THEFT OF KAURI GUM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18742, 23 June 1924, Page 9

THEFT OF KAURI GUM.

AN APPEAL DISMISSED. REDUCTION OF SENTENCE. A written;, judgment was ..delivered at the Supreme Court on: Saturday by ,th ; Chief Justice, Sir Robert Stout, '' in .;ar ! i'• appeal by Iris Mark Hoggard' (Mr. A Moody), gumdigger, .who was sentence! , to two months' imprisonment, 'on : Nov'em ber '22, 1923, for having stolen a smaj quantity of' kauri gum. ,;Prisoner servet > five days of his sentence .before -he iwd released, under-bond; pending his, appea ■ being heard. Prisoner's contention that his : conviction was not supported b\ sufficient ': evidence. , ' \ His Honor said the facts proved wen ' that a gumdigger ; named " Cosgrave hai been digging with his partner, McNeil and hid obtained -, a ' quantity ■of , gum , , some of which xhe subsequently misseq ■ He inspected the place where appellart .. . had his ground, and saw a;i quantity., d % gum, which he swore—and his evideno , '■/■■/'" Was : corroborated of • the same ; kind, as that which s belonged "to him;/ and thai " /. , the gum dug by appellant was not: ofvtb , same kind. Foot-prints were found goini ""■■■ from the place where Cosgrave had - hi ; gum.to appellant's ground. ' , It was clear, therefore, proceeded -Hi Honor, that unless fjanotherhad ; wow V similar boots to those of the. appellant,. h had travelled along /-the;- road, to the tip. l head. There wag albo p evidence that l^' gumdigger who-passed, r the; tip-head ; <J appellant-" in ;, the afternoon saw: no i gun there) but there was some there tho inert : : . morning. Appellant admitted putting som« ■•/' ; there, but said he" had taken.it from;th back of his house. ~t - .".'Taking-all^ .".'Taking-all^ the facts into, consideration ' rHis Honor said, he must come to the con r elusion that| the offence; had b6«n' proved The appeal ; must - ; be dismissed '■ and th; conviction affirmed. i As ; prisoner hat -..,-,- hitherto ..borne an i unblemished charactd Lhe 'reduced the sentence to one .month Costs were fix>d at £5.