THE COROMANDEL QUARTZ ROBBERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10921, 28 November 1898, Page 7

THE COROMANDEL QUARTZ ROBBERY.

[:. - SENTENCE OF four YEARS. L „ His Honor Mr. Justice Conolly on : f fl0 j at the Supreme Court, William ' S alias Robert Bryan, aged 27, lately •Inter in the Kapanga mine, was charged Jlay 18, 1898, at Coromandel, lie ' ''f 191b weight of gold-bearing quartz; stole Tune 15, Zlilb; on June 22, 3141b; <° i.lv 6 141b; on September, 17|lb of %V 2oz 3dwt of gold. fir J A. Tole appeared for the Crown, i Mr J- o'Meagher for the prisoner, ho pleaded guilty 1,0 the first four founts .* the indictment. Air o i e said, in that case, lie would iff the fifth charge. l[f O'Meagher, on behalf of O'Brien, Jff'tlie 'Court's attention to h'S o.iiipa'a- £ youth. Counsel also mentioned that nJer could neither read nor write, fen was the sole support of his widowed nther and had a wife and two children. th, to the time that the charges were made .List him, he had always Lome an exM character, for had he not he would 2 have been engaged as a tributer. Of nurse there were great temptations in the iavo'f me' l ,v ' lo got rich parcels of stc ne in their tributes. Counsel would, in view 3 all these circumstances, ask for as light ■ sentence as possible. His Honor: Are you aware, Mr. (i'Jleaglier, that there are seven previous Lotions against this man? jjr O'Meagher: I am, Your Honor, but tier commenced when he was wry young. His Honor : He is now represented to be m rears of age, and the convictions commenced M years ago. What has he done nth the money ? Within six months he te stolen stone'to the value of £426. jk O'Meagher; 1 don't know, your Honor : Is there any probability of anrtliing being recovered, because lie cannot juJeiy have made away with that amount in jjj months? . }[, O'Meagher : I have not inquired into that portion of the case, your Honor, but men ilio indulge in mining speculations can get lid of money very quickly in Auckland. Acting-Detective Mcllveney was called ji'j questioned by His Honor. The detective said the prisoner had bought a house in Neman's Bay and anothor in Mount Eden. Mr. John Fraser was also called, but said knew nothing of prisoner prior to his corned to the foundry to have the quartz crushed on"the first, occasion. Mr, Henri' Battens, manager of the Kapanga mine, stated that the stolen quartz sss supposed to have come from tho Kapanga. O'Brien was working in the mine (fat 18 months before he went on tribute, Arthur James Andrew, a miner, called by counsel for the defence, said he had always found prisoner (who had been working for bin) an honest man. Sir. Tole: You are the Andrews mentioned in the prisoner's confession, and you fere arrested ? Witness: I am, sir.

Mr. O'Meagher pointed out that witness ltd others were discharged.

His Honor, in passing sentence, said it hd been represented by prisoner's counsel that a man working among valuable material, such as auriferous quartz, was subject to great temptations. No doubt lie was, but lie (the Judge) thought that could be no ground for passing a light sentence. Prisoner had ten carrying 011 a wholesale robbery. In a space of two months he had robbed the Raping.; mine, or some other place, of £426 in value, and if ho had not been arrested there was no saying what the extent of his robbery might have been. It was a scandalous thing, and His Honor would pass a sentence which should be a warning to those who worked in gold mines, not to take that which did not belong to them. The Court hew nothing of prisoner's conduct for the past 10 years, except that he had not been convicted, A sentence of four years with fed labour was imposed.