TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 33, 7 August 1918, Page 8

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS

A! PLEA OF GUILTY.

A plea, of guilty was entered.by John Birdj a waterside worker, charged with the',thefjb v of ten tins of herrings in tomato sauce, valued at 10s, from a ship. The goods .were the property of the Unioiir'Steam: Ship Company. Mr. P. S. K. Macassey appeared for the Crown, and Mr. PI J. O'Regan for the accused. ; In asking for leniency, Mr. O'Regan" admitted^thst charges' of the character preferred against Bird were serious. Bird tvas a'^married man with several children,;,and had been employed on the Wellington waterfront for the past nine yeans. He was a sober, industrious man. Counsel had been instructed that, although Bird took the tins, ■ he did not broach the case. The tins were laying about the hold. Bird's career on the waterfront had now ended, but he was at present employed in a responsible position by, 5. Brown., and Company. That fjrm was preparedl Jto take him back if the Court saw fit to give him a chance. Under the circumstances, Mr. O'Regan asked the Court to treat the prisoner with leniency. . His Honour said there were several other charges pending against accused. Mr. O'Regan: That is the first I hay« heard of them. -' Mr. Macassey stated that other articles such as cheese and two bottles of whisky ■had been found in Bird's house. The 'police were continuing enquiries. '1 His Honour said he would postpone sentence until next Wednesday. ;; Bird was admitted to bail. ; t iLLEGED THEFT OF MONEY. « The next prisoner placed at the.bar was Alfred George Jaqu.es, who pleaded not guilty to the theft of a sum'of £42, in notes, from Joseph, Knight. Mr. Maccassey appeared for the Crown, and prisoner was Represented by Mr. A. F. Hogg. Mr. John H. Kraft was chosen foreman ;of the jury. . •\ The case for the Crown was that yJaques and Knight stayed at the same at Carterton. Knight -won a considerable sum of money at the Trentham Taces, and then returned to Carterton. He had several drinks in Carterton on the morning of 15th July, and told Jaques that he had been successful. He went home at 1 o'clock, and went to bed, putting his purse, full of money, underneath the mattress. , He woke at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. His purse was still where he had left it, but the money had gone. He reported th& matter to the police, and in doing so stated thft the notes included three for £5, two of which were new Bank of New Zealand notes. Accused paid his ;;aocount at the boarding-house and left suddenly. He was apprehended at the Srailway station, and, in answer to a ;;question put by Constable Gregor: ■"How much money have you?" accused about £42, including three five Tpound notes, two of the latter being new 'Bank of New Zealand rtotes. A few !;days previously Jaques told Constable that he was "about stumped." . Alexander Johnson, formerly a far■mer of Carterton and now in camp, and KFrank Thomas Flail, farmer and stock "agent, both gave evidence to the effect .that accused had produced a roll of notes in their presence, the first occasion being 12th July and the second 15th iJuly. Accused, in giving evidence on his . own behalf, stated that when he arrived at Carterton he had with him £60 in ■cash. It was not unusual for him to carry large sums.of money in his pockets. :He lost £9 on the first day of the Wellington races. He was about to leave Carterton on 15th July, with the intension, of returning to take a new position. On two separate occasions immediately prior to 15th July he showed a bundle of notes to two persons. He. remembered telling Constable Gregor that he was "not going to the races, arid gave as his 'reason that he lost £9 on the first day. Witness said he had had many £5 notes .in his possession from time, to time. "I state positively that I did not take ■ the money from Knight. I know noth- ' ing about it. I did not know he had ;;it," was accused's concluding statement. ' The jury retired at 12.50 o'clock. "'ALLEGED BREAKING AND ENTERING. A young man named James Martin was charged with breaking and entering j the premises of Griffiths and Co., auctioneers, Blair-street, on Bth July, with • intent to commit a crime, and, further, that he was a rogue and a vagabond within the meaning of the Act, in. that he was found by night pn the premises of Griffiths and Co., without a lawful ; Prisoner was represented by Mr. H. F. : May Adam Black was foreman of the* jury. (Proceeding.)