TO-DAY'S COURT,

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1908, Page 7

TO-DAY'S COURT,

PRISONERS SENTENCED. HABITUAL CRIMINAL. / In the Supreme Court to-day, Jamei i „ Madder, an elderly man, and Henrys Mather, a young man, came before Mr., Justice Cooper on a charge of breaking, and entering and theft at the house of;, Mrs. Rickards, Kelburne. Tho elderly} 'man had nothing to say ; the younger; handed to the court a statement, plead-, ing for probation. His Honour sub«sequent!y intimated that he could not! possibly entertain the application. Mr. Bell, Crown Prosecutor, observed that!. Mather, whilst in the employ of Mr.' Hildreth, committed larceny of his mas« 'ter's property. ( In answer to the court, Madder ad* 'nutted corvictions for breaking and «n-. ' tering and theft afc Gisborae, Welling-* ton, and Christchurch. He further ad> j, mitted that he had served four yearsti .imprisonment in respeot of ,the offences j at Christchurch. "So far as you are concerned, Mad-« v der,"»said his Honour, in passing sen-C K < -tence, "you are a criminal, and you ax* an habitual criminal, and I intend to treat you as such, notwithstanding your application not to apply the pttwdsiowr* 'of the Habitual Criminals Act." Meir. of prisoner's description, his Hononij snt on to say, who went about tho '..untry breaking and entering house*, and stealing from places, were better? kept from plying snch an unlawful call-^ ing. Madder would be sentenced to. three years' imprisonment with hard laJ bour upon the offence of which he had! been convicted, "and," added his Hon-" our, "I shall declare you to be an iab- , itual criminal." ' So far as Mather was concerned, it was, said his Honour, impossible for him to entertain ' prisoner's application for probation. The offence of breaking and entering the house and stealing from it was a- very serious one, and it was essential, in the interests of the community, that men who had those dishonest instincts should be punished. Mather would ba sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour for three years. A JEWELLER'S LOSSES. Bieaking and entering the shop of Thos. Crouch, Cuba-street, on the 21sb June, and stealing articles valued at, .EoOO, was the charge preferred against a middle-aged man named George Oram. Constable Thomas M'Gregor deposed to having heard a smash at 5.33 o'clock ou the Sunday morning in question, and subsequently having found Crouch's window broken, and a brick on the footpa ih. The only protection on the window was a canvas blind, which was cuf> at one corner. Witness saw accused in the street, and questioned him about the .rmcident. Subsequently he asked "Has "there been a burglary?" Witness replied that there had. "Where?" asked accused. Witness said "Up the street."' Later in the morning ' witne&sj sew act cosed and a man named Peterson in a right-of-way off Cuba-street. He searched them both, but did not find anything. Joseph Mete, pawnbroker, stated that , on 23rd June a' man, giving the name o£ Wakeham, pawned a ring with him. 1 Witness advanced 5s on the article ; that was all tho man asked for it. . . j Thos. Crouch identified tho article aa | his, and said that accused, ou the morn- : ing of 21st June, complained to him of , being searched, and said he attended ■seeing the matter through. He had a \t brother a manufacturing jeweller on lhe j other side who 'would him. In cross-examination, Avitness ssid that' he canied on the business on his "own account. He had a safe, and usually, <placed his valuables in it at night. On the night of 20th June lie neglected to remove the articles from the window because he was tired as a result of playing football. John Doughs, labourer, deposed that he saw accused at his house at 7 a.m. on a Sunday in June. Accused said • "What do you think of the engagement ring I got?" Witness glanced at the ring and said, "Its all right." The article was similar to the ring produced Alfred Ernest Wakehara, French, polisher, gave -evidence about meeting accused on 23rd June and discussing a drink Witness suggested that accused should shout. Accused replied that he would if witness pawned Hie ring procluced. Witness did so for 6s. That was all Oram asked him to get for it,l'hosi 'Martin^gave similar evidence. Dei

tectJFe Broberg- said that he and detective Cameron, questioned accused about giving a ring to- a man to pledg6 — accused said he did not know anything about it. Wifeless took him to the Man-ners-street Police Station, and searching him, found a pawn ticket. Accused said the ticket had been given to him, and later, on seeing Wakeham, said he found ! tho ting that .Wakeham pawned. George Oram, accused, said he went j out early every morning. He found the j ring in question in Cuba-street on the j , morning of 21st June. Accused admitted that he had previously been convicted of drunkenness and going into a sly grog shop and procuring liquor. In cross-examination he said he had spent some time in gaol in respect of the sly grog incident. {Left sitting.) CHRISTCHURCH CASES. . [BT TELEGEAPH. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHURCH, This Day. The Supreme Court was occupied all yesterday hearing cases of robbery underarms against Joseph Johnston, Frank Bolton, and James Keegan. The offences were said to have been committed in May last. The case for the Crown concluded this morning, and the accused Johnston addressed the jury, as also did Bolton. After His Honour had summed up, the jury retired. The same accused pleaded guilty to charges of breaking and entering premises at Woolston on 12th May, and stealing clothing of the value of £12 ; also with breaking into premises at Linwood on the same date, and stealing tobacco and cigarettes of the value of £2. 'A further charge of robbery under arms was held over, and will probably be withdrawn. His ■ Honour • will deliver sentence, on the offences to which accused pleaded guilty after tho jury's verdict in regard to the highway robbery case. David Courtney, charged with theft of purse and £8 from the person of Michael Ryan at Riccarton Hotel, was found guilty and sentenced to three years' imprisonment, to ran concurrently with a sentence for assault and Tobbery prisoner is now serving. The jury in the robbery under arms fcase, after 20 minutes retirement, found a verdict of guilty against each of the accused, on each "of the three charges heard. MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE. DUNEDIN, This Day. In the charge- of manslaughter against Cornish, no witnesses were called for _the defence. Mr. Fraser summed up the evidence called, on behalf of the Crown, after which Mr. Hanlon addressed the jury. The defence alleged that there was generally absolutely contradictory evidence on the part of all the witnesses called, and comment was made on the way the Crown had abandoned point after point on which their case originally rested. Counsel referred particularly to the evidence of the woman Bennett, and her 'two distinct statements, the latter of which was characterised as "venomous revenge" in consequence of her dismissal from service by the accused.