SUPREME COURT

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 5 April 1933, Page 3

SUPREME COURT

SESSION AT NELSON CRIMINAL BUSINESS The Supreme Court continued yesterday afternoon before his Honour Mr Justice A. Blair. INDECENT ASSAULT CHARGE VERDICT OF NOT GUILTY The hearing was continued of the charge against Roy Rosser Wills of indecent assault at Lower Moutere on 30th November last on a girl under the age of 16 years. Mr C. R. Fell prosecuted and *Mr S. Smith appeared for the accused, who pleaded not guilty. After evidence had been called counsel briefly addressed the jury. In the course of his summing up his Honour touching on the evidence of children, said judges frequently, in fact always did, tell juries to be very careful not to convict upon the uncorroborated testimony of a girl of very tender years. There was a good reason for that. Nevertheless, although judges warned juries to exercise special care when evidence had been given by any children a jury was entitled to convict on the uncorroborated evidence of a child. In the case before them, his Honour pointed out the evidence of the girl was in certain respects corroborated by the accused. At 3.45 p.m. the jury retii'ed, and at 4.30 p.m. returned with a verdict of not guilty. The accused was thereupon discharged. ADMITTED TO PROBATION Basil John Hunter was charged with, at Bainham on 24th December, 1932, forging a cheque drawn on the Bank of New Zealand at Takaka by the Golden Bay Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., for £6 6s 4d in favour of Alex. Diamond by inserting the figure 1 in front of 6s. Accused was further charged with forging a cheque drawn on the Bank of New' South Wales, Nelson, by the Collingwood Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., for £9 3s 6d in favour of Skilton Bros., by inserting the figure 1 in front of 3s. The accused, who was represented by Mr C. Thorp, pleaded guilty to both charges. Counsel for the accused said he was a married man, 47 years of age, and was a dairy farmer in a small way, but not in such a way for him to resort to crime for the sake of £l. It was very difficult to understand how a man of his age could have done such a foolish thing; and counsel asked his Honour to view the offence more as a thoughtless, foolish act rather than emanating from a criminal mind. It was Christmas Eve when the offences were committed, and accused had been celebrating unwisely. There was no attempt at clever forgery, and counsel asked his Honour to consider admitting accused to probation. His Honour said that | under the circumstances, though it was not usual in such cases, he would accede to the suggestion made by counsel and grant probation.

Ilis Honour, after impressing upon the accused what probation involved, and the seriousness of forgery, admitted him to probation for three years on the usual terms, and a special condition is that he pay the cost of the prosecution. “NOT BLAMEWORTHY’’ William Walter Fowler pleaded guilty to, on 23rd December, 1932, at Bainham, forging an endorsement on a cheque drawn on the Bank of New' Zealand at Takaka by the Golden Bay Co-operative Dairy Company, Ltd., in favour of Basil J. Hunter, by signing the name of B. J. Hunter.

Mr Fletcher, who appeared for the accused, was about to speak when his Honour interrupted birr, by saying he had read the papers in tile case. "1 don’t thing he (accused) is blameworthy at all,” added his Honour. “I think (addressing the accused) you have been well advised, because technically an offence was committed. I am perfectly satisfied that you were quite honourable and perfectly bona fide over the whole thing. Your case will be met by merely recording a conviction and discharging you ” The accused: ‘‘Thank you, your Honour.”