OTAKI.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 45, 4 February 1881, Page 2

OTAKI.

Saturday, January '20, ISSI. (Before Messrs Simcnx, Hidfield, and Kebbell, J.P.'s.) 1..V1U ENV. Bonkmin Cannon, a laborer, was charged with having on the 19th January, at Paikakariki, stolon I dozen bottles of sweets, 1 keroaiae lamp, G glass dishes, a bag contnining spare horse pear and rock salt, 12 knives and forks, (i flower pots, 1 case brandy, 1 case 3-gals geneva, 1 case old torn, 1 case whisky, of the value of £13 Bs, the property of James Parman. James Parman, a carrier residing at Otaki, deposed— On the 3rd of January I left Paikakariki for Otaki with a load of good« in a cart drawn by one horse ; about H miles from Paikakariki my dray g"t stuck in a quicksand ; I tried several times to get out, but found the horse e.mld not move the dray ; I took off the cases c»ntainingthi; articles afterwards stolen, which I value at between £13 and £14 ; whea^J removed themf rom the cart I placed them on tho beach until I got th« load and the cart: out of tho quick sand ; I then took tho stuff into the sandhills and buried it as well as 1 could in the sand, placing the bag with the gear in on top, and covering it all ovor with scrub ; 1 then uragge I some scrub over my tracks to hide them ; finding nobody was about, and that all the stuff was safe, T came away ; on Thursday week last, thn 2ftth instant, I next visited the place where I had left the tilings, and found everything had been taken away ; T followed some foot-trades frcm the said place to Kluter's paddock at Paikakariki ; there I met prisonor ; he asked if I had found my mares ; I said, " No ;" I then went to Symons' paddock, and there saw an empty gin case, now produced ; whilst I was looking at it prisoner camn «p r.vx asked what was the matter ; 1 told him it was one of the cases I had planted in the sandhills ; he said, "No; this is a case Mr Svmons brought here a month ago ;" I s^id I could swea lit was one of the cases I left in tho sandhills ; I asked him to let me copy the number of the case ; he consented to do so, but >n finding I had no pencil I wont over to Cameron's house ; Cameron came with me ; when we got half way back I saw prisoner '■unning toward me with the box undei' his arm ; he ran past me, ami would not stop to let me take the number ; T ran after •urn, and caught him ; he carried the box to his house, and there Mr Cameron got the number of it ; I asked him to do this w he might be a witness in case the prisoner should do away with the box ; I .u?ke I him why he ran away ; he said because I blame I him for taking the goods ; I left the box with Mr Cameron ; T gave information to the police : I identify the irtictes produced as mine ; T never saw them after hiding them until I saw th«m in possession of the police ; I gave no one minority to remove them. By prisoner — 1 left my goods about 1J n\\ei from Paikakariki ; I saw you run into the garden when Cun^ron and I went to your place : I had an axe in my hand ; [ did not threaten to murder you ; the knives and forks were in the box. Prisoner — Tiiey were not : they were in the ha ;. By the C mrt — I recognise the box by n oirticn! ir mark upon if. and by Krull & C i's braud upon it. William Cimeron, groom at Pa?kalia- ■ iki. dep >sed — 1 sa'-v prisoner at Paikakariki on th<>- 10th inst ; I know the direction in vhioh the uo:i;ls were pl.-iui'd by last uifnuss ; o i that date [ saw prisoner coming from that direction ; [ saw him come an>l ;o once. ; ho crossed the paddock goin^ tov.irdjj the sandhills; I did not see bin '■mil* anvthin i with him on the ll)',!i, but tho day before I saw him bringing somcMiing secreted in his shirt ; T noticed he had been going in tho same direction for about a week before tho 19th : [ never <aw him go that way hei'orp. and from the zi^-zag way in which ho went F thought it vi ummial occurence. By prisoner — When f saw yon you were running towards your hous?. through the : 1 identify thisc*^ fi.s Mie oue f saw vi tho garden paddook at Symons'; Parnan had an axe in his hand ; I heard him •i.-iy something to the elT:ct that ho woiild kill you. By the Court— The number of the case ; s ASo'i upon I ; I indentify it by the numher; prisoner said the case belonged ti> him when Parman asked to see it. C mstable Mitchell deposed — On January 22 I went to Paikakariki, and spoke to ■irisoner of tho robbery ; he denied all knowledge of it, and 1 searched his hut, 'mt failed to find any <if the stolen articles ; he explained his refusal to lot Parman se« the gin-case by Rayin^ it belonged to Svmons, and that Piirman tried to bounce him ; ho afterwards said he knew there .vas something wrong about the case, and le did not want Parman to take tho num•>er, leat he (prisoner) should be accused of "-aking it ; I arrested and brought him to OUki, charging him with larceny of tho .'oods ; after being in custody two or three lays he said he would not alone take piviish-m-'.nt for what others h'-lpe 1 to do, .and t.ha' ial it not fceen for E lwurd Symons comin.' to Paikakariki and sn^esting that (hoy -iliould «o over and look at tho things ami ifterwards instructing him how to ilispost* >f them, he would never Iwvo droamoil of '■inching them ; thar on Mi« nioniiu^ of thn 19oh Symons came to Paikakariki mid inked prisoner whether tlmro wuro not ■iome goods luft out in the Handhills ; pri sjner replied, " Vos ; "' Syuiona thou roq'leited him to go to wheru tho goods were, ho (Sym n>) carrying .a pi ;oe of ropo and a sin ill dish with oats in his hand, as thoti.;b h« intended catching a horse, and prisoner carrxiii'/ a torn ihawk and bag; that they WMit iv c 'inpauy to whero tho goods u-ere. an 1 Symon.i instriitittid nri-uiuor to rimiove a cue of geneva to tho top of a riJyo i. short distance away while ho (S> niou <) removed a case of whisky to tin; Hawo upot : chat with the aid of tho tomahawk tho ease of whisky whs opeiiod, and tho b ittlo.s Uk'ui therefrom by Svmons and h-uided to prisouf r, who put thorn iv tho bag ; n do/mi bottles of whisky were thus removed iVnin the case to the bag ; prisoner nUted further that SymniiH then instructed him to remove the other thinus Hint night, remarking that a great deal of spirit had lately been drunk in thn hut, anl thoy must mike up for it iusoiuj way ; the prisoner then returned to tho hou.-w with 12 bottles <if whiaky. iv a litg on lim sliouldora, Symms going round another way and coining into the houso shortly afterwaid*, but without the horao which ho had pretended he was jjoing for ; prisoner expressed his willingness to assist the police in recovering the " planted' property, and by his agency it was foam], s >mo in th« sandhills, and some in the swanvi ; prisoner stated that of the dozen of whixky carried by him to the house, six were done up by him by instruction from Symonp in a has and placed in the mail coach by which Symons returned to his home ; that ho would not have taken so much risk, and received so little profit had it n.>t beou that Symons was his master, and that in Acting m h« did he merely obeyed instruc-

ions ; that three bottles of geneva were placed by prisouer amongst some empty bo! ties at the bacb of the house, and that they were shown to Hymens, the remaining 8 or 9 of tho same spirit being smashed by prisoner when he heard that Tarman had suddenly left Paikakai iki, as he feared tho police would come down and find them. By tho Court — No inducement was held out by me to the prisoner to make this statement, which he made of lm own accord. Having been duly cwtfoned, prisoner declined to make any statemeut, and was then committed for trial at tho next sitting of t c Piilmerston District Court.