SUPREME COURT.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 254, 17 February 1921, Page 6

SUPREME COURT.

HKCKIVING SiOCFX GOODS. The hearing was concluded m the Supu'iik' t ourt yesterday afternoon before 11 s 3 1 hi'iuiti 'Sii: Joliu iSalntoiid of tli'b cam in which ATiieuiine Joseph Owen was < barged w ;v’n having stolen six cases of benzine and It) of turps, ro the total value e! tlie property oi Watson Uros. An ;,!i nnaii’.e charge of vecchittg the goods was also preferred. Ale Oooko prosecuted f.v ;le l'row11 :ui(l Mr Cooper appeared for aunserl. It "j,, shown in evidence that seen lime alter the. date on which the • were taissed accused had engaged a ior for £8 to eyijvey 10 cases of turps j.i tVang;!mu .in :i inoior-cur tor sale I'ncrn 13s bd a gallon -u price much below the market .nijt at that , time. DnicctiveSergcalil (T.tirke stated that accused had t old him I hat lie had bought iho turps in m Male, tor I env.uie from a man named McGregor, of ""horn he knew nothing more ;his naute. 'I he police had been unable to ilmi any trace oi the man MeGregor. Xu idouee was called for the defence. The Acting-Crown I’rosceutor said there a, no direct evidence of the thell. of the lienriue, but it- was to be assumed I lull, the m.,11 who stole the turps also took the ben /hie. In fact ihere was no direct evidence . i n-i i! having' stolen anything, but (he i barge- that the Crown would hold forward was the alternative one of receiving 1 1, : - goods. The fact, that McGregor had • mi, been found was peculiar, as also was the expense of conveying the goods to '•Vanganui b\ a- motor-ca 1 ' for £8 when n ,-ould have been taken on the railway loth's 9(1: also accused hid 'old the goods ai i]i(, very low rale of 13s 6d per gallon. for th(> defence, Mr Cooper -aid that rho first, emmi needed no consideration: ■it had ttoi been sustained. For the second, ;si■ i eotidetulrd that the Crown had > evtaiitlv out. ]i.’iivid that the turp- was tin* ■i. ili.ii turps. There was nothing to itletttifv it ns there were thousands of eases of -he'same btv.al in New Zi.t!eml/‘\Vatsou ]!re.s knew iVh- brand oi the -t den ■ hia nobo.U could now reineiubei what litr.ncklvas on the stud sold by aw < e\e(,*ftl the driver who i >ol: it- to Mhnwanui. .iikl lie had ."e.md ilia: it was dili'erettl. brand to tlint. stolen front Mat\;;i*r ;t ri-nreiiieiii ol over an hour the hex returned with a '.erdiet o: guilty on ■he sei;Ol li COli'llt, that of tveeh Illg stolen •mods, .'fitleiiee was deterred.