; 'He left Wilton to watch, but did hot see him again for some time afterwards. He subsequently left for Wanganui, but came back to give evidence .on Subpoena in .a case between Wilton and his wife. Witness admitted .having madea statement to tho police. Ho thought that .Wilton was making accusations againit hinii to "put his pot on." By Mr. Bunny: Witness had not told the police that Wilton assisted in the fire, because he had not time to think. John Joseph Kelleher, law clerk, deposed that he had, in'company with'Mr.-| Cairns, on tho previous day. Carefully examined the spot where the'building stood. There was no indication of piles or holes in the ground .whore piles could havo been. None of the debris had been removed. James Cairns, sanitary inspector, de-. posed that he had known the building prior to its destruction. It had no piles, and there were no indications of its being ' fixed to tho soil. . Jasper C..lngram, recalled, swore that the- bilildiDg destroyed was standing on piles. His Honour stated that the building was a dwelling, whether it had piles or not. Counsel having addressed the jury, liis Honour summed up, commenting upon tho action of counsel for the defence in suggesting that Wilton had assisted in the firing of the house. The statement of tho accused himself showed that Wilton had nothing to do with tho affair. * It wfts most improper for counsel to makp the .suggestion to the jury. This was the first occasion upon which he hsid had occasion to comment upon- the action of counsel in such a case, and ho hoped it would be the last. The jury, after a retirement of forty minutes, returned a verdict of guilty, but with a strong recommendation to mercy. The prisoner- was remanded for sentence uijtil 10 o'clock this morning. '_ SENTENCES. ' Henry Walker,' on a charge of housebreaking at Mangatainoka, to which ho .had pleaded guilty, asked for leniency on the ground that he had been a victim of .drink.. 'His' Honour, remarked.that thero were several previous convictions against tho prisoner, who was evidently a victim of social customs* Prisoner would be sentenced to; twelve months' hard lalxmr, .and be declared a habitual criminal. If at the end of twelve months he showed a. disposition to Teform, he would be released on probation. John Jackson, who had pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting three little.' girls at' Pahiatua, stated that this was thb first occasion upon which ho had been beforo the Court in any part of tho world, and ho attributed this crime to drink. His Honour stated that one-half of the eases which came before him were attributed to drink. Had accused been guilty of an offence against only ono Child he might have been liberated on probation. There were, however, three charges against him. Accused would bo sentenced to twelve'months' hard labour in tho Wellington Terrace Gaol.

IN BANKRUPTCY. Discharges from bankruptcy were granted to Robert 11. Campbell (Hastwell), George G. Cork (Masterton), Leonard A. W. Wilton (Jlasterton), Augustus E. Williams -(Eketahuna), Fraser. JI. Ross (Mauricevillo), William D. Ayson (Into of Masterton), .Tames M'Konzic (Manriccvillo), Charles Gurote (Jlasterton), Albert Webb (Masterton). Releases were granted the Deputy Official Assignee in thirty cases on which the Auditor-General had reported.