SUPREME COURT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 113, 15 May 1911, Page 8

SUPREME COURT.

— — ♦ — ■ — £ CRIMINAL SESSIONS. J" WELLINGTON SITTINGS OPEN. jjjpNETSEN PRISONERS FOR TRIAL. 'criminal' setffiicms of the Supreme Qmr £„, c qnimenced ritei tc -jday . hie Honour "ChM .".'.Xl^Ucre 1 • (Sir Robert Stout) i&cupying tho bencli. *7tMr. '. T. Neave appeared for.* the Crown. ' *«THe -Grrand-'-Juxyr-vvafi .-as follow*?: — Seter Hsllebiutou Miller, Aubrey Bea'uehamp - Pyrmont, ■ William Harrison. Gtarjj^ Charles Silas §elly> Thomas Bush, William v&ennedy,' William^ Carmina, John Forj«s(jue Alills, l^tmee Ballantyne M'Ewen, Horatio Da.u-i^te-N6kM, yohn Mitchell, ■ ißenjtfini? Jjgewis, Alfred, Ernest Donne, Charki Jfrederick ''T.aine, Gerald Theodore T. Brill, JaUn Hutcheson, Erneftt J. BarSett, Xfeniee *, I >Talbut Austin, fidwaro? Bo3l>&n BrwiEow. Mr. *W. A." Kennedy was chosen foreman. " „. ■ S HIS HQNOI7R'.S CHARGE. 2; In his pfiafge to *th& '.Grand Ju}y, .his wfonour^ieaid that^-there -were nineteen' jjprisonen committed for - trial, but ho Sfas glad to inform' them that none of %te cases .were of & very serious kind, llhecev' were, unfortunately, no less than "fibre Se^fta'lJ- cases. ,'; In r^efeienofc- to *a" wiarge 0% indecency, surprise; might, be "expressed "/that it', was sent to' the |jfapretoe"Ctyirt at $11, but. there. w&6 a" . ■difficulty in- the Police Offences -Act/ as 'jco the*. "definition of- a crime., < The riuinisjpality* t might not, have power to pass ■a, ' by-law <tc meet such - cases. Hie ZHonour.* did not think that the magis- . Jlgpate did wrong in sending the prisoner to 'the higher court. • There Iwas arsped»r^ provision in the .Crimes ;Act, which ndghtrena&le this c(>urt to ■deal with the case. Unfortunately)- in .abont' half the cases the .lapse was atJjtfibuted to drink..' Then" there were -cither sexnal cases ■ against ■ young men. Interference 'with . little « children, by men and old mert was, \he re-, jtreitod to cay, not uncommon', even. JHroughout. New '.'. Zealand/ and this. f .fco,'*hj*','Hon'<>wr.t(> l be;a great disHJrace -on <«ur - ci^isation. - As -to the-ltteynolb^-T?ete*rseri J-xase"; " the evidence jalready., given; was -.amply sufficient to_ »»end them to; trwd*2£ His Honour went on to refer-to a- case t>f house-breaking into a residence of a woman, formerly the wife of the alleged. Ib'ffemder, The case turned upon, the' evi;cfcence some clothing. E:'the ■jury thought it' was established- that tnis clothing was afterwards, found in Ki6*Jiottlie 1 ,;-it'.;^ae_auffici«nSfc / to call upon him to 4 account for its possession. There were five" caßes of- theft of 'a kind that was continually ■ before the courts. / His Honour dealt at length with the various cases, and the "Grand Jury, retired. TRUE BILLS. - The Grand Jury returned true bills in the following casss : — John Hackett, indecent assault; Frederick Hunter, indecent assfiutt ; Michael O'Brien, (alias Doyle), and Thomas Lane and Frank vws. theft from • the person ; William John Carpenter, assault; Charles Gurote, theft. »■ i - 'SI3KIOUS CHARGES. .* pjiscvr between seventeen and •rjKcn, ' Frederick Hunter, pleaded ;;u ; lty to several charts of iudecent asr.- 1' '"i two boys' ai Fark- \',''?. E!;af ','rina dis'lncit. on the ftvt April. I ail. 'Mr. T. 'M. Wilford 'Sfppearetl Jo" prsone* and made a stater.:?:it to tl;-- 8.-rch on the prisoner's antecedent end heredity. The scntf icing <~i Hunter was postponed till Wednesday next. His Honour remarks-] it iras a very sad cas=. v DEMANDED. t'hp (3se of Ernest Edwin Thompson, which w%s beiore U>? Couri of Appeal last naeU, ci>me' before bis Honour. A conviction for attempting to procure h noxiouo article for a certain purpose was confirmed by the Court of Appeal and he now awaited sentence. His -Honour remanded the case- until Wednesday, as he had not received the - police report and did not like imposing a sentence without being in receipt of all .possible information. MISSING' CHAFF AND OATS. A plea of not guilty was entered by Mt. H. F. O'Leary, counsel for Charles Gurote, a small-built oldish man, to a charge of ohef t at Masterton, of a quantity of oats and chaffi and sack*, valued at £4 9s 6d, the property of Edward Jones. There ..was. an alternative count of receiving stolen" goods. In outlimng'the case for the Crown, Mr. N-eave mentioned that oais and chaif were- commodities for which tho prisoner would have a very great use, as he was a carrier by occupation. He ran 'buses aftd kept, a fair' number of horses. At it' quarter to twelve on the evening of Bth April two constables saw him leave his premises, go ■in the direction of Jones's establishment, anrl return. He then- -yoked wpj a. -w«,q;oii« with • unusual haste. "■ Ills condurfivas 'suspicious. He drove off in, the s^mo direction, the con«ti»bles' (following -on ■ ■ bicycles. When tf«y caught up the wagon had come to <T*£taud still in front of Jones's huildin^s, staid the prisoner \i as in the act of shiiting cliaff from tho roadside. Upon being '„ arrested by tho police lie was in a very EvsdnrM^ etcito,-. The ownei; of the chaif ari. missed .Igritn* of 6uC property. '£{,' was known on the previous evening tha*. there was no chaff-on the road. I Evidence for the prosecution was given I 'Brown; 'who' said that When | mey-" accosted ' accused 1 ov the ■•roatl he ! said,. he, had been .told, that the chaff j had fallen off a dray the previous day i and that he could have some of it. He j only intended taking two sa^-ks, and was I going to the'Tairherenikau races. " Jone3 j •^sd«ntined th«cbaff as his property. - | /.vi,-.- ,,.,.. -(Proceeding.)- • - -» f»l I*EI-XOBAVII--?RXaS AKaOCIATION.] j DCJNEDIN This Day. ' The" criminal sittings of • the 'Supreme'^ Court opened to-da>. Arthur Robert James Cant pleaded ftuilty. .to the theft, of iilOU fr-jrn the ! Union Steam Ship Pompaiiy. with whom \ ho v:es employed pt ija\'rnaster of casual h^nds &f Port Chalmers. ■> It was ctalsdj th&t he mr,i'iicd when ho. ■.;as not finaii-. cialiy abla 1o"do '«6. and borrowed at ;t usiiricuc lato of ijtcrcst lo pay for ! his furniture, a:ul trekt r ck tho tempany's' | Hiore^ pay Jik private debts, ilo . \<> i3rc-bat : "n for tv:o yearri ' 'and 'c^l'ii''.J'"to.pay' costs, (£B)'. " r J '.'C^/ii.J/iU'ii! .V'L{jat>' l'leark'-i guilty -to ly>n j ohr.vjrc of tiitr'ls I *r&n. tl'e D.I.C. aucT J .VJ.i'C PrccvcV. i>ap r ry" t3t:ibl:shfi:r,!t." Hs, Wii i-)<l";e<\ lo bo dctaii'ed ; for-V.>"o':»3->tiv. > !i*<iiH"'nt for A l-t-rni of two. \ne~-*. Jffn A!< \h »:• Caj^^hfO w: ? I^-onght up. inr M-^ i t-nee <n. Hjw>o' ciiat'jjei of Jtiielfc,.'.'" /••••. 'lj" IJnik.d' A-'PtiaTasi-i -priwni'r.* ■•'• h' ''if • licwi Kiir?i«'l?'J tc■'#KnbYr"> ■!■)■.'. );<>i\'"--i -.rin-J. ■.'.*."•« in rfp-cpl lpi;A salsviiv'of .C2OO p y«av irnr che bank. /r»» v.-.-r- -iciti-noed fo eighteeii 'moathe' i'nnrVonnif-it „-..Ji^yi t U'.» : : Be'f:r<-1. r.'i a t charge of 'rccciV'fTtr i 'i~Acn rirr.y'v i'l 15u n sdhi. v.-m adji'-'' l "- 1 •'•• yv^oi'r^ f"j- Iv.-c- \ears. .In'iTi Td'ipf'ki. a .Maori, for bieakinft. enleii'ic. s'jrf 'h'-f' n 1 1"!' ctUr.. wi>vGsn-i*nc-.d tr ■'•. ri" 7* *»*-* lia,H I.ihour. Ih"re'ahft tt» f" 4 d«>'*:-."<i la rfifomuittvc'pui-

CHBISTCHURCH, Thin Day. The criminal sessions of the Supreme Court opened this morning. in addressing the Grand Jury; Mr. j Justice Deiinistan said he regretted that the list of cases was heavy. Of the fifteen charges requiring- investigation, five wero for sexual offences, and two persons were charged with mur. der. r . , True bills were found against Lamb »nd others, theft of cargo: James Mitchell, carnal knowledge; Harry Leej 1 heft from the person : Lily Casey, alias . Smith, tnoft; Robert Paurmi, attempted rape:./ Henry George Ca'rlyle, incest; Fred ''ChuHer.. false declaration of marriage ; Andrew Craig, iadecent exposure ; and -the- case Henry Alexander Jack and Walter Richard Saddler, alleged murder of E'Jiel Bradley. Bertram Steven Lambert appeared for sentence for having carnally known a girl . under sixteen, and was ordered to come up for sentence when called on. 1 James ' was sentenced to three j anonths' imprisonment for arson and two j years' reformative- detention. ' j