POLICE COURT.—Monday. [Before T. Beckham, Esq., B.M.] DRUNKENNESS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3184, 1 October 1867, Page 4

POLICE COURT.— Monday. [Before T. Beckham, Esq., B.M.] DRUNKENNESS.

Thomas Herbert, John Patterson, Edward Higgins, James Walmsley, Bridget Hawkey, and John Wood were charged with being drunk, and received the usual punishment. OBSCENE LANGUAGE. Lucy Duncan was charged by constable Gamble with using obscene language in Victoria Quadrant. The defendant pleaded guilty, and was fined 405., and costs, to receive seven days' imprisonment in default.

LAECENY. John Casey was charged with stealing one I pair of Balmoral boots, value 75., from the shop door of Thomas Humphries, Queen-street. The prisoner pleaded not guilty. Thomas Humphries deposed that he was a general dealer, carrying on business in Queenstreet. He put some boots outside the shop door on Saturday last. The boots produced were his property. He did not know how they got out of his possession. Constable Murphy deposed that he saw the prisoner about 10 o'clock on Saturday night. He noticed the prisoner had something under his coat, and, knowing him to be a bad character, he followed the prisoner to Shortland-street, where he threw the boots under a cab and ran away. By the prisoner : I saw you throw the boots under a cab. His Worship found the prisoner guilty, and ordered him to be imprisoned for six months with hard labour. There was no other business before the Court*

Oar readers will probably remember hearing of the financial depression in which the colony of Tasmania waa plunged a «horfc time ago. Year after year, the revenue fell short of the expenditure, and at the end of four years a debt had accumulated which amounted in the aggregate to £103,235. Various schemes were talked of for bringing the expenditure within the rerenue of the colony, and the question led to more than one change of Miniitiy. At length a Government was found sufficiently bold to grapple with departmental charges ; and the following paragraphs which we take from a late number of the Argus, shows the ancceis which has attended its labours : — "The finances of Tasmania appear at last to have been placed on a more satisfactory footing than has been the case for some years part. During the last four years the revenue had fallen short of the expenditure by £103,235 in the aggregate, but the present Ministry have been able to pay off the arrears they found due on entering office, and to extinguish a debt of £13,000 to the banks. Mr. Chapman estimated his revenue for the year afc £191,242, and his expenditure at £189,621, and ex« pressed a hope to Parliament that he would be ablo to carry forward a balance pf £7,000 to the following year. The emulations for 1868 were almost identic*. ifi\i^Uio%etQilSQ7,"—N'eUqnExaminir, Sept. 17.