RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

North Otago Times, 17 August 1865, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

(Before T. W. Parker," Esq , E.JL) Friday, August 1 1th, 1835. CIVIL CASrS., Shrimski and Mo«s v. J. Mowbray. — Claim for Drapery Goods, £1 18s, including 3s 6d ; intei esfc sWe 1864. The account was ndmitted as coirect, but n dispute arose as to the datp when the interest was to have bepn cliararetl, and jiuk'inent waa givfii foi £1 14s 6cl and '^7a, for Court expenses, 3s, and mil acre 24s. Traill, Koxby and Co. v. Lewis. - No appearance of plaintiffs. Csise dismissed.

Saturday, 12th, August, 1865. Larcrnt. — George Paul was charged on the information of Mi Ancliew Baker, Northern Hotel, Oamaru, with having stolen a quantity of dinner and breakfast knives, a carving knife and fo k, half-a-doeen >eg.r spoons, two salt-collars and a tablecloth, from th it Hotel, while employed there as a w.iiter. Sergeant Bullon conducted the case for the prosecution. Mr O'Meagher appeared for the defence, and pleaded " not guilty " Andrew Paker, landlord of the Northern Hotel, deposed : — Recognise prisoner He was in my employment fiom 29th Apiil to 5th August ivst , as waiter. I identify the propel ty shown me as similar to articles ii .w in the house, and some of which are now missing. I produce simples of knives, saltcellars, eggspopT-s, :md a table cuvpr, similar to those produced in Court. The brand on the dinner knives produced is '• Dalton B>-os., Alhion Woiks, Sheffield," being the same as on those alleged to have been stolen by prisoner. The table cloth 1 produce i"< of similar pattern and material to that allejed to have been stolen. All these article were left in charge of prisoner. I never lent or gave any of them to him, nor authorised him to give or lend thorn to any one elso. By Cmirt.— Trevor authorised any one else to do <so. I •value the stolon articles at LI. Bv Mr O'Meagher.- I don't know how many dinner knives, like those produced, T had. At this stige, witnesses weie ordered out of Court. C oss-exnmination continued, — The knives were bought at Day and Mieville's. in Dunedin. The carvi»g knife and fo k. with others of same sort, were bought nf; same tiinp. They arc branded " Harrison Bros , and Howson " The carving knife and fork produced are. to the best of my b lief, my propertv. The small knife you row show me has t he same brand, J don't consider I hold all the knives of that brand. The laige knives you now show me ate branded " Dalton Bros." Tluy are «imilar to mine. Tli~y might be mine. I can't swear to th a m. Thn egg spoons were purchased at Joseph Kohn and Co 's, in Dunfdin. I can't identify them, nor the salt cellars. 11 rs Baker will be able €o spe^k more positively as to I horn, and also to the table cloth now produced. When the knives were bought, I suppose Day and lliuville hud plenty more of same sort. i Mat.LU Baker, wife of last witness, deposed as follows:—I recognise the prisoner. .He was in my husband's employment as waiter for neailv four months. He l«ffc last Saturday, the 5th inst. The taMtf and small knivi s I have no dou'it whatever aie the t>io|.eitv of my husband I gave out, a dozen^each of thpm, and thfie a e now <mly six small knives and five large ones. I can't s>ay whether it was before or after prisonei oame that thej'wpip given out. I believe the carving knife and foi k are i'1-.o my husband's, I gave out twenty -f..ur <-gj qnoons, and only seventeen now remain. I believe th<> six ilmwn mo, as taken from prisoner, are our ptoperty, although I will not swear to them. The table cloth I can positively swear to. iBy the Bench.— I' don't think it is worth more than 5s. All the aiticlfs corresponding to those produced Were in prisoner's charge, and he had free access to them "at all times. I never gare him nor any one else permission to take or remove them. I never lent or gave any of them-' to him. _ ;By>Ir p'Meagher.— Out of the knives produced, I recognise eight, shell pattern ones. I can't identify the bix mining ones found in prisoner's house. In his hou«ft> I ,found many more things which might have belongpd to t!'« Sottl^but I, could not,identify them. I believe, for all that, that they .wore my husband's property. I won't bive;tr to the large and small knives, nor the mrv irlg kiiife find fork. Six breakfast knives Were found' at the ueatch. We muwed knivtn jn-d spo'ins frequently wheu pi isouer &uaoi 1 »l.<fotl 'mil givo him cut any pja ti-

cular number of articles. They were as left by the former waiter. Don't lecollect of t iking nwa\ any knives about two months ago from prisoner's charge. Don't know how niiiny knives have lioen stolen. When the former waiter left I did uot reckon the knives. iVc , wo then, had. I ca">no^ s\vear to^tlie number. Won't swear to the 1 spoons. They are similar to thosr missing, and 1 believe them to be my husband's. I will not sweir that there were two dozen of them when piisoner came. 1 counted them a day or two piwiou«-ly. Prisoner was frequently aiked about spoons and knives, but he always said he did tiot know anything of them. I should not like' to give os. for the table cloth.- It was an old one, and w.is put away to be cut up. I never saw cloth i if similar pattern. Sergeant Eullen, stationed at Otmaru, deposed : — Yesteiday, the 1/tli instant, I received a seal oil wan ant to search the dwelling liou»e of the piisoner. I wput, and he appeared willing that I should search. The List witness, Mrs Baker, then ca ne in ; 'and in her, and the prisoner's presence, I niado a search. In a box in the outer 100m was found the table c'otli I now pioduce. In a box iu the inner 100111 weie fount! six egg spoons, ca 1 ving knife and fork, six. dinner knives, six breikfast knives, and two salt cellirs, all now pioduced, and then claimed by v U - s Baker an her husband's propei ty. When >lra Baker claimed the ai tides, piisoner said he had bought them. I took him into CUistO'lv. By Mr O'Meagher. - There were a number of knivoj found in the pi isoner's house, which Mi-s Baker did not identify. The prisoner did not appear at all flurried during the seal ch. All the pi opei ty taken I now produce. This was the case for the prosecution. The Counsel for the defence said there was positive evidence as to th* 1 table cloth only, but if there was to be a committal of the prisoner on that account he would reserve his defence. The Bench concurred that there had b-»en no satisfactory identification of any article except the table cloth. He however, hail no douht in his mind on the subject, and he thought it necessary that an example should bo made, in Older that such a couise of pilfering should be stopped. He would deal suinma> ily with the case, and would sentence the prisoner to Sergt. Bullen here asked the Bench to defer sentence, as there was another chaige of stealing sliiits to be preferred against the prisoner. Mr O'Meagher thought it would be unfair for the prisoner to grant this delay He also made some statement to the effect that the piisoner admitted having tiken theshiits "by mistake," and thought that the whole matter could be settled at once. Sergeant Bullen said if sentence was not deferred he could not In ing foi ward the second charge until after the expiration of the sentence on the fiist. The Bench th^n asjieed to defei senfence for a week. At this time the piis><mer pleuled guilty to this second ch irg-, and th>i Court then sentenced him to six months' impusoument with haul labor — being four, months for the fiist, and two woftths for the second charge, ho having pleaded guilty to it.