SUPREME COURT.—Thursday. CRIMINAL JURISDICTION. [Before his Honor Sir G. A. Arney, C.J., and a Common Jury.]

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4401, 22 September 1871, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.— Thursday. CRIMINAL JURISDICTION. [Before his Honor Sir G. A. Arney, C.J., and a Common Jury.]

Stealing from the Premises.— Edward Rogers, a half-caste, was charged on indictment, with entering a store belonging to Mr, Jacobs, at Maketu, near Tauranga, on the 29bh July last, and stealing therefrom a pair of trousers, a shawl, and a waollen shirt. The prisoner wa* unable to understand English,. aad the whole of the evidence had to be communicated to him through an interpreter. Mr. Brookfield prosecuted, and Mr. MacCormick appeared for the prisoner. The principal witness for the prosecution was Edward Haigh, who had charge of the premises at the time of the alleged robbery. The prisoner had called at his bar and asked for two glasses of spirits, one of which ho drank, and the other he gave to a woman who was with him.— J. Ogden gave evidence as to seeing the prisoner going out of the door at 9 o'clock at night. He saw him leap a fence, and go in the direction of his pa. The witness identified among other articles a coat, which was upon' the person of the prisoner.— The prisoner was found by Sergeant Tapsell in his pa. Evidence was given ' by tUonsfcabld Maltravars that on receiving information of the robbery they sought for the prisoner, and found him in an old house on the fat. Haigh had stated that th^ store had been broken f opeaby Rogers, wh^n, besides * other ' things, -he had missed 3s. 6d. in silver. — Detective Doolan deposed to having taken' the prisoner into custody, and brought him to Auckland. — • Mr, MacCormick said he would bo able to

shoiv that Haigh had been greatly annoyed by the prisoner having been found in company with the woman Te Tiahi, whom he (Haigh) had been on intimate 'terms with. The prisoner had gone into Haigh's bar and had called for drinka— a glass for himself and another for the Maori woman. Prisoner said he would pay for it en the morrow. Haigh then became angry ; words arose between the two, when prisoner wanted to fight. At the time the prisoner was very much the worse for drink. Haigh, after serving the drink and having had words with the prisoner, left the house. Rogers then followed, but did not overtake him. Haigh subsequently went to TapseN's house, and stated that he had been robbed by Eftgers. Evidence would, however, show that the place where Haigh said Rogers had broken into, which was a window, had been for a long time previously nailed up. It was impossible the prisoner could have perpetrated the robbery in the manner stated. There was an illfeeing on the part of Haigh against the prisoner, on account of the Maori woman referred to in the evidence. — Tetera, a Maori, substantiated in evidence the statement of the prisoner's council, when his Honor summed up j and the jury, after & short retirement, returned with a verdict of Not guilty.