SUPREME COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 3 July 1908, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

THE NELSON SESSIONS. CRIMINAL JURISDICTION. THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1908. (Before his Honor Mr Justice Chapman). THEFT FROM A DWELLING. At the Suprqgie Court" yesterday afternoon, the hearing of the charge against George Bland of the theft of £20 from F. 11. Talbot, licensee of the Swan Hotel nt Motuoka, was continued. The following jury was impanelled :— G. Thomaß, Ed. Bovey, A. A. Harriß, H. Atmore, W. Webb, H. Conroy, C. A. Redworth, W. Condell, J. Morgan, «L. Reay, H. Wimsett, P. J. Dickson. Mr Atmore was chosen foreman. Mr C. Y. i'ell appeared for the Crown, and Mr J. P. Hayes for the accused, who pleaded not guilty. Further evidence in the case was as I follows: Charles W, Peters, veterinary surgeon, deposed that he was staying at the Swan Hotel •on June Bth. He went to bed soon after 8 o 'clock that night, and read for a time before he blew out the candle. Tbe accused, with two others, came into tbe bedroom about 10.20, having a bottlo of j gin with them. The other two men left the room, and the accused took his boots off, preparatory to going to bed, his bed being in the same room. He left the room without a light, after a while came back, and left again, carrying a candle. He returned five minutes afterwards, and , witness heard the rattle of money. i He saw accused emptying the contents of two tins, and putting the ' money into his trousers pockets, and i putting the tins into his coat pocket, i Accused put on his boots again, and - went downstairs, without his hat. Witness got up, partly dressed himself, picked up some silver tte ac- | cused had dropped on the floor, weal ' and spoke to a boarder, in another s room, and then went downstairs and r informed Mr Talbot what he had . aeen the accused do. The accused had beon drinking for some ' day9. Mrs Talbot, wife of the licen.ue, I.- identified a handkerchief -found on , tho- accused as her property. She had . missed it from j, drawer in the room in which her husband kept hia * change. Constable Pidgeon, stationed at 1 Motueka. stated that on the evening of Juno Bth ho went to the Swan H.i- --) tel and examined the drawer in th"! licensee's room, and found that it |. had been forced open. He founl a pair of scissors (produced), w'.tii which he concluded the drawer had 3 been forced. The scisors fitted ex--1 actly the marks oa the drawers. t The accused gave evidence. He t said that he was a cook. He hai 1 been in the Union Company's so. -vice . for several years, and later in Aus--9 tralia. He returned to New Zeal3n'i r< some weeks age, and went tj Mjt tueka on June Bth. He occupied room No. 3at tho Swan Hotel. There were four in the room — Rowlings, c Shaw, Peters^ and himself. He def scribed his movements after go ; ng n fir.*t to the bedroom. He said, that >f he lighted the candle, and went downn stairs, leaving fwo of his mates thero. »' He took no money from any bedf- room in the hotel, and did not th/o'\ >J tins away in the back yard of the 0 Swan Hotel. - ' ° In reply to Mr Fell, the -Jic.sse'l 1S said that ho had no money to bria.i n witnesses from Motueka. The cost of his defence was being subscribed ,_. in Motueka. '' The jury returned a verdict . i guilty, and the accused was sentenced * to nine months' imprisonment. 8 THE PUPONGA CASES. g 1 THE CHARGE AGAINST HAW- - B THORNE. t ■__ s . Thomas Hawthorne, a youth, was s charged with having committed a " criminal offence on a girl tover 12 and '" under 16 at Puponga. 0 Tho accused, for whom Mr Magin 1 nity appeared, pleaded guilty. Mr Maginnity, addressing HiHonor, said that the deceased was IS years of age. The surroundings ;;( - Puponga wero the usual surroundings s of a mining centre, and the environ : ment of both the girl apd accused - had not been all that could be di'sired from a moral or any other pnnt ol s view. The evidence of the doctoi c indicated that tbe girl was ti ap c pearance about 15 years of ag), . oi c near the age at which, though movall) a committing an offence, the accuse: y i would not have rendered liimsjit li 'liable to a criminal charge. It wai r "difficult to know what to do with li cases of this sort, but he Womd iirge ■. his Honor not to deal with the la.l as c a criEiJii-J. He was authored tc 3 say that if tbo Court would dill' with f the accused in an exceptiuaal -.vaj, i his father v-uiild be willing to liisd t himself in itny sum ': -f or his future , good behaviour. He suggmcl that j the boy be oi dored to csjio up for t sentence when calkd upon. Mr i'ell apeed that it wo.ul I.'* -m unfortunate thing if the accused was g sent to gaol b His Honor said that he" fully con- - curred with tiounsel that the surroundf ings of accused conduced to laxity. * He was very uncertain about refrain--3 ing from inflicting sentences of imp risonment in cases of this sort, for * he had to consider the interest of * the community. He could not help seeing, when the previous case con--1 cerning the same girl was before the Court, what the circumstances .were. The lad had acted straightforwardly ' in admitting the offence, and in not J attempting to give false evidence or I besmirch the girl's character. It : would not be good for, the accused to > be sent to gaol, wlfere he would- mix * with tho criminal classes, and ' hri ■ would be ordered to come up for > sentence when called upon. His ■ father and he would be bound over I in a surety of £50 for future good be. ', haviour. His Honor added that tho 1 accused must understand that if he was ever guilty of any offence of any nature he was liable to be brought up and sentenced upon the present plea. Accused was then released. The Court adjourned until 10.".Q a.m. to-day, the criminal business having concluded.