SUPREME COURT.—CRIMINAL SESSION.

North Otago Times, 7 September 1865, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.— CRIMINAL SESSION.

His Honor Mr Justice Richmond opened the Criminal Session of the Supreme Comfc, on Friday last, congratulating the Grand Juiy on the lightness and the paucity of the number of the offences on the calendar. With tha exception of the ten chaiges against Davis and Evereste, " the O.imaru bushrangers," there were only eight new cases on the calendar, involving only eight individuals. Wo extract the following paiticulars of the proceedings from the "Daily Times :" —

jabvey's case. This case was postponed till the 11th inst., and the witnesses were excused from attendance till then.

UNLAWFULLY WOUNDING. Ann Quadii, who failed to appeal- at last session on the above charge, was again absent, aud the witnesses were discharged.

ROBBERY FROH THE PERSON. John Sanders Robin, was charged with having, on the Gth August, stolen a gold watch aud money from ono James Wil&on, in the Melbourne Hotel, lhmedin. Prisoner admitted that the ai tides found on him were the progerty of Wilson, but insisted that he did not take them with intent to steal. A verdict of " guilty" was returned, and sentence of 12 months' imprisonment, with hard labor, was at once passed upon Kobin.

BURGI-ART. John Vincent, charged with burglai iously entering tlie premises of Mr S. Cioker, "W.uisbeck-stieet, Oauiam, on tho l'ith July, was discharged, the juiy fiuding him " not guilty." John Allison alias Lamb, and Henry Barke alias Cook, were indicted for a similar offence in Geoige-st., Duuedin, on the 22nd August. Allison was found " not guilty," and Burke " guilty " on second count of stealing from a dwelling. .Sentence defened.

Saturday, 2nd September. Henry Burke was again placed in the clock, and sentence of 12 months imprisonment with hard labor was passed upon him.

" THE BOSHRANGERS." Alfred Davis and William Eveieste pleaded "guilty," conjointly and individually, to all the chaiges piefeired against them, with the exception of an indictment chaigiog Davis with shooting at James Fawcett Thomson, with intent, to which he (Davis) pleaded "not guilty." Sentence deferred.

HORSE STEALING. "William Raynor was charged with having 1 , on the 8th .July, stolen a horse, the property of Mr Young of Hampden. A second count chaigiug that the animal stolen was a colt. Mr E. A. Julius, of Oamaru, defended the prisoner. The case broke down on the ground that the hoise, if not the property of the prisoner, could not be snid to be stolen, inasmuch as he had taken it openly and with no felonious intent. It simply merged into a case of disputed ownership, for the settlement of which the law provides other and proper modes of piocedure. The prisoner was discharged.

SHOOTING WITH INTENT. A. Davis was then chai ged with the above offence at the Marewhenua, on the 17th J une. The evidence was so fully given by us at the time that it is unnecessary for us here to repeat it. The prisoner made a very remarkable speech m his defence, which plainly showed that he was a man of no ordinal y intelligence. He spoke as follows : — Gentlemen, if I should be rambling and tedious in my address to you, I hope that you will bear with and excuse me ; but, knowing my innocence, I must, at the risk of being tedious, declare that I never did fiie it Thomson with any intent whatever. You know that this morning I pleaded guilty to nine or ten charges ; and it is possible, unless you guard youi selves veiy c.nefully, you may be biassed in this matter. Then, you may doubtless think that because I am guilty of those very serious offences, I am also guilty of this moro serious charge ; but if you do so, you will be doing me a great injustice, and will be disregarding the oaths you have taken to abide by the evidence only. It would be useless for me to tell you the real manner in which this thing occurred ; it would only be a waste of time ; and it would be equally useless for me to speculate upon the causes which have tended to the production of the evidence in its present shape and form. It would do me no good to show how the evidence has been made into it3 present form ; or what was the conduct of those who conducted the prosecution at Oamaru. Seemg that there is no apparent motive why the witnesses should not state or act otherwise than truthfully and honestly in the matter, I must confine myself to thos>e portions of the evidence which I think make it piobable, 01 very possible, that I am innocent of the charge laid against me. You will notice that nearly the whole of the witnesses concur in stating that at iho time this firing took place, I was leading the horse by the reins and had tho pistol in the same hand. And this pistol, one of them tells you, was somewhat raised above the mate's neck, and that at the time of the firing the mare was moving her head up and down. I ask you, is it impossible that this movement on the pait of the mare was tho cause of the firing of this pistol ? You must, not think, because I was there committing a seuous offence, that 1 am capable of one still more serious. I think that if you examine the facts about the mare, you will see how probable and possible ii is that this movement was the cause of the firing takiug place. There is another portion of the evidence that I would bring under your notice ; and tliat is, that Evereste made an exclamation to the effect that 1 had shot the mare, and you are told that I examined the mare's neck, by lifting the mane to see if the mare had received any damage, and that when I found such was not tho case, I observed that it was all right. If I had my hand holding the pistol in the manner alleged by the witnesses, it is impossible to suppose that I should have looked at the mare's nock. for what reason would I have looked, if I knew in what direction I was firing ? I think, gentlemen, that that act was altogether inconsistent with my guilt upon this matter, but is quite consistent with my innocence. If you should think that the movements of the mare produced such a strain upon my arm as to cause the fixing,

I think you aie bound to acquit me of the charge. The fact of my looking and e.vuniningthe mare's neck, should ho sufficient ; and 1 think you will understand that, from the position in which* the witnesses placed me, it was peifectly impossible for me to have filed aud to have hit the mare's neck, except I had some instrument that would shoot round corners. I have llo evidgnde to pioduce to counteract the effect of the witnesses who have been called ; but I think, if you will look at these f.icts, such as they are, calmly and dispassionately, you will see that it is quite possible for me to have fired without any intent whatever. Although there is no motive why Ihe witnesses should act olherwise than truthfully— and I think they know the difference between right and wrong— I am sure there is no more differeuce betwixt the glare of noon day and the bl.ickne9s of the darkest night, that theie is between the i*eal circumstances and the way they have related them. Why or wherefoie thpy should not, I cannot tell ; whether they wore paralised with fear or not, I cannot tell ; but they have not stated the facts as they occurred. There is no le.ison why, if 1 was guilty of this chaige, I should not have pleaded Guilty to it, equally with the many other charges I pleaded Guilty to this morning. It can hive no effect upon me or upon my sentence. The sentences I must necessarily leceive must be of so grave and serious a character, that I can never expect to see the end of them, ordinauly, in life ; and m hei eforo should t not have pleaded Guilty to this charge, if I was Guilty ? Why should I have any hesitation in plpading so, but that T know I am innocent? I cannot detain you longer about the case, whichever way it may end. If in consideiing the evidence— and I hope you will give it calm and dispassionate consideration —if, in testing the evidence, as I may say, in the crucible of your intelligence, you can extiact anything fiom it to "my advantage, I ti ust that you will do so. Tt is not in the power of man to make falsehood truth; nor can the evidence of the witnesses, nor even the sentence of his Honor, turn my innocence in this matter into guilt. I haye done, gentlemen ; that is all I h.ive to say. The jury found Davis "not guilty" of shooting at Thomson with intent to kill or murder, but "guilty" of iutent to maim, disable, or do giievous bodily liaim. Sentence was defened.

Monday, 4 th SEPTEsrBER. Alfred Davis (27) and Jas. Evoreste (23) were brought up for sentence. The " Daily limes" has the following in a par.igiaph :— " On one of the indictments for highway robbery, to which fche.yji.id jointly pleaded Guilty, Davis was sentenced eight yeais' and Eveieste to six yeais' penal t>eivitude. When Davis w-is challenged why sentence should not be passed on him for shooting at James F.iwoett Thomson, with intent to do grievous bodily harm, of which he had been convicted, he again denied that he fired with any intent whatever. The Judge said that lie agi eed with the vei diet. The crime for which Davis had already been sentenced was no f his fiist noi his second : nor was the present the fiist occasion on which lie (the Judge) had had to tell him that he disbelieved him. For the crime of shooHag at Thomson, the sentence of the Couifc was - Eight yeais' penal seivitude, to commence at tho expiry of the former sentence. On each of the nine indictments to which the prisoneis had jointly pleaded Guilty, each was sentenced to two yeai-s' haul labor ; these sentences to be concurrent, and to commence with tho periods of penal sei vitude. The net ie->ult of the sentence is — Davis, 16 yeais' penal seivitude; Eveiebte, Gycais'."

LARCENY. Wm, White was found " not guilty" of this offence, in Cumbeilaiul-biteet, Duneclin, on 1st October, 1864.