SUPREME COURT.—Monday. CRIMINAL SESSIONS [Before Chief Justice Sir G. A. Arney.]

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2712, 27 March 1866, Page 6

SUPREME COURT.— Monday. CRIMINAL SESSIONS [Before Chief Justice Sir G. A. Arney.]

The Court met to-day at ten o'clock, and proceeded to dispose of the two charges against Europeans still remaining on the calendar. KECBrVTNa STOLEN TBOPEBTY. Peter Flynn was charged with receiving certain goods, the property of Captain Fisher, knowing the same to be stolen. The prisoner pleaded not guilty. Constable McCaffery produced a tablecloth, bearing the name of Louis Walter Fisher, ■which he had got from Mr. Walters, of Papakura. Mr. Walters went with witness, and pointed out the prisoner as the person he had got the tablecloth from. Prisoner, when arrested, said that he had got the tablecloth and other articles from a man of the Commissariat Transport Corps, who came from the Queen's Redoubt. s He said there were other articles that he could find. He then said he had got the things from two married men in the camp, who had been at the Front, and who had no use for them. By the prisoner ; The name on the tablecloth is in full. Louis Walter Fisher deposed : lam a captain in the 40th Segiment. In December last I was stationed at Te Awamutu, and was ordered to proceed to Penrose. I saw my things packed up. (Witness enumerated the \ articles packed.) The valve of the whole of the things in my trunk was about £15. (Witness narrated how the trunk was sent down.) He next saw the trunk at Penrose, when he noticed that it had been broken open. (Identified tablecloth produced by McCaffery as having been in the trunk.) Isaac Keyland, private in the 40th Regiment, and servant to Captain Fisher, deposed to baring been in charge of the trunk from Te Awamutu to Papakura. Witness arrived in Papakura on the 2nd January, when the trunk wag safe. At eight o'clock that evening witness covered the trunk and some other luggage with * tarpaulin. At that lime it was all safe. Witness had come from the Bluff with a convoy. Next day witness saw the trunk at Penrose. It had been broken open, and a great many things had been taken out. William Walters, of the Globe Hotel, Papakura, deposed to prisoner having offered him the tablecloth for sale. He said he had got it from one of the married men in the Commissariat Transport Corps. Henry Clements, trumpeter in the Military Train, deposed that he saw the prisoner on the 2nd of January, in the Papakura Hotel, in company with two men of the C.T.C., named Bartlett and Fitzgerald. About nine o'clock the same evening he saw them together near the hut where they were living. He heard one man say to the prisoner, " You may as well take those- things,* they are of no use to me, and I want something to drink. You can sell them if you like." It was Bartlett who said that. Bartlett and Fitzgerald had been part of the convoy. A short time after, witness saw prisoner and these two men in the fern. They had then a. bag, and one of them had something white in, his hand, like a table-cloth. ?y the prisoner ; I did not hear the men say the things were Captain Fisher's. James Francis, private in the C.T.C., gave evidence to the same effect. Prisoner made a statement to the jury in defence. The jury, after being absent about half an hour, returned with a verdict finding the prisoner not guilty. J>BXi.CH OF THB FBI.T7DT7LENI TBUSTEES ACT. Bernard McLaughlin was charged with fraudulently appropriating to his own use two cheques, with which he had been entrusted. Mr. Wynn appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. MacCormick for the prisoner. Mr. Wynn opened the case for the prosecution, explaining the provision of the Fraudulent Trustees Act, under which the prisoner was indicted, and detailed the facts of the case. Joseph Griffin deposed to having received two cheques for £60 each from his brother, and having given them to McLaughlin. Witness told McLaughlin that the cheques were to be given to Mr. G. B. Davy, solicitor, Auckland. Witness got a receipt from prisoner, acknowledging the re ceipt of the cheques. The cheques were to be given to Mr. Davy, in payment for some land witness and his brother had bought from Mr. Laurie. Witness had given the prisoner the cheques on his representing himself to be Mr. Davy's agent. In cross-examination witness said he was not aware that prisoner's assistant had lately been carrying on business on account of Messrs. Bussell and Davy. John Eobert Griffin deposed to having drawn the cheques, and given them to the previous witness to give to McLaughlin, to convey to Mr. Davy. Some time after, witness asked prisoner what he had done with the cheques, when he at first said he had given them to Mr. Davy ; and on witness ] saying he knew that not to be true, he said that he had paid them into the Union Bank to the joint account of himself and Mr. Davy. The cheques had been charged against witness in his account at the bank, and he had paid the purchase money of the land again to Mr. Laurie. G. B. Davy, solicitor, was examined, and deposed that he had never received the cheques nor entered into any partnership. In cross-examination, witness stated that since he had been in business there had been many mutual acts of kindness between prisoner and himself. Occasionally sums of money passed through prisoner's hands from parties sending to witness from Wangarei. He sometimes brought fees from parties at Wangarei, but witness could not recollect that he ever brought purchase money. His partner toot possession of the prisoner's property tinder a bill of sale for money which he had advanced. Witness never told prisoner at that time that as he was pushed for money he might make use of any he received on his account. By Mr. Wynn : Prisoner never said anything at all to me of the receipt of these cheques. He had no authority generally to receive money on my account. On any account between prisoner and ourselves there never was a balance in his favour. Prisoner here started up and said : I wish I had my own way. I would say that Mr. Davy left my wife and children starving, and forged a deed, and got up this prosecution. I charge him with that. Witness : I have taken no part in instituting' this prosecution. Niels Petersen, master of a vessel trading between Auckland and Wangarei, deposed to having cashed one of the cheques in question for the prisoner. Prisoner wanted him to cash another, but he had not money. By Mr. Wynn : Mr. Davy's name was never mentioned by the prisoner. . Alfred Thomas Grrnfc, cashier in the Union Bank, deposed to having cashed the cheques. Mr. MacCormick replied at considerable length for the prisoner, contending that a felonious intention at the time of conversion of the cheques must be proved. The prisoner received the cheques in the general way of his business as a land-agent, and the Griffins did not know that he was going down to Auckland at that time. There was nothing to showbailment of the cheques j the bailment m ; ie T,i. have been of the money. If the prison/ . r^ as merely to act as a postman, the cheque Wht have been made payable to Mr. Da\rir»© n iy or might have been crossed ; but the way in which they were drawn showed that they were paid to him as agent. It was a constant practice of J£S to ,ft 0 *? Pa £ °?? V mon *7jte& had been en. trusted to them.buttemporarilytoapplyit to, some other^purpose, remaining, of course, liable for fci - ! f dmifc ted that the prisoner had made ' ihZtt temeU -? res P c . cfcin & the money, but these were quite consistent with the supoosi! ion that prisoner had only fampowSfrSSEl the money to his own purpoiei •PP"e*

His Honor summed up at considerable length. The jury, after about half-an-hour's absence, returned with a verdict of guilty, and strongly recommended the prisoner to mercy. The prisoner, on being asked if he had anything to say why sentence should not be passed on him, broke out into violent abuse of Mr. Davy, accusing him of having been guilty of P c 3 r ul T TV Hia Honor, in passiug sentence, said that the prisoner had been convicted upon the clearest evidence, and he regretted that he had behaved as he had done, and made such remarks about Mr. Dayy — a gentleman whom he, personally, and in his capacity as Chief Justice, had found every reason to admire and respect. Mr. Davy had given his evidence in a manner which showed him to be a man of humanity ; and ho (the Chief Justice) believed there was not one in the jury but felt that Mr. Davy had overstrained nothing, and set nothing down in malice. As to the prisoner's state of health, any representation respecting it would hare to come from the medical officer. His Honor then passed sentence of two years' imprisonment with hard labour. The Court adjourned at a quarter before seven o'clock till ten o'clock this (Tuesday) morning.