POLICE COURT.-Friday.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 898, 29 September 1866, Page 5

POLICE COURT.-Friday.

v . fore Thomas Beckham, Esq., 2?. M.) DKUNKENNESS. ■ ' ■ e:' slm Johnson, John Bownian, find. W. 11. Bowel's were charged with this offence and ordered to pay twenty shillings and costs, or in default to undergo imprisonment with, hard labour for n period of IS hours. v.. . IiRteACiIES OJb" TIIK MUNICIPAL POItCE ACT. - James fcavill.c pleaded guilty to a charge of having committed ;i breach of the Kith .section of the Municipal Police Act in allowing his chimney to take lire on the 2lst September : and was lined 20s. and costs. George Hol(lshii), Thomas Craig, Tlioinas Brown, and Messrs. Heron David and i'o. were charged with a similar ollence by leaving a quantity of posts on Custom-house-street to the obstruction of the public highway. Mr. Wynn appeared on behalf of tho Crovrii and Mr. Brook field for the defendants. Mr. Brook field informed the Court that the defendants intended to re.niove the obstruction as early as possible, he hoped therefore that his Worship would inflict a merely nominal tine. ; Mr. A\ r ynn objected as the defendants had received ample notice to remove the obstruction. Ordered to pay a line of 205./ each and costs. ASSAULT. .. . . ;;L Jlargaret M'Cann pleaded guilty to a charge of assault committed upon Mary Ann ••javtlle, by hairand otherwise maltreating her on the 25th of September Ordered to pay a fine of 'Is. and costs, or, in default, to be imprisoned lot' 14 days with hard labour. LAlifl N\ Wrri; Leo was brought up. charged with having stolen three sovereigns front the .tillr./pf the Coaclimaker's Hotel, on the 27th U;sS.

Mr. JJevcridgP appeared for the prosecution. G-. Rowley (proprietor of thci.Uoaehmakcr's Arms) deposed r f had occasion to lea\'c my house about 1 p.m. yesterday, and before leaving! looked at the till, which then , contained ;CA iii gold and sonic silver. I rc.tu.redd about G p.m., and from informatwu which I then received I examined the till, ; Ou doing so I missed a small box in which I had left the money, ,t subsequently-, saw the prisoner -between, seven and eight in^the evening at the Odd Fellows Arms, in' Chancer y-street. X was accompanied by police constable O'Hara and another policeman. I asked the prisoner what amount of money his wife had given him. Ho equivocated ; first stilting that his wife had given him a Bum of money, but subsequently saying that he had brought thirty shillings from home. I then questioned him as to the amount of money he had on his person, and he denied having more than fifteen shillings, though lie admitted having bought a dress for his wife out of the thirty shillings. I then requested him to show what money ho had. iii his possession, upon whicli- lie produced a purse, and took out four shillings and sixpence in silver, saying that was all. he had. Constable O'Hara then made a further search apd found thirty shillings and two pence concealed. I then gave the prisoner into custody. Cross-examined by the prisoner : I did iiot see you take a,nything out ot lae bar. John Kowley, brother to the last witness, deposed : I an), employed in the oapacity of barman nf ; the Coaehmakor's hotel.' " 1 saw tho prisoner between 1.1 and 12 yesterday forenoon, when he asked for a glass of rum on credit. He said he. had expended. 2s in the morning, in the purchase of fish, and that he had no money left- He went away about 12 o'clock. My brother returned borne about 12-30 p.m., and left again at about 1. When my brother left there were about three sovereigns in a small box in the till. The prisoner returned about 2 p.m. during my brother's absence, he remained about live minutes. I had occasion to go into a room adjoining tho bar, ou returning fouud the prisoner in the bar. Ho then left the house, returning between, three and four o'clock with a dress for which ho said he had paid eighteen shillings. About2.ls p.m. previously to his returning a second time, I missed the tin box' containing the three sovereigns. The prisoner came again about 5.30., when I informed him of the robbery, aud he said,'" No wonder, 1 eould come and rob the whole bar, if I liked." He put his hand over the counter and into the till. ii.y the Eench : There was no other person in the bar besides myself and the prisoner. From the time of seeing tho money safe, no other person entered the ba*\ Constable. O'Hara, a detective in the Armed 1 olico ForcCidcposcd: Last night, between the hours of seven and eight o'clock, the prosecutor requested me to accompany liinito the Odd Fellows Arms Hotelj in CLuincery-street. I found, the prisoner in a room' upstairs withsomcothers singing. [The witness here gave evidence corroborative of that of the first witness in reference to the conversation between him and the prisoner as to the amount of money in possession of the latter.] Prisoner took 'Is Od out of the purse now produced, and laid the. money on the table, saying that Was all he had, but on examining the purse I found a sovereign and also a half-sovereign in it. Prisoner then stated he had. brought the money from his house in the morning* *Ie was lien giyen into custody-

.. Frederick. Melton,; a 'hawker .deposed to haying sold, the -prisoner a dress for 18s,, at the door of the iJritisli Hotel, at two p'jjn. on the day irt question. The prisoner, oilbeing cautioned in the usual manner, protested his innocence. ois Worship said the evidence left no doubt of the-prisoner's guilt.. If any doubt existed he had dispelled it by his equivocation when questioned as to the amount of money in his possession. Nt) other person had entered the bar besides the prisoner and the prosecutor's brother, and it was evident that the former must have committed the robbery. After paying a well merited, encomium to Constable O'Hara for the intelligence he had displayed in discovering the stolen money -which the prisoner attempted to conceal, His Worship sentenced, the latter to si's months imprisonment with hard labor in the common gaol at Auckland. This concluded the business.