POLICE COURT.—Thursday.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4666, 27 October 1876, Page 3

POLICE COURT.—Thursday.

[Before G. 8. Graham, and "W. J. Burst, Esqs', Justices.] . Wife Desertion.—James Mooney was charged with deserting his wife and her two children, they being entirely unprovided for. On the application of Sub-Inspector Pardy, the case was adjourned till Friday.

—Obtaining-Money under False Pretences. — : William Joyce was charged with obtaining from John Leßrun, under false pretences, the sum of £4. The prisoner pleaded not guilty, stating that he had borrowed the money without th 9 slightest intention to defraud. John Le Brun, captaia of the barque Adela, deposed that on hi 3 last passage from Newcastle to Auckland, the prisoner was a passenger. He represented himself as an Australian stock drover 'and "Queensland squatter. 'He then told witness that he was about disposing of his property Jo the manager of the Bank of New South Wales for £200. He lent the -Imohey, trusting" to the prisoner's honour as a gentleman for paymeut. William Edward Osborne, accountant at the Bank of New South Wales, was called, but his evidence was not required. Detective Grace deposed as to arresting the prisoner, who had admitted that he had been practising a course of deception upon Captain Le Brun. Mr. Ivey, manager of the Auckland branch of the Bank of New South Wales, deposed that he had had no transaction with the prisoner respect- - ing the purchase of property—in fact, he had never seen the man before to his recollection.—William Joyce was charged with a second offence of the same nature—viz., by presenting to Mr-. --Corcoran a valueless cheque purporting to be for £10, and fetting it cashed. Michael Corcoran eposed that the prisoner had been stopping at his hotel (the Greyhound), and had represented himself as a large squatter. He saidlie had 300 horses upon his station, and that he had money in the bank. He borrowed £1 from witness, and repaid it. He borrowed another £1, and then asked witness to cash a cheque for £10. Witness complied with the request, handing the prisoner £8 14s, the remainder being the amount of his indebtedness. On presenting the cheque at the bank the next morning, witness was told that Joyce was not known there. William Edward Osborne, accountant at the Auckland branch of the Bank of New South Wales, gave evidence as to refusing payment to the presenter of the cheque beisause it was post dated. The year 76 was not filled in. The omission was inadvertently supplied by one of the bank clerks. Sub-In-spector Pardy at this stage produced a second cheque found upon the person of. the prisoner. Mr. Osborne compared the two cheques, and said, as an expert, he was of opinion that the two papers had been written by the same person. Detective Grace deposed that, on arresting the prisoner, he said that ha had drawn out the cheque after a long course of excessive drinking. The second cheque was found in his portmanteau. It was signed "H. A. Kelly," and was on the Australian Joint Stock Company, Sydney. There was a striking resemblance between the two signatures "Kelly" and "Joyce." The whole of the evidence was then read over to the prisoner, when he pleaded guilty, and was sentenced for the first offence to three months, and for the second, to six months' imprisonment with labour, the latter sentence to commence at the expiration of the former.