AUCKLAND SUPREME COURT

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14930, 1 March 1912, Page 4

AUCKLAND SUPREME COURT

"BREAKING,'ENTER AN * JTSiKTHEFT. " * i A WOMAN CONVICTED. The Supreme i Court, continued its : sittings yesterday, Mr. Justice : Chapman on - the bench. - . ■ ■ • . ■ • • ■ ~ ; A woman named Edith Maud 'Watter.'son, I ivho ' appeared to bo about 30 .yean of age, and who is also known as " Mrs. Glasson,"/was changed with having, or November 8 last, broken, entered and set ! fire to the house of Arthur John Cottcreli ; i in St. Mark's Road, near Newmarket, anc with having stolen therefrom two bracelets two rings, ; one . brooch, i one costume, a coat ; and skirt, and a quantity of under clothing. Accused pleaded not guilty, anc was defended by Mr. A. E. Skelton. Tlu Hon. J. A. Tole, K.C., prosecuted on be half of ho Crown. The facts, as brought out in the cvi den'ce, were of a somewhat unusual anc peculiar character. s. Mrs. \ Cotterell lefl her homo about noon on November 3, tc go shopping. She returned about half-an hour later, ; and was': amazed = to < see fire ir a bodroon.: She at once gave the alarm ; and some ' men came , in, and without £ great deal of trouble extinguished th( •flames.- Thenlthey, discovered that a fire had broken out in a wardrobe. The ward robe door was closed, but • the clothe: hanging inside were burning. Mrs. Cotterell found'that the house had beer practically ransacked, and that the articles of , jovvollery and clothiug alreadj enumerated had been taken away. - The.ii value she; stated at about £25. • Infor mat-ion. -wag given to the police, and aftei some time the accused was" arrested ; al Owhaoga, in the. King Country. She wai identified by a witness named Robert J. Andrews;; as tho woman whom he saw leaving: Ccfcterell's house 'a . few minutes before the outbreak of the fire, when sli< was r carrying a big bundle, which sin seemed to be trying to conceal, under hei cape or cloak. -She wag further : identified by a jeweller ntu cd Noah Cohen, and by a second-hand dealer named Michael Levy, as the woman who sold them jewellery and clothing respectively, on November 9. ; , Accused, when she was arrested, denied any knowledge of the offence, ana asserted over and over again that she had never been in Newmarket in her life, and didn't even know where it was situated. When j»he was being brought down in the train, and was passing Newmarket, she noticed the name on the station board, and in apparent' surprise exclaimed, ? "Oh. that's- Newmarket, is it?" • The defence set up was an attempt tc prove an alibi to show that at the time the offence was " committed ' the; accused was, engaged helping Mrs. Janet Pollard and members of her family from -Vermontstreet Ponsonby, to Upper , Pitt-street, and that she did not leave ; the Vermontstreet House until between 5.30 and seven p.m. ori _ November 8, and therefore could not possibly have been in tha' vicinity of the lire. V <' • Jessie Pollard swore that Mrs. Watter- ■ son was at her'mother's house on November 8. Similar evidence was eiven by her two brothers and her mother] The latter proved'to be. a very excitable old woman. In opening his cross-examination, Mr. Tole asked pleasantly, " Your • name is Janet Pollard, isn't it?" But the witness became resentful, and replied with a good deal of asperity, " Well, and what if it is; what's 'fclie matter with it, anyhow. "I think you've had 'a little drink this morning, haven't you?"—" How do you know ? What's it got to do with you, anyhow?" ■; ■ 17 .' J " I know, because the ' atmosphere changed directly you entered the; Court." —"Well, you didn't pay for it, anyway." "How many drinks have you had?"— "Find out." "• ' " What was it you. had— be«r ?" " That's my business.'? v< 6 ; " W ell' you - have been convicted' of keeping. disorderly house, of consorting with theives, land of; being a . vagrant - "Well; what about it t' I didn't come here to give my record and have my name dragged about and . who are : you, anyhow (with great 1 apparent indignation). Oh ! .you're Mr. Tole. I suppose (adding sotto vc«e). ' I'll kill him stone dead if he insults me." ■ * '• "Didn't you tell Hawk that the prisoner used to go out in the morning and not come back until late in the afternoon?"—" Who •is Hawk?" - i, V " He's a detective."—"Well, then i Hawk's a liar." . ■,••••..■ , Counsel . addressed the Court at con siderable length, and His Honor, summed up. The jury deliberated for -an hour, and returned to Court' • with a verdict finding the • accused guilty of breaking, entering, and theft, but not guilty of the count in the indictment charging arson. When asked if she had anything to Bay why sentence should not be passed upon her, the'prisoner replied in broken tones. 11 Yes; lam not guilty.'of the charge, and I have wo little children." I hope that I can have a chance to work for them Mr. Skelton asked that , the passing of sentence should 'be deferred ; until! "the following morning, in order that evidence as ; to prisoner previous character might be obtained. " His Honor granted the request. :. 5 .. ... i ... ...■- ■• ■ , ' '\ r ' V ALLEGED ROBBERY FROM THE • ' PERSON. . " Two ' comparatively % young, women, Florence May Thompson ' (Mr. A. G. Quartley), and • Susan, Lyaskey (Dr. Bamford), pleaded not guilty to ,a charge of havnig stolen one £20 and two £1 notes, the property of Mrs. Martha Robinson, wife of James Robinson, 1 * ainter of Severn-street, off Khyber Pass r Road, on the December 19, 1911. The facts were that Mrs,, Robinson and Mrs. Thompson went in company into town, the former to have her teeth attended to, and also to draw - £22 from the . Auckland - Savings Bank to send to her brother, and the | latter to pawn a bracelet, ; as she was ; short -of - money. In town they met a man named. Charles Bussell, and - went with him into the British Hotel, where they had a drink. Later, after Mrs Robinson had had her teeth look, to, and had drawn the money from the J bank,' the trio proceeded to Mrs. Thompson's house, where Sirs. Lynskey was found cojking the dinner. They'all ; had ' some whisky, and by-and-by s Mrs. ; Robinson fell asleep in an arm-chair. When she wakened she missed., her new false : teeth and complained to Mrs. Thompson of her loss. Thompson became incensed at 1 the accusation and. according -to ■. the : prosecuting witness's • evidence, knocked ,her down in the passage and kicked her covering her face with blood and blackening her eyes. When Mrs. Robinson got j home she found she had also lost her money. Information was given " to the police, and the £20 note and. one £1 note were found under the carpet "in Mrs ! Thompson's room, and the other £1 note \ was found in an outhouse, and Mrs ! 'Thompson accused Mrs. Lynskey of hav! Ing stolen the money. The false teeth i were recovered. / : •> ' The evidence was not concluded when j the Court adjourned for the day. ; y I