POLICE COURT. — TUESDAY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2213, 24 August 1864, Page 5

POLICE COURT. — T UESDAY.

[Befoie T l!ri_Kin-ir V.-q , I!JI] DKUNKT.DS. Thomas Dunn, Nicholas Wilson, .and Jeremiah Connolly veie each lined 20« and co<.ts 01 in default iS houis' impnsonrneufc, vuthhaicl lnlioui. Patrick Walsh, William Wellsman, William Maisliall, and James Waimsley,on hail : no appeal ance. Bail fOlf 01 feited.

nrnrz/LtrviFM 1 . William Ernest Whitlow, a cleik in the Po^t-office, was brought up on lemand, dialled with embezzling a legistered post office letter addressed to Messrs Cosier and Co. Mr. Memmau for the pi execution, and Mt. Wynn for the defence. Pieice Nugent Nixon : lam a cleik in the Post" office. It was my duty on the Sth of August to register letters and to dispose them in their proper boves. Among the letters on that day wasaiogistered letter addressed to Cosier and Go. Mr. Wynn contended that notice ought to have been given to the client to produce the letter. His Worship overruled the objection, as they did not lequire to go into the question of the contents of the letter. Examination resumed • I placed the letter in question in a diawer beneath the window from whence letters aie delivered to the public ftom Ato P. This was about half-past 8 on the morning of the Bth of August. At the pieci^etitne I placed the letter m the drawer theie was no clerk at the dehveiy window. The prisoner was the fiist cleik that came. He came in about half an -hour after i placed the letter m the drawer. I could not say thepiecise time the piisoner was m charge of the window, but I should imagine it to be two hours or more. The piisoner remained in chaige of the window until lie left the office, and in consequence of mfoimation leceived I subsequently assisted in searching for the lettei. The letter was deported m the diawei yet apait for legistered letters, aud which is used for no other pmposc as far as I know. We were unable to find the letter. By Mr. Wynn • Ido not know the exact number of pei sous employed in the Auckland Post-olhco, but I should say there weie about ten. I will ceitainly not swear that no one came into the loom wheie this letter was deposited between the time the letter was deposited m the drawei and the piisouer coming into the office. I will not undertake to swear that the letter was in the diawer when the piisoner went in. It wonld bo impossible for me to swear xwsitively to the f.ict unless I had been watching it all the time; to the best of my belief, however, it was tlieie. The diawci was not locked, and I will not nuclei take to swear that no one else had access to the diawer dm ing the two boms the prisoner was in chaige of the window There is no bamer to prevent a cleik fiom one window opening the drawer of another. Theie aie thiee dclivuiy windows in the loom, and as far as my mcmoiy serves there woie thieo other clerks in the loom before the prisoner came. I did not see the letter after I placed it in the drawer, It was a laige-

sized note letter, jegistercd. It was not very bulky, and Ido not know the contents of it. It was on somo one from the premises to which the letter was addressed calling to inqniic for it, that it was missed. By Mr Mernman : Ihoaul tho application made for the letter. T lieheve tho person who niado it was a paitner, but it was certainly somo one fiom tho establishment. 'Pile cleiks piesent were Meisvi. Winstanley, Matthews, and Taylor. I cannot hay whether anyoac else had a light of access to the diawor except the pusoner By Mr. Wynn : I had several registered letters through my hands that morning, and my attention was not parhculaily cliawu. to the one in question The cleilcs fiom the upper loom might have passed and vopivscd through tho delivery-room, "William Corbett • lam chief postmaster. In the booinuing of August last the pii&onerwas a cleik in the same Aopaitimnt. I lememlier the Bth of August last ; the pusoner wns attending to his duty in the Post-o/hce on that morning, which was to deliver lotteia at tlio hiot dehveiy window, ■stlucU is fiom Ato F. The pusonei .ipplicd to mo foi leave of absence on that morning a httlo bofoie twelve o'clock. lie assigned as Ins le.i'on foi asking foi leave of absence "tlufc lie had a sore leg. Leave of absence granted to him on th.it ground, I at the lime telling him to send in a doctoi's ceittficate Ho left shoitly afteiwaids, and did not send in a doctoi's ceitificate. In consequence of mfoi ination I leceived 1 caused a stuct se.uch to be made thioughout the office foi a legisteied letter, which was not found Ido not Know of my own knowledge whether the pusonei' had chaige of a window on th.it moi ning. By Mr. Wynn • The pusincr had infoimcd me that he was a member of the militia, but I did not . know th vt he was a deserter. By the Bonsh : The peculiar duty of the delivery clerk is to deliver tlnough the window any lcttei's that may be manned for. There is a diauor to each window fm the legi^teicd lctteis, which aie kept sepaiate fiom the othei letteis. Theie aio tlnee diaweis, and the cleik at the paiticulai window Ins also charge of tho diawei containing the leqistercd letleis Thcic me only buttons to thodiaweisto keep them closed. James J. Fit7£>ibl>cm • I am chief eloik in the Auckland Po*t ollico ; the pus-oner w as also a cleik belonging to the same dcp'iitment on tha fust of this month "It was the duty of tho prisoner, on the morning of the Sth, to lake chaige of l] )e ddivoiy w md<m fiom A to V at lune o clock, which he did Theio aie tin re dehv.iy windows, and legistcied letters fiom A to F aie placed in the lecept.iclo at--taehed to tho window for that puipose. I believe tlie pusonei wai in chaigoof tic window on that morning foi about two honis. and a half. On the pusonei'slea\ing, Mi. Sj dnoy Stevens took charm of the window for n few minutes and was lelievod l>v Mi. William P.ituck Ciawfoid. Puling the time Mi. Oiawfoid w.is in chaige of tho window a spaich was made foi a lettei addicssedh) Mi G'osiei Wakcfield-shect The letter was not found Tn conscriupnce of the lo=s of the lettei I despatched Mi Melduim Elliott to look for the ptnoner Accoiding to the loutine of the office, clerks ha\c to be sent fiom one window to another, but this is only on special occasions and in the c^ ent of one of them ber ne absent ; otherwise ho has sole charge. I believe T may confidently say that fimn nine o'clock up to the time the lettei "as i-iquned foi, thcie was no othei pel son went to the window excejit the gentlemen nbcadv mentioned By Mr. Wynn I w ill not swear that no one else had access to the di aw or Ido not lcmcrnhci noticing 'he piismici come into the office. All the cleilis were thoie unusually eaily that mornmg, as tliPie was a good deal to do despatching the English mail. I should imagine tho prisoner must have oomo to the office n»t liter than eicdit. To the best of my iccollcotion, tlio piisouer was m tho office bpfoie Hie letter was legisteied, I never «aw tho left a i mi self, but I will swcai it was lcnr-tpjed in Anck'and, by tlieiecoids in tho book. The letfcoi was registoi od by Mi TCixmi Letteis me occasionally put in tlio wioug boxes Ido not know the exact numbei of iec,isfccied letteis that moininc, but, to tho best of my belief, theip weio tlneo Icttcis iccoivpd fiom Tain insi 1 will not sweat that lcci-tced lefreis aio nob occasionally mislaid The letto in question was one of those leccned fiom Tawanga, as f found the other two lpgibfered lctt"is and tho locsipt foi them. It i^> in my lPcollectien tlio cleiks in the Post office subsciibmg to makeup tho arrrtmnfc ot some money supposed to be contained in aie^isteicd lettei which lia'l been mislaid. By Mr. Mcmmau I believe the letfc in question was cloli\eied to oup of tlnce sisteis, who tlenie'l ha\ ing iocpu edit Tlic subseiiption »m made by thp clpiKs undei the implosion that the letter had been «mngl> <leli\cied. Sydney Ste\cns- T am a clak in Iho Auckland Post office On tlic morning of Ausust 3, T was in chaise of tho fust <leh\ciy window, A to F about halt past ele\en. I succeeded the piiooner, md J\fi. C\ aw foul succeeded me Dining the time that T w is m thai so of the window no our- but mvM>lf had access to the dianer containing the ioe;isteiod lettois Tiy Mi Wynn Tlie deiks do not always stay close to the window, but on this occasion I did, and T ne\ ci loft it until givinw. it up to Mr Ciawfnul Tlic oHier clciUs can obtain acccs-. to the ieciistoic'l boxes Tiemnniber tlio pusoner having c'l.arcro of tho w indow, but 1 w <as not thci c the whole time ho had cbaigc of it William Pahick aw foi. 1 , a c'ciK In the PostofTiet, deposed to hiving leliovod tlio last witness at the window in question about 12 o'clock TTad made aseiich for a ic«istricd lettei about half nn lion' aftei he bad boon in chaigoof tlio window, in consequence of an anphcation th it was made fot thclett'M Thelottci had not been found Fiom thn timo bp had taken elm no off he window up to the timo of flic lettc being applied foi, some one else might have b°d arec=s to the lettt-i box, as ho had not been at tho window dm ing tho whole of the time A gpiiPial spaich had been mado for ilio letter, but without success. T!y r l. Wynn • Eveiy cleik in the office was set to scaicb foi (lie lettei ; the office was complete!" unsxeked T cannot positively swpar that no one else went to the hnx dm ing the time it was in my chat go, but I did not sec any one do so. Thcie has been a ficsh auancremont made in the office sjnco the oeouiieneo took place, with lefeience to tho ipgisfciod lettei". Tliey aie now, I behove in the charge of one clcilc, who is lesponsi' l-> foi them I will not swear that tin' is thp only occasion of a lotfcer havincr been lost dining th" t'mo T have been connected with the Post-office, but I have no recollection of any. By the Bnnch • \ poi tion of the tune I wns in custody of the window, I was in another loom, engaL'cd in making additional loom for letteis Meldium AVilham Elliott, a clerk in the Po'tofiice On Monday, the Sth instant in consequence of an oidei leceived fiom Mi. Fit7giVibnn, I went m search of the prisoner, whom I found in Vicfrviastieet. Tdo not know wheiv he was living at the time. T had. some convocation with him I tokl linn of the lo«s of the letter, and that tho Postmaster wanted to see him about a icsisfcoied letter a- 1 , dressed to Afi. Cosier. I asked him to come wi'h me to the Post-office His reply was that he wou'd onmo in a moment — he wanted to sro round the corner to see a friend Tins was all that passed befcwp°n us. I then loft him and returned to the Post-ofFc. I liflieve it was between one and two wbon T saw pusonei. He did not return to tho Post-office that day. Bv Mr Wynn: lam quite sme that I tVd the prisoner that the letter was addressed to Mr, Cosier, and that he was wanted. John Leaning ■ I am a <?eigeanfc in the militia piovost On the 9th of August t ariested the prisoner, between two and three in tho afternoon. T apprehended him on boaul the barque 'Kate,' bound to Sydney. I found him behind the foiemast. I then took him to the Militia Office and seaiched him. He was apprehended as being a deseiter. Tho prisoner was, placed in confinement ; some ai tides were found on him, and they with the piisnnei woie handed over to tlie police Among tho articles handed over was a looeiptfor his passage to Sydney, now pioduced Prisoner said that was the receipt foi the monpy he had. paid for his passage The articles produced aie the same handed ovoi to the police. By Mr. Wynn : The prisoner was apprehended as a deserter flora the Ist Waikato .Regiment Ido not know the exact time tho prisoner has been a deserter. I first hcaid of it when the post office af fair took place. I got instructions to anest prisoner from the Piovost's office William Ciistill, a constable in the Auckland police fnice, had leceived the pii»onei fiom the last witness in company with the articles pioduced. Mr. Men limn thought be had pioduced sufficient evidence alieady to wan ant a committal but should ask for a fuither lemand. Constable Ciistill had been down to Tamwiga making inquiries in the matter, and fiom infoimatinn he there obtained, he would wish for a fuither lomand in oider that sevelal necessary witnesses might be f nth coming. • Mr. Wynn submitted that there had been no case at all made out to wai rant a remand. Ib appealed that a coustable had gone down to Tauianga, and why had. not the witness hcen produced heforo this He thought it veiy unfair that his client should have to submit to these repeated delays.

,HisWoi ship said that the prisoner's own actions wcie the strongest evidence against him. Had he gone bock to the Post office as lie i-aid he would, ho had no hesitation in saying that the prisoner would at once have baen discharged from the dock. The pusonor, however, haiing failed to do so, and his taking Jus passage to Sydiiey under a feigned name, wore coitaiiily suspicious cncnms>tances. The caso was thon remanded until Friday ne\fc.