OFFENCES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 8963, 30 January 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

OFFENCES.

Nils Jacobses, charged with the murder of Mat Johaaßen at Little River, on the 3rd October, was found guilty of manslaughter at the Supreme Court, Curiatchurch, on the 14th January, and sentenced to penal servitude for life. The evidence showed that the prisoner, deceased, and Anders Newman, who had been drinking heavily during the day in question, were drinking at Lako Forsyth Hotel in the evening, and began to quarrel. The landlord, Bruce, put Jacobaen out, and Newman and Johansen followed a few minutes later. hen outside Newman saw Jacobsen strike Johansen, but did not see any weapon. Johansen started to the verandah of the hotel, where he fell, Jacobsen and Newman going away. A few minutes later he was dead. George Robinson, who followed Newman and Jaeotisen, found a knife belonging to the latter near the hotel. Johansen had a wound in the breast, such as might be made by this weapon. Newman was released after the coroner's inquest, and Jacobsen was committed for trial. Nothing was proved as to any previous bad feeling between the men, but it was shown that Jacobsen had been drinking heavily for some time.

Information was on Jan. 13 received by the police authorities in a telegram from Constable Haddcck, of Warkwortb, of a case of singularly deliberate and determined suicide by a gumdigjrer named George Brown. It appears that" Brown had for some time past been working on a gumfield at Omaha Fiats, and was living alone in a whare. On the day previous to his death Brown had col« lected a quantity of combustible materials, including portions of a decayed garden fence, and piled them up in his whare. His hut | was somewhat isolated, but a little while after daybreak his nearest neighbour, who resides about half a mile away, had his attention drawn to the direction of Brown's whare by a loud report, as of an explosion of dynamite. Looking towards the place, he saw that the house was in flames, and with several others who had heard the noise, promptly started for the scene. The first to arrive were two gumdiggers named Savage and Lloyd, who were horrified to see Brown's mutilated body lying in the burning hut. They quickly dragged out the lifeless trunk, which was then discovered to be minus legs, arms, and the greater part of the skull. This latter was, however, found subsequently some distance from the spot from which the body was rescued, and had apparently been blown off by some explosion. The matter was reported to Constable Haddock by Mr. Thos. Wyatt, and the same evening an inquest was I held by Mr. Angove, coroner, and a jury of | six, of whom Mr. Matthews was chosen I foreman. At the inquiry, a note was produced which had bern found outside the hut placed in a cleft stick, and addressed to the coroner. It read thus : "I am tired of this life, and am bidding good-bye to the green earth.— George Bkow.v." After hearing the statements of those who had witnessed the fire, as narrated above, the jury brought in a verdict that deceased had destroyed himself while of unsound mind. No circumstances were brought to light that suggested any motive for the rash act. Brown was a single man of about 30 years of age, and is believed to be a native of London, but has been in the colony for over 20 years. A woman named Martin, ; as Snginel, attempted suicide at Wellington on the Ist January by taking a quantity of belladonna. She had been arinkin„ heavily.

Our Dargaville correspondent states that Mr. A. Gould, postmaster at Dargaville, has suddenly disappeared. He left for Auckland on New Year's Day by the a.B. Tangihua, and has not since returned, and as there is a con* siderable deficiency in his accounts, it is surmised that he has left the colony. The body of a girl named Lucy Darrell, aged 13 years, missing from Wellington for about a week, was found on the 10th January in Pothlll'a Gully reservoir, it the inquest on the body of the girl a Darrell,' found in the Wellington reservoir, a verdict was returned of " Found drowned." The evidence showed that she hadsimply been reprimanded by her father for staying oat late at night, and it is supposed this caused the rash act. The yacht Dido was captured at about ten p.m. on Jan. 12. A telephone message was received from the Heads at Lyttelton police : station that the yacht was two miles outside the Heads. Sergeant-Major Mason and ! Constable P. McUormick went out in the | steam-launch. When the men on board the I yacht heard the engine, they extinguished • the light and altered their course, but the I i lauuch was too near. Two men named | White were on the yacht. They cast off the ! tow-line several times, but offered no other j resistance. At the Lyttelton K.M. Court no Monday, the 16th January, before Mr. i John Ollivier, James and Richard White i and Ettie, wife of the first named, were j | charged on remand with the larceny of the yacht Dido, from the Wellington harbour, on or about January 10. Sergeant-Major Mahou asked that the case bo remanded to Wellington. His Worship remanded the three accused to Wellington. I he dead body of a female child about seven days old has been found in a sugar bag washed rip on the beach at Evan's li*y, Wellington. From the appearance of the body it seems to have been in the water for 24 hours, and that the chijd had first been strangled. A girl named Clara Mong Chong, the wife of a Chinaman, has been arrested on suspicion of being the mother of the child. She waa brought up at the Wellington K.M. Court and remanded, Her husband has also been ar-

routed as an accomplice. The woman Da/.ull, who drowned her son in Kakaia on December '29, recovered coneciouanega after being in a cataleptic state for 17 days. A very singular robbery was committed on the 11th of January by » young girl aged 14, named Ellen MaJoney. She was servant to Mrs. Scharrer, of Grey-street, who keeps ft tobacconist's shop. The girl

! not suiting Mrs. Scharrer, she was to leave that evening, another girl coming in her place. As ~ the girl Maloney was lesvicg. Mrs. Scharrer gave her a big cf lollies to take home with her, and while in the act of giving them to her noticed a pair of scissors protruding at the back pari of her dress. Tho girl at once ran away up the street, and Mrs Scharrer ran after her and caught her. On the girl being examined, it was found that she had stowed away under her "improver" some ladies companions, necklaces, scissors, earrings, and quite a miscellaneous assortment of articles. On January 16 two Finnish sailors, belonging to the barque Elizabeth Graham, i got into a quarrel at Lytteiton. One of them, named Neleon, stabbed the other, I Emile Ericksen, in the back. The knife turned against the rib, and the wound, though severe, is not believed mortal. Nelson absconded immediately after the quarrel. The Police Court was occupied during the greater part of Jan. 23 in hearing the case 3 of robbery against the lads Maiocey and McDowell, charged with stealing the yacht Malus, together with a considerable quantity of properly from other vessels. Messrs C. D. Whitcombe aud A. Boardman, J.P.'s, were on the Bench. The prosecution was conducted by Sergeant Pratt, but the prisoners were not defended. James Maloney ana Thos. McDowell were first charged with the larceny of the yacht Ma'.ua, on the 20th ultimo. The evidence having been given, the prisoners were committed for trial in the usual form. The charges against Maloney and McDowell of stealing property from the yachts Rita, Maritana, and Slatacgi, were then heard separately, and the prisoners were committed for trial on each charge. James Maloney and Thomas McDowell were farther charged with the larceny of property valued at 30j from the yacht Merry Duchess. Th.3 case was dealt with summarily, The Bench sentenced \xa!oney to eix months' imprisonment, with hard labour, I and McDowell to one month's imprisonment, I with hard labour. | The following is a complete return of the I police offences in the Auckland police disI trict for the year ending the 31st December, 1557, showing the total number of persons apprehended aud summoned : — The total number of cases was 2643, being a decrease of 329, but during the year the northern portion of the province was proclaimed as a separate district under charge of Inspector McGovern. The principal increases are : Indictable assaults, 11 ; local by-laws, 55 ; fisheries offences, 7 ; lunacy, 13 ; malicious injury manslaughter, 3 ; perjury, 7 ; Property Assessment Act. 9 ; robbery with violence, 10 ; vagrancy, 40 ; weights and mestares, -8. The decreases are : Animals Protection Act, 14 ; arson, 5 ; common assaults, 7S ; assaults on police, 20 , breach of the peace, 11; Contagious Diseases Act, 76; Employment of Fema!e3 Act, forgery, and uttering, 21 ; shipping and Foreign Seamen's Act, 42 ; horse stealing, 12 ; house breaking, 37; larceny, 14 ; larceny from the dwelling, 9; Licensing Act, 12; Police Offences Act, 16; Public Health Act, 10 ; Public Works, 7 ; Registration of Electors, 24 ; threatening language. 45. The criminal return? of the Wellington Magistrate's Court fur ISS7 show that 17jS persona were before the Bench, as against 1746 in 1556. The number of convictions in the two periods was 1295 and 1244 respectively,