MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 28 June 1907, Page 2

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

(Before Mr H. Eyre-Kenny, S.M.) THEFT OF A WATCH. At the Magistrate's Court this morning, a young man named William A. Lloyd was charged with having on the 27th inst. stolen from the peison of It. R. Fellowes a silver watch of the value of £8. In answer to the Magistrate, the accused said he would elect .>> be dealt with summarily, and the charge was then ameiiLjd to one of ordinary theft. The accused pleaded not guilty, and was undefended. Sergeant Doiigail, who conducted the prosecutioit, called Robert Ross Fellowbs, of Wakefield, who stated that he came to town on Wednesday. He met the accused yesterday, and went with him into the Provincial and Royal Hotels. He and accused \v?re skylarking at the Royal Hotol. and subsequently. he went, to the back premises of the hotel, when .he found that his watch was goiie; He had his suspicions as to where the watch was. After missing his watch he gave his chain to Peter Grant tc take care of. The watch cost £8 17s 6J about 20 years ago, and was a present from h'S father. To the accused : Ab ,the Provincial Hotel he wrolc Out a cheque for £5. payable to splf. . A stranger said he would take the cheque- and cash it ; he could not say if accused was the stranger. The Magistrate.: Were you sober? Witness : No ; I was not. To accused : He did not remember being in the back premises of the hotel with accused, and he would sweat he did not give accused the watch. To the Magistrate: The least tut would pull the ring out of the watch He had not a clear recollection of what happened yesterday afternoon. He was drinking beer, but how many drinks h > had he could not remember Reuben Harris, a miner from Pu ponga , stated that lie met ac- | ensed and Fellowes yesterday. He was "pretty full up," and could not remember all that happened. Fellowef wrote out a cheque for £5 and gave it ro witness, who gave it back again. He did not see Fellowes and accused skylarking. Some of the party went out to the back of the hotel, but he could net remember whether the accus .-d went out. Witness asked accusec 1 for thi> watch, and accused went out tr the back yard and picked up the water from the ground and gave it to witness. To the Magistrate : All of the party were drunk. The watch was in a pas sage behind some bricks. To accused : Fellowes owed him £2 and made out the cheque in order t< pay him. Peter Grant, blacksmith, stated that yesterday afternoon, after visiting se vera! hotels, ha meo 1 Fellowes and ac cused at the Royal Hotel. Accusec went out to the back of tbe hotel Witness saw Fellowes' s chain hanginf down and called his attention to it. H< was sober at the time. Fellowes gave him the chain. Constable Fitzsimmons deposed tha' the accused was sober when arrester last evening, though he had beer Irinking. Accused said Fellowes hat' given him a cheque, which he declarer 1 was no good, when Fellowes exclaimed "If you are frightened, take my watch." The accused, sworn, said Fellowe: owed Harris £2, money lent, and hf (accused) took the cheque to the bank, which he found closed. He returned to Fellowes and told him the cheque was no good, whereupon Fellowes took his watch out of his trousers pocket and gave it to accused. He had the watch in his pocket, and Harris was not correct when he # said he saw him take the watch from behind some bricks. He had gone out to the back with Harris merely as a bit of bluffhe had the -watch in his pocket all the time. The witness Harris, recalled, said he would adhene to his statement that the accused fook the watch from be hind the bricks. There might have been a "sleight of hand trick." The Magistrate said he could not accept the accused's statement that he was only "bluffing" when he went out to the back of the hotel to get the watch. There being no previous conviction, he would remand the accused until to-morrow morning for the report of the Probation OfEcer. If the roport was favourable he would admit the accused to probation.