Acquitted Of Horse-Stealing At Kerikeri

Northern Advocate, 26 July 1943, Page 5

Acquitted Of HorseStealing At Kerikeri

“I have come to the conclusion that; in this there case ought tint to be a conviction, and the defendant is entitled to be acquitted,” said Mr. Raymond Ferner. S.M., at a sitting of the Kaikohe Magistrate's Court cm Friday, when .Joseitb Johnson, labourer, of Kerikeri, was charged with horse-stealing.

Johnson pleaded not guilty to stealing (lie horse, a chestnut mare, the property of William Penney, a farmer, of Waimate North.

Johnson stated that for about six weeks [here had been horses wandering round (lie Kerikeri roads, causing trouble by breaking into people’s properties. Through his nephew, Alma Johnson, he received a message from Mr. Birchall asking him to shift some horses from his property. When he went to collect them they had moved on to Emanuel's. property, so he drove them out of there into the run lands. There was a chestnut filly, a chestnut stallion and an old black horse. The run lands consist of thousands of acres of Crown lands, unfenced, and horses run wild there. Johnson thought the filly was a “run” horse, as it was unbroken and unbranded. It was a recognised Maori custom that horses off the “run” eoukl he caught and '•burned if they were unbranded, unbroken and over two years old. After handling the filly, he sold it to Arnold Yorke for .£5, thinking it was his property. A few weeks later Yorke complained to him that the horse was missing and he found that William Penney had claimed it and reported tiie matter to the police. Johnson had several convictions of a similar nature against him. Wandered Back William Penney stilted that he had lost a chestnut filly which he had on his property at Waimate. A few months later it. wandered back of its own accord. When Johnson capie and claimed the filly he reported the matter to the police. Johnson had offered him another horse in its place. His filly was three years old and unbroken when it left his property. Arnold Yorke. of the Maori Battalion, formerly a shfiremilker of Puketona, gave evidence stating that he bought the same mare from Johnson for .£5 and presented the receipt. When he purchased it, John*son had told him that it had been straying on Birr-hall's property with a stallion i:nd Birchall had wanted the stallion destroyed. So he had taken the mare as oayment for doing the job. Yorke continued that when lie found his horse was missing he advertised in the paper and Also mentioned it to Johnson, who informed him that a Maori in Waimate had it and was just waiting for him (Yorke) lo claim it, to put him in the hands of the police. He had gathered from this thiil the Maoris had some claim on the horse. , Permission Not Given Alfred Ray Emanuel, an orehanlist of Kerikeri, stated that he had never given Johnson authority to remove stock from his property and was not sure if there had ever been a chestnut filly straying there. Sydney Birchall, a Kerikeri contractor, had not noticed the filly on his property hut did recall the stallion which had caused trouble and had to he destroyed. He had asked Johnson to destroy it. There were only lii.s own two mitres with the stallion at the time, hut other horses roamed around the roads. Selwyn MeOready, a farm labourer, of Kerikeri, remembered the chestnut filly running with the stallion before it was destroyed, lie had helped to chase them both out to tiie run country. The same filly was later in the possession of Arnold Yorke. "If I had know tin- fillv was i’enney's i would tail have sold it," said Johnson, in the witness box. Counsel: After your talk with Penney were you satisfied that the horse was his and not a run horse? Johnson: Yes. Florence Nash and Alma Johnson also gave evidence stating that they had helped Johnson drive the stallion and the fillv out to the run lands. "You are very unwise. Johnson, to have any dealings with horses with that, formidable list of horse-stealing behind you,” commented the magistrate at the conclusion of the ease.