THE COURTS—TO-DAY.

Evening Star, Issue 8768, 8 March 1892, Page 2

THE COURTS—TO-DAY.

SUPREME COURT-CRIMINAL . ;, (Before His Honor Mr Justice Williams.) ' The Court Bat at 10 a. nu : £/'; ' SHEEP STBAMNG. '/ Thomas Healey was charged with* stealing twenty-two ewea and seven lambs, the propery of Alexander A. M'Master and Ronald M'Master. The Crown Proßeoutor, with him Mr Hosking, conducted the prosecution, and Mr F. R. Chapman, with him Mr M'CarthyJof Naseby) appeared to defend the prisoner, who pleaded not guilty. • » On the application of Mr Chapman witnesses were ordered out of Court. Mr Hosking opened the case at length, Before dealing with the faots he made reference to the legislation with respect to Bheep and aheep brandß, In doing so he remarked that the offence charged took place in the Duns tan subdivision of the sheep district of Otago, Tho sheep inspectors were armed with certain powers the object of which was to prevent sheep stealing, and one of those powers waß that he might call upon any owner to muster his sheep in order to see whether there were among them any belonging to another person. The Legislature also required that every owner should register his brand, and the inspector had authority to prohibit there being two brands alike in one district, the object being to prevent mistakes. In addition to tho wool mark, which waß in tar or paint, there was also an ear-mark put upon sheep, as a rule on the top or towards the end of the ear, and bo as to prevent the destruction of that mark it waß provided that it Bhould not be lawful to out off more than a third of tho ear. In 1890 the Legislature amended the Aot and made it more stringent, one provision beiog*that ear cropping was altogether prohibited. In this case the faots were as follow:—The Messrs M'Master wore runholders in the Kyeburn district, and their run, known as the Tokaraki run, stretched to within ten miles of Naseby. They had a manager there, a Mr Little. Prisoner held a piece of land, about 200 acres, adjoining that run. He was at one time in the employ ef the M'Masters as manager of that part of the station. The M'Mastars' brand was sometimes called an L, or by others the two aides of a triangle, and their ear-mark was a fork out of the top of the ear. The brand was for owes placed on the near or left shoulder, so as to distinguish the sex. Prisoner's brand was H A, and his ear mark was a piece cut across the ear (a mark in frequent uae, and popularly known aa the thieves' mark) and in addition a cut in the fore-quarter of tbe other ear and a notch. The M'Maaters' aheep on this part of the run were of a very special kind, known as Fisher's breed of merinoea, They were distinguished as being very woolly sheep—so much so that the wool came over their faces, making them liable to be stupid about shearing time; and they were square acroaß the back, very deep ribbed, and shorter in the legs than the ordinary class of merino. There were no other Bheep of that kind in the district, though there might be some twenty miles away at Hamilton's atatron. Prisoner's sheep were rather a mixed lot. Ho had aome fine-combing merinoea ar.dafew Southdowns, and generally his flock could not bo said to be uniform. In December of laat year Little put a number of M*Masters' sheep, chiefly wet ewes, and altogether numbering 478, into a paddock known as Malloch's paddock. There was growing in that paddock a peculiar weed—known as " fat hen," which produced a black scour. That was a point which the jury should remember. Those sheep were placed there on the 23rd December, and continued there till the 26th. On the morning of that day, Mr Reid, one of Healey's neighbors, was going along the road to a shearing job, and on reaching a rise in the road he Eaw prisoner drlviDg a small mob of aheep. He had a dog with him. Raid noticed the dog knock down one of the aheep, and Healey go and pick it up. Here it would bo borne in mind what he (Mr Hosking) had said about M'Maatcra' sheep being stupid as shearing time came on. Prisoner presently saw Reid on tho road, and asked him if he had seen a borso along the road. Reid stopped his horse and looked ot the sheep. Ho saw that they wtre morinoes, noticed the ear-marks on them and their brands, and knew from his experience that they were M'Masters'. Passing on, he noticed a mob huddled together in a corner of Mallooh's paddock, showing signs, the Crown said, of having been disturbed. Thero was no ono else about, and this was at half-past four o'clock in the morning. Later on in the day Little counted these sheep, and found thirty-three mißsing, On the Bth of January Sheep inspeotor Scaife eaw prisoner at Naseby, and asked to be allowed to inspect his sheep, Prisoner replied that it would not be convenient for him to do so, aa ho (prisoner) had business at Naseby which would detain him all day. The inspector remarked that someone else might muster for bitn, and prisoner anawed that he would allow no one else to tamper with hia sheep. Scaife made an appointment for the following day, and, anticipating prisoner, he went in the direction of Healey's farm about half-past six the next morning, and kept an eye on tho sheep until tho arrival of bis assistant, Mr Miller, and Sergeant Green. About eleven o'clock they asked prisoner to muster the sheep. Prisoner made aome demur to the use of the dog for yarding, but the dog was used, and did its work fairly well. The number mustered waß 101. Most of the sheep wero newly ear marked. The sores on the ears had not entirely healed, and the wool on the faces was clotted with Mood. The inspeotor asked how the sheep came to be newly ear-marked, and prisoner replied that he did not know, but somebody had done it, and that they were not like that when ho had ahorn them a week before. In answer to another question, prisoner answered that he had not bought the sheep but had bred them. He was then asked to account for tbe fact that there vaa not a ram on, his plaoe, though his sheep were of ages ranging from four months to three yeara, and his reply was that a Southdown ram had strayed into his place one night, and tho other sheep on the place were also attributed to a wandering ram. There were twenty-two sheep among them newly ear-marked, and two lambs, In all cases part of the ear was taken away with what was called "the thieves' mark." They all had the HA brand, and tho paint had scarcely dried on the wool. They bore the marks of being newly shorn, and all the witnesses would say that tbey were precisely the same breed of Bheep that the M'Masters had on that part of their run, and it would also be stated that they were wet ewes. If prisoner did not come by these shetp honestly, he did all he could to convert them to his own use. The inspection took place on a Saturday. On tho Monday morning Sergeant Green and Constable Johnßton proceeded to prisoner's farm. In a stream they came to before they readied the farm they found twenty sheep and seven lambs, and later they found two more sheep—all dead. They had evidently been reoently killed. Tho heads were cat off the sheep and the ears oropped, and the brands had been out out of tho skin. On two of the sheep were seen traces of red paint about the spot where the brand had been, The lambs had not their heads cot off, but their ears were cropped. The out on the aheep was in each oase on the left or near side, and in the case of the lambs the cropping was sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other. The jury would remember what he (Mr Hosking) had said as to M'Maaters' ewes being branded on the left side and the lambs marked according to the sex. To connect prisoner with the sheep found in the river it would be shown that dray marks were seen leading from his farm to the river, and a dray wod found in his yard at the end of the impressions which the wheels had made, Thesergeantandthe constable wenton to prisoner's place, and he said that he had a complaint to make. Someone had come about the place, and he had lost certain sheep. The sergeant replied that he thought he oould find tho sheep for him, and asked if he had been down to the river, Prisoner said that he had been to tho coal-pit. It would not be out of his way to go along the river bed some distance, Hut the dray was greasy, and about its aides were traces of wool. That was the

dray that went to the coal-pit that morning. Farther, the sheep had been tied round the feet with strands, and pieces of staff of the came length, were found . in prisoner's ?lsßse. if fheae sheep were destroyed by prisoner, that laot was. Cogent evidenoe against hlnj. Mr Little was summoned to the place, and on arrival be found on the lambs traces of blaok scour, which it would be shown would be produced by eating the "fat hen" growing in Malleoli's paddock. la regard to the sheep, tbey had been shorn, and traces cf the Bcour thus removed. The Crown relied on the facts that Bheep were driven by prisoner on the morning of Boxing Day; that they were of exactly the same class as those seen in the disturbed flock inMallooh'a paddoolr; on the prisoner's conduct in trying to pat the inspector off; on prisoner's conduot at the muster; on the new earmarks and prisoner's lame aocount for their appearance ; and on the destruction of the sheep and the severing of their heads and the removal of the ear-marks. The jury were asked to consider all these and the other facte, and it was then for them to say whether prisoner was or was not guilty. The witnesses for the Grown examined up to 4.30 were Willis A. Scaife (inspector of stock), Sergeant Green, Constable Johnston, John Coyle, John Cargill Millar (rabbit inspector), and James Reid. The case was proceeding as we went to press. WELLINGTON. John Neilßon, larceny of thirteen sovereigns, pleaded guilty, and waß remanded on probation. Frederick Thomson, forgery, pleaded guilty, and received two years' hard labor. Arthur Flady, who is undergoing twelve months' for boing unlawfully on the premise?, Cambridge Hotel, pleaded guilty to wounding Frank Smith, the barman, who attempted to prevent him escaping. Numerous convictions were recorded against the prisoner during the last eighteen yeara, and he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, concurrent with the existing sentence, Julia Mullane pleaded guilty to a oharge of larceny, and was remanded until Friday for the probation officer's report. The Grand Jury found a true bill againßt Charles Harrison and Cherlea Smith in connection with the Eketahuna murder, and no bill against W. C. Raines for manslaughter. AUCKLAND. In charging the Grand Jury Judge Conolly said there were twenty indictments, including varied charge?, none of whioh, cave one of arson, were likely to present any difficulty. He alluded briefly to the charges of fraud againßt Etheridge, of the Crown Lands Department, and remarked upon the very large number of suoh cases which had come under his notice. Casual allusion was made to the Tauranga tragedy, in which Munro is oharged with murdering his wife and child. CITY POLICE COURT. (Before Messrs A. Burt and J. Wright, J. P. s.)

Dbfnkenness.—A first offender was convicted and discharged ; Annie Cunningham was fined ss, in default twenty-four hours' imprisonment; Mary Smith was fined 10j, in default fourteen davs' imprisonment; ani Richard Daniels was fined 20a, in default foui teen days' imprisonment. By-la w Cases, Joteph Haywood,] for allowing a horse to wander in Maori Hill, was fined la and costs.

Oeorge Butkr (for whom Mr Hanlon appeared) pleaded not guilty to a charge of allowing a bullock to wander in the Leith Valley.—Conßtable Nolan, Robert Robsbotham, and William Button gave evidence aa to seeing a bullock wandering. —Mr Hanlon atked the' Bench to dismiss the case, on the ground that the police had allowed a fall month to el ipse between the time the bullock was found wandering and the time the summons was taken out against the defendant. After tho expiration of that time it was not fair to call on tho defendant to answer tho charge.—The Bench held that there was a case to answer.—Defendant then gave evidenoe, after which the Benoh said there had been a certain amount of negligence shown in prosecuting the defendant, but it was clear that the bullock was on the road, and it wan right that the public should be protected. Defendant would be fined 5s and costs (19j).