POLICE COURT, QUEENSTOWN.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume II, Issue 70, 30 December 1863, Page 6

POLICE COURT, QUEENSTOWN.

December 28th, 1863. (Before Richmond Beetham, Esq., R.M) John Rodig&n and Dennis Hogan were brought np on a charge of drunkenness, but were discharged by his Worship on the ground of it being Clmstmas time. Licence.—ln the application for a licence for the Provincial Hotel, in Ballarat-street, Mrs Griffiths stated that her husband was at the Nokomai; that she had received a letter from him on Christmas Day, telling her that he could not get up to Queenstown for a fortnight.—Mr Bracken opposed the license, his first reason being that the lady now present was not married at all, and a discussion ensued between him and Mr Campbell, who appeared on behalf of the applicant, which was put a stop to by Mr Inspector Morton observing that, as Mr Griffiths had not appeared, the application fell through. The matter was subsequently postponed for a fortnight. Cattle Stealing.—W. H. Scheib, Christian Lucas, and Hermann Bernau were brought up on remand, charged with the above offence. Mr Campbell defended the prisoners, and Mr Christeiißon acted as interpreter. Mr F. Foster, sworn, deposed that he was a ferryman at the Shotover, between Frankton and the Arrow. I know Scheib by name and the other two by sight. I saw them last Tuesday week, at about half-past seven in the morning. Hermann Bernau was driving a cart, coming from the direction of Lake Hayes. A tarpaulin covered the contents of the cart, so that I could not see what it contained. The other two were on horseback, and came up with the cart as it was just crossing the river, and they went over together. They used the crossing-place about a hundred yards distant from my house, up the river. When they crossed, I saw them handling something ; it looked like a hide, but I was too far to sfce what it was exactly. All three were together at the time; but I am not sure that they were all handling it; I did not see them throw anything out of the cart when near the foot of the hill where the cutting is, on the Frai Vwi side of the river. About half past two B the same morning I heard the noise of a cart Apparently from Frankton, passing in the of Lake Hayes, but 1 do not know wholHt was. It is not usual for carts to pass hour in the morning. By Campbell—Scheib and Bernau were the men mm I saw handling something in the river. say what they were doing with it —they to be washing it. I can't positively say it was a hide. I don't know whether the prisoners were in the cart that passed at half-past two in the morning. I did not see the prisoners arrive from Frankton that morning. Sergeant Lynch said—About six o'clock on the evening of the 12th instant, Mr Kilgour, manager for Mr Rees at the Arrow, came to the station there and informed me that a red and white bullock, branded X on the near side and rump, had been stolen, and that he had reason to suspect Scheib of stealing it. From the information thus received, I proceeded on the following day to Frankton, and, having made some inquiries, subsequently arrested Scheib, and charged him with the offence. Having cautioned him, I told him I was Inspector of Slaughter-houses for the Arrow district, and asked him if he had slaughtered a bullock lately ? He said he had, on the other side of the Shotover; that it was a red and white one, with two X on the near side and ribs; he made no reference whatever to any brand on the rump. I asked him to produce the hide, and he said he did not have it in his possession, having thrown it away after he had crossed the river that morning. In answer to further questions he said the two men assisted him, but that he slaughtered the bullock himself. I then gave him into the custody of Sergeant M'Nally, at the Frankton station. I afterwards returned to the station in company with Inspector Morton, who cautioned the prisoner, and asked him for the hide. Scheib said he had thrown it away after crossing the river on Tuesday morning. Mr Morton then asked Scheib to point out where he had put it, and we searched for a long time where the prisoner pointed out near the Shotover rivef, but without success. He said it might have been taken away, and that it was no use searching for it. We then went to Frankton, and I accompanied Scheib to his residence. He frequently enquired what would be the result if the skin were produced; I declined telling him, but said that if he had it in his possession, as an honest man he should produce it for inspection. I asked him a second time if it were he that had killed the bullock, and he said it was not—that it was one of the men who had accompanied him, but he was up the river. In company with Mr Morton they made every search for the missing hide at prisoner's residence at Frankton. Scheib said one of the men had probably buried it, and pointed out Lucas as the one who shot the bullock, and Bernau as the one who drove the cart. I took them into custody by order of Mr Morton. The hide was ultimately dug up; and on examination I found it to correspond exactly with the description of the beast reported to me by Mr Kilgour as lost. The prisoners were then brought up to Queenstown. By Mr Morton—The prisoner Lucas told me on Sunday that he went with Scheib on the Tuesday morning and shot a bullock, the hide of which he brought to Scheib's premises at Frankton, but did not know what became of it afterwards. Scheib said in a confused manner, when you told him he had thrown the hide in the Shotover, that it might be found, or would be found, or words to that effect. By Mr Campbell—By a confused manner, I mean like a man who was telling a lie. The brand L was not described to me by Kilgour It was a very indistinct brand, only found on a

minute inspection. There were two or thne hides on Scheib's premises one was on the beach, another was near the garden. This was the only one that was secreted. The one on the beach had the greater part exposed; it was partly covered by the >and thrown up by the action of the water. William Thomson said—l am a cattle-dealer, of the firm of Anderson and Thomson, and have been residing fct Wyndham's station at the Molyneux, I know the prisoner Scheib, and sold sixty-three head of cattle to him about seven or eight months ago. Some of them were branded XX on the near side; sone of them had a single X, and others were branded N. Scheib and his partner, Curtis, were not able to pay me for all the cattle, and they returned all except what were killed and astray a few weeks after the sale. I lately soid twenty-five head of the same cattle and brands, and gave delivery to Mr Kilgour, on the 9th instant. There were some red and white bullocks among the mob sold ; some of the cattle had the X brand on. I did not authorise Scheib to kill any of the twenty-five head I sold to Kilgour ; they were the same I received back from Scheib and his partner. By Mr Campbell—As far as I remember, some of the cattle might have been branded either on the ribs or on the rump. Some of them had X X on the ribs. I don't know if any had X X on the rump. I can't tell the brands of the missing cattle. They might have been branded Xon the ribs and Xon the rump. It escapes my memory how many cattle had strayed when I settled with Scheib and Curtis—there might have been eight. There was an agreement between them and me : when they were recovered, if they were got in at a certain time, Scheib was to pay me so much per head for them. I gave him authority to collect those that were astray; I think, to the best of my knowledge, that the time fixed for getting in the cattle was two months. I recognize the document produced as the authority I gave to Scheib. The XX mentioned meant XX on the ribs. There were other brands as well, with single X; I don't remember whether they were on the ribs or rump. I keep no entry of the cattle I sell. I remember some of the cattle of the first mob I sold to Scheib had X X on the ribs; when I gave Scheib the authority produced, I was told there were four astray, and that authority referred to those four. There was another brand on the off ribs—L, which is referred to in this document. The time that was specified that the cattle were to be got in, and if got in, paid for by Scheib, does not refer to the document dated December 8; it refers to the agreement made when Scheib could not pay for the cattle, and the time for getting them in (about two months) expired before the date of the authority of the Bth Dec. Scheib was entitled to get in the remaining four at any time after the authority of the Bth had been given. The cattle sold to fcilgour were running on the Crown Terrace ; when Scheib and Curtis had the cattle they were running on Fox's Flat, where I got them, and Scheib assisted me to take them across the river and put them on the Crown Terrace. I don't know of my own knowledge that on the Bth Dec., when I gave the order referred to, there were four cattle missing—l have only Scheib's word for it. It is possible that he could have killed those four and told me they were missing; it is more probable that they had strayed. R. Kilgour, sworn, said he had seen Scheib several times with the cattle he bought from Mr Thomson; and from the length of time he had had them in his possession he ought to have known every beast in such a small mob. By Mr Campbell—l don't know all the brands —there are a good many —X on the near rump, and X on the near ribs, and O.X. on the off side ; and some of them had an Lon the off side. I can't say that any had XX on the ribs—as far as I can remember, they had not. Inspector Morton, sworn, deposed—On the 20th instant I was at Mr Rees' when Sergeant Lynch informed me that he had arrested the prisoner Scheib on a charge of cattle-stealing. He explained the case to me, and I went with him to Scheib. Having duly cautioned him, he told me that he had killed a bullock branded X X on the other side of the Shotover, near Hayes Lake; that he had thrown the hide off-ihe cart and thrown it on the road near Foster's Ferry, but would point out the place. Sergeant Lynch, the prisoner, and myself went to the Shotover, and he pointed out the place, but we searched for the hide without success. I told Scheib I did not believe him, and that he never put the hide there. He said he took it off the cart, as the horse had too great a load going up the hill. I told him I believed it was a beast of another brand he had killed, and that what he had stated was false. He said, '• Well, never mind; the hide will be got yet. One of the men may have taken it to Frankton." When at Scheib's house, Sergeant Lynch and I searched for the hide, but could not get it. We saw a hide, and the portion of another near the place, but they had not the appearance of having been lately taken off. I told Scheib that he knew where the hide was, and had better give it up at once. He said he did not know, and believed that it had been buried. 1 appeared not to care about finding it, and insisted on his going into the boat or to the lock-up. He struggled, and wished that a spot in a part of his place might be dug. I got some men who were there to dig on this spot, and about two or three feet below the surface the hide was found rolled into a ball. When dragged out, Scheib stated that that was the hide of a beast he had killed on Tuesday morning near Hayes Lake. He also said that the evening before he had told Sergeant M'Nally he was going to kill a beast. By Mr Campbell—l think the hide was found about two or three feet below the surface. The ground was quite bard above where the hide was found.

Mr Campbell, for the prisoners, asked his Worship if he had resolved to send the case for

trial. They did not deny having killed the bul- 1 lock, but contended it was one of those they held authority from Mr Thomson to kill. If the magistrate had determined to send the case to Dunedin they would reserve their defence. His Worship said he considered sufficient evidence had been adduced to warrant such a course, and should therefore commit them to take their trial at the next session of the Supreme Court.