LAW AND POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 7897, 16 March 1887, Page 3

LAW AND POLICE.

DISTRICT COURT.— Tuesday. [Before H. O. Seth Smith, Esq., District Judge., Eyrkv. Gatlin.Claim for £10, value of 10 Fiji parrots, agreed to be exchanged by defendant with plaintiff for £10 worth of pheasants. Mr. Mahony fqr plaintiff,. and Mr. Napier for defendants. Plaintiff, a draper, delivered his pheasants, bat defendant, a lamp trimmer on board the Arawata, failed to carry ont his part of the agreement. Defendant was absent with his vessel, and the case was adjourned till he returned. North New Zealand Woollen Company v. Stxak.—The cross-examination of Mr. Bennett by Mr. Cotter was continued from Monday. Ernest Wood, olerk in the Freezing Company, formerly in the employ of the North Mew Zealand Woollen Company; Samuel O'Leary, clerk to the company ; and Mr. G. Ballantyne, the manager, were examined and cross-examined very minutely. An argument then ensued between Mr. Cooper and Mr. Cotter, as to the necessity of the agreement to take shares being stamped. His Honor held that the agreement was for a larger sum than £20, and must therefore be stamped. Mr. Cooper asked leave to pay the fine of £5 penalty for non-stamping, and have the stamps put on at once. This was done, and the documents were pat in evidenoe. Mr. Cotter refused to call any | evidence. Mr. Cooper and Mr. Cotter then addressed the Bench at great length. The questions at issue were whether Mr. Bennett had misrepresented the state of the company to Mr. Styak, and whether notice of allotment was sent to him. His Honor reserved his decision. POLICE COURT.— [Before Messrs. S. T. Collins acd ft. Stevenson, J.P.'s.l Drunkenness.— man and woman were punished for this offence. George Fleming was remanded. Thirsty Souls. — William Thomas Lilly and Thomas Chapman were charged with maliciously breaking a pane of glass, valued at £1 10s 9d, the property of Owen Humphreys, at the British Hotel, on the 14th March. Chapman admitted the offence, and Lilly pleaded not guilty. From the evidence of Constable Carroll, it seemed that about eleven o'clock on the previous eight he saw the accused outside the hotel. When a short distance away, he heard a crash of glass at the hotel, tie followed the men. Chapman said be broke the glass. Both offered , to pay the damage. Owen Humphreys said he was startled by the window being broken in. Lilly denied doing the damage, and Chapman admitted it. Constable Martyn was examined. In defenoe, Chapman said that they heard a noise of men inside, and he tapped at the window, with the result that his hand went through the window. Fined 10s and oosts, and ordered to pay the damage, amounting in all to £214 a 9d. Stealing Coin.—Henry Ward, on remand, was charged with stealing 3s 7d from the till of Solomon Reid on March 12. The Probation Officer (Mr, G. S. Reston) was in Court, and handed in his report of the accused's character. The Bench ordered the acoused to be placed on probation for three months upon bis brother entering into a bond of £25 for his good behaviour. Stowaway.—William Nelson was charged with travelling from Sydney to Auckland by the s.s. Wairarapa without paying his fare. Defendant pleaded guilty. The purser of the steamer gave evidenoe in regard to the fare, £5. Fined 40s, and costs, or one month's imprisonment with bard labour. Alleged Larceny as a Bailee.—Alfred Henry Drain was charged with the larceny, as a bailee, of a dray valued at £12, the property of Patrick Gleeson. Sergeant Pratt stated that the accused had been arrested on warrant at Wellington. He had taken the dray to Napier, where he disposed of it by auction. As it was necessary that the cart should be produced, a remand would be asked for. Remanded for a week, and ball granted. Alleged Embezzlement.-•"Frank Nicholson was charged with embezzling the sum of £5, the moneys of his employer, Samuel Henry Webb, on March 5; This was an indictable case. Mr. J. O'Meagher appeared for the acoused. Sergeant Pratt conducted the case for the prosecution. The circumstances of which were these: The prosecutor is proprietor of a wine manufactory in Ponsonby, and in December last he entered into an arrangement with the accused and the brother of bis (Webb's) son-in-law to open a store in Elliott-street for the sale of the wines ; but Webb refused to supply wines unless £20 was given as security for the stock of £84. After going to some expense in opening the store, the proseoutor took over the responsibility for the rent, and supplied wines to the Bodega Store at 15s 6d per dozan, allowing Marten and Nicholson a commission of 2« 6d per dozen, or as much as they could make over that amount. Finding that there was only room for one man in the business, Nicholson took over the entire charge at the beginning of March. ( During the partnership moneys were paid weekly on account by the firm, and there was to be a general " squaring up" when he (prosecutor) desired it. On March 12 there was an entry of £5 in the cash-book as being received, but It was not initialled. This amount the accused said be had sent by post, but it had not been' received. Nicholson oould not be found, and Webb took possession of the store and stock. An information was taken out against Nicholson, and he was arrested on Saturday. After the case had been opened, it was adjourned, on the application of accused's counsel, in order that a number of reoeipts for the amounts paid on account might be produced. The evidence of Samuel Henry Webb, W. H. Martin, and A. G. Martin was taken. In defenoe, Mr. O'Meagher submitted that the prosecution had entirely failed, as the case was purely one for a civil Court, and not a criminal one. It should therefore be dismissed. The Bench upheld the contention, and the case was therefore dismissed. [Before Mr. H. G. Seth Smith, K.M.] Neglected Children.—Thomas Weston and Kdward Johnston, two young lads, were charged with being negleoted children, under the Industrial Schools Aot. On the application of Sergeant Pratt, the lads were committed to the Kohimarama School till they attained the age of fifteen years.