LAW AND POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9151, 5 September 1888, Page 3

LAW AND POLICE.

SUPREME COURT.Criminal Sittings. Tuesday. [Before His Honor Mr. Justice Gillies.] Larceny. — William Anderson Crombie, who on the previous evening had been found guilty of stealing a bottle of whisky and a bottle of rum from the Thistle Hotel, but not guilty 011 the more serious charge of burglary, was brought up for sentence. Mr. Buckland asked the Court to take a merciful view of the case. The prisoner had occupied a good position, but lately he had given way to drink, and it was his craving for drink thai led him to commit this theft. He was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment, with hard labour. Embezzlement. —David Edmond Porter, a bank clerk, formerly in the employ of the Colonial Bank at Cambridge, was indicted on a charge of embezzling the sum of £30, on the 18th November, 1887 ; £12 on the Kith December, and £8 on the Bth February, 1888. He pleaded guilty. He was then charged, on a second indictment, with embezzling £12 on the 21st February, £8 on the Bth of March, and £10 on the 10th of April. He pleaded guilty. A third indictment charged him with embezzling £10 on the sth of May, and £10 on the 30th of May. He pleaded guilty. A fourth indictment charged him with embezzling £4 on the 7th of June, and a fifth indictment with embezzling £6 10s on the 14th of June. To these he also pleaded guilty. Mr. Hesketh, who appeared for the prisoner, applied that he might be dealt with under the First Offenders; Probation Act. The prisoner, he said, was only 24 years of age. As early as 1881 he entered the employment of the bank at Wellington, and was removed to Cambridge in 1886. He owed £100 when he lei Wellington, and obtained an advance from the bank to pay it, and this he was to repay at £5 a month. He was married, and his salary was £140 a year, but with this payment, and payment of premium on his life assurance, and payment to the Guarantee Society, reduced his salary to £70 a year. It was said that he had absconded, but he asked His Honor to believe that this was not so, and that although he left Cambridge and went to Napier, he only went to obtain money to pay the bank, and in proof of this the money was offered, but unfortunately the prisoner had in the meantime been arrested. He made a very strong appeal to His Honor to save the young mail from going to gaol, the Court fixing any conditions as to security it thought fit. His Honor said the Court had the power to admit a first offender to probation, even if it was not recommended by the Probation Officer, but as he had stated hist evening the circumstances would require to be very extraordinary, for under ordinary circumstances the Court would be guided by the officer, who had made inquiries. He could not be guided by other cases. It was true that the Court had power to apply the Act even whero there were a number of offences, but looking at the nature of this case, which showed a deliberate criminal intent carried on for a long number of months, he must hold that the interests of the public would not be served by grantiag probation to one who had so deliberately planned to rob his employers, and he fully concurred in the remarks of the Probation Officer. His Honor then sentenced the prisoner to three years' penal servitude for each offence, the sentences to run concurrently. Larceny from a Dwelling.—William Noble and James Stoddart, alias George Stewart, were indicted on a charge of having on the 23rd of June feloniously stolen from the dwellinghouse of Patrick Brodie, known as the Naval and Family Hotel, Pitt-street, the sum of £108 in money and four cheques for £9 13s 3d. There was a second count, charging the prisoners with receiving the same, knowing it to be stolen. Both prisoners pleaded not guilty. Mr. Hudson Williamson prosecuted and Mr. Madden appeared for the prisoner Noble. The Crown Prosecutor, in opening the case, said that none of the witnesses would be able to say that they had seen the prisoners about the hotel on the night of the robbery, so that others might be concerned with them. The facts of the case for the Crown are as follow : At five o'clock on the evening of the 23rd of June, Mrs. Brodie had occasion to go to the drawer in her bedroom, where the money was kept. She counted and sorted the money, and put it in parcels. In the evening before ten o'clock, she again went to her bedroom, found that the drawer had been burst open and placed on the bed, and the money was gone. Mrs. Brodie and her daughter and a Mr. Keye were able to identify one £5 note, and one of the sovereigns, and the number of notes found corresponded with the number missing. The cheques had disappeared. On the Saturday night, at about ten o'clock, the prisoners came to a cabman named Dobson, at the stand in Shortland-street, and he drove them to the Ellerslie Hotel, where they left him to go to John Chaafe's house. They returned in about twenty minutes, and he drove them back to Auckland. When they went to Chaafe's house, they asked him to take charge of a parcel for them, and he did so, and put it in a place of safety, but his suspicions being aroused, he sent the parcel unopened by his boy to the police station, where it was received by Sergeant Lyons, who, on examining the parcel, found it contained £102, the money corresponding with that described'by Mrs. Brodie. The detectives set to work, and both prisoners were arrested. Noble had £1 Is 4d, and Steward had £2 5s 6d. When arrested they gave contradictory statements. Bridget Brodie, wife of the prosecutor, Elizabeth Brodie, her daughter, and her son Patrick identified the £5 note alluded to, also a sovereign, and they recognised one of the sixpences as being very similar to one which had been received across the counter. The defence for Noble was opened by Mr.

Madden after the adjournment, and -went to prove a case of mistaken identity. The evidence throughout was that Noble had been dressed in light clothes. Captain Abraham Palmer, boardinghouse-keeper, gave evidence that Noble on the morning of the 23rd, left his house in a dark tweed suit to go to the races, and returned in the same suit at about seven o'clock. They sat together until about half-past nine, when Noble went out, still in the same suit, and he returned about ten minutes to twelve. The light suit of clothes which prisoner now wore were in the wash, and were nob worn by prisoner until the Sunday, and even then they considered it unsafe that he should wear them, as they did not think them sufficiently aired. Stewart had his tea. before Noble came in. He was not a lodger, and after his tea he went away and did not return. John Richard Kitchen, cutler, who accompanied Noble to the races, also deposed to his being dressed in a dark suit at the races, and at the boardinghouse at halfpast seven o'clock, and when he saw Noble just after half-past nine, he was dressed in the same suit. He parted with Noble in front of the Anchor Hotel shortly after ten o'clock. Mr. Madden then addressed the jury on behalf of his client, and on the whole case, including the defence of Stoddart. Stoddart also addressed the jury on his own behalf, and Mr. Williamson replied on the evidence, and His Honor summed up strongly against the prisoners. The jury deliberated for an hour, and then brought in a verdict of guilty ou the second count, that of receiving, against both prisoners. They were each sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment with hard labour. The Court then adjourned until ten o'clock next morning. POLICE COURT.—Tuesday. [Before Dr. Giles, R.M.] Drunkenness.—One person was fined for drunkenness. False Pretences.—Joseph Reilly was charged with false pretences, by representing himself to be the mate of George Southgate, and therefore obtaining from Samuel Sudderland a coat and other goods to the total value of £1 13s. Prisoner leaded guilty. His Worship heard evidence, which showed that the goods had been obtained by Reilly and pawned. Sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour. Breach of By-laws.Charles Porteous was charged with permitting a horse and cart to be unattended. Mr. Gibb, the boy's employer, appeared on his behalf, and pleaded that he be dealt with leniently, A fine of 5s and costs was imposed. John Munro, for a similar offence, was fined 10s and costs. Assault. — John Parker pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting his wife, Elizabeth Parker, by seizing her by the throat and threatening her. Mrs. Parker gave some evidence, when the case was settled out of Court.