SUPREME COURT.

Evening Post, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 87, 9 October 1889, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. Ykbtbbdat. (Boforo His Honour the Chief Justice.) TIIE KKKTAHUNA BANKRUPTCT CASK. Further evidence for the prosecution in the case of Charles Edward Beckman, indiotcd for attempting to leave the colony with J6200 which ought to have been divisible amongst his creditors, was taken at some length after we went to press yesterday. Two witnesses swore to a meeting between the prisoner and his wifo on the road betwoon Woodville and Eketahuna, and one of them Raid that ho afterwards drove the prisoner to Woodville, where he spent the night, but disappeared before morning from tho room in which he had slept. Georgo A. Ward proved that ho came from Masterton to Wellington with Mra. Bookman and her children, and took tickots for them to Napier by the Waihora. Witness gave the shipping clerk the name of Brckmau, but tho clerk mistook it for Bateman, and mudo out the ticket in that name. Did not notice the mistake till ho had left tho office, and then labelled the luggage ho as to correspond with the ticket. Dotcutivo Chrystal deposed that ho arrostHd prinonerin the Governor Brown Hotel, Auckland, and on searching him at the police Htation found .£33 5h in his posaoaaion. On wi tnoss atatin ■? he was supposed to have taken away JJSOOof his creditors' money, Beckman said, " When I escaped from my creditors at Kaiwarra I loot .£300." Witness expressed his belief that Mrs. Bookman had tho je5C3, and asked the watchhouse-kceper to send for the female searcher. Beckman then aakod what was tho amount of the warrant, and on witness stating that it was JB2OO ho said ho would pay it. and told his wifo to pay over what money he had. Mrs. Beckman took from her bosom a flannel pad containing .£250 in notes, which she handed over. Witness hoc! every reason to believe that Mrs. Beokman and her ohildren had gone to another oolony. This concluded the oaao for tho Crown. Mr. Skorrett naked the Court whether thoro was a case to moot, and went on to contend that there was no valid bankruptcy petition against the prisoner, because the potition produced, while purporting to bo that of two persons, August Oastendyk and Kberhard Focke, was signed by only one ot them. His Honour thought that question should have boon raised in the Bankruptcy Court. Mr. Skorrott argued that as tho prosecation woro bound to provp the Jaot that thore was a bankruptcy petition and also an adjudication, it must ncaessarily be a valid petition. His Honour decided that he should not stop tho case on the point raised, but offered to resorvo the question for argumont. No evidence was offered for tho dofenco, but Mr. Skerrett addressed tho jury on behalf of the firiaonoj. His Honour having summed up, the jury took about an hour to conmdor tho matter, and then returned to Court with a verdict of Not Guilty. Prisoner was accordingly discharged. Ting Dat. A CHEQUK TttANSACTION. Con Williams (who was previously indiotod and acqnitted on another charge nnder the namo of Southoe) pleaded Not Guilty to an indiotmont ohargjiig him with having altered and uttered a chequo on the 26th of August. Mr. 801 l conducted the case for the Crown, and Mr. Skerrott defended the pritoner. Mr. William Nees was foreman of tho jury. On bohalf of (.ho prosecution it was alleged that a ohequo for X\ 8s 8d was given to the prisoner by Messrs. Joioph & Phillipß in oxchango for an order made on them by Messrs. Willoßton & Stevens, bush contractors ; that prisoner preionted it to three different Grey town tradnmon — Messrs. Walker, Cassolberg, and Muir— in the form of a cheque for -Cl 4 8a ; one of them declined to cash it because the alteration had not been initialled, and another because ho had not enough cash available, but Mr. R. Thompson, storekeeper, of Greytowj, who was ultimately applied to, changed it. One of prisoner's mates named John Donovan, swore that whilo riding away with prisoner from Mr. Coleman Phillip's place, after both had reoeived their cheques, prisonerrcmarked that his cheque could bo altered from JfM to jBH. Payment of the chequo wasrofused at thp Bank and Mr. Thompson afterwards met the prisoner a,t Woodsjdo station on the train — ay which Williams was travelling to tho Hutt— :nd demanded repayment of .£lO, th.o difference botweon tho apparent and real valno of tho oheque. Prkonor gave up .£9 in notes and asked that tho chequo should be returned stating that he bad not made any alteration in it, but Mr. Phillips must havo made tho mistake. Thompson refused to givo it np as he was still the loser of JEI, and prisoner then gave np another halfsovereign, but as he had evidently done so under the misapprehension that it would gain for him the return of the cheqno, and as bo Baid ho had no other money, Thompson gave tho coin back to him. Thompson undertook that if prisoner came back to Greytown, and proved that the ohoque was one for J214, be would make good the £9, but the train then left, and prisoner did not afterwards return. No evidence was offered for the defenoe, and oounael having addressed the jury, his Honour reviewed the case exhaustively. The jury retired at 20 minutes to 1, and agreed in a quarter of an hour upon a verdiot of Guilty of uttering the cheque knowing it to be forged, bnt acquitted the prisoner on the charge of forgery. Prisoner, when callod npon in, the usual form, Baid— l hayo nothing to aay, only that I'm not gujlty. I never i]id anything to the ohequo. The Crown Prosecutor aald there was nothing known against the prisoner, except the affair with the order of his brother (Sonthee), on whiah tho jury had acquitted him. His Honour said ho could not take any notice of prisoner's transaction with his brother, and in this case a little more oare, on the part of Mr. Thompson would have prevented prisoner from getting any benefit from the cheque. Ho thought, however, he would be justified in passing a sontence of 18 nionths' hard labour in tho Terrace Gaol, whioh he accordingly passed. ASBAULT, Robert Bullen, formerly Inspector of Police, surrendered to his bail, and was indicted for having committed a violont assault upon Austin Coombe on tho 27th of July. He pleadrd Not Guilty, and conducted his own cjefence. Mr, K. H. Cate waß foreman of the jury. Mr, Bell, Crown Protcontor, oponed the case for the prceoution. The main facts that he relird upon were that on the night of the 26th July the accused went to the house of Mrs. Mackinder, off Taranakistreet, where a disturbance took place, in wMoh accused fired off a pistol. Next morning Coombo, who lives in the same lane, saw accused in the act of removing somo goods iiom Mrs. Mackinder'a residence, and asked him what authority he had for doing so. Accused, without replying, struck Coombe in the face, and presented a loaded revolver at him, threatening to blow bis brains out. Acoußcd, in his anger, had mistaken Coombe for Norbury, r-'s landlord and neighbour, against whom ho had agriovance, and on finding out his mist ike he apologised for it, but §Tr. Bell pointed out that in neither case wap the assault justifiable. At the conclusion of the evidence for the proeroution the aconscd was callod upon, under the Criminal Evidence Act, and eleoted to be examined on oath. His explanation was that when Coombe came out to him he simply told him, " Now, go away ; I want to get possession of the property I paid my money for." He then drew the pistol, which he had taken merely for the purpose of intimidation, and holding it with the muzzle pointing downward, said " That's the littlo thing that will prevent you from interfering with me, and make you let me havo quiet." He denied that he either struck Coombe or levelled the pistol at him or threatened him. What he apologised to Coome for was simply for having falsely accused him the night before. Mr- Bell cross-examined the accused. [Left sitting.]