SUPREME COURT.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 5134, 28 November 1903, Page 9

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSIONS. Tim criminal n ns for tho Wellington judicial district wore resumed jit the finprem-> Court yc-Aorday before Mr •J ua ice Cooper. SENTENCES. Thomas Chasland, a iiali-casto -Mann, found guiitv of cau.ing actual buddy harm to Jiunr.-, ibov. :i Wide at Marunb;>ri;ii"hl on Uclober 2Ut, was brought up for iem-nice. .Mr ilerdman pleaded lor Jeniene..'. I'm prisoner was a native with hoi blood in hits vein;;, and ids offcnco had been committed under a iiicmcntiiry passion. il;s Honor passed a sentence of sis mouths' imprisonment . John Clark, alias John Angus, an--otlicr prisoner found guilty on the previous day oi causing actual bofliiy jKtriu to Alexander Hogg, at Mellingum, on July doth, was brought in for seulciice. 'i ais "its tiio case of shorting on Urn reclamation. His Jtouor pointed to tho seriousness - of the carrying ot iinaims, but took- into consideration tilt! fact tint prisoner had been in gao - l tor four monuis. ami sentenced him to six months’ laird labour.

BREAKING AND ENTERING. Edwin Gray, alias William Harris, found, guilty on the previous* day oi three orurges of breaking ami entering ami theft, wag arraigned again on throe further similar charges. Ou tiio request of Mr Myera he was remanded until Tuesday, so that country witnesses’ convenience might bo considered. “TWO-UP.” William Eager, otherwise Richard Oxeniuim, and Frank Sturgeon were charged with kir-ping a common gaminghouse (i he Olympic tiub). Mr Myers rcprincnlcd the Crown. Mr Jellicoo appeared for tho defence, and moved to quash tho indictment on tho ground that tiio crime was brought under tiio provisions) of the Criminal Code, which ordered imprisonment, instead cf under the Gaming amt Lotteries Act of JBSI (as in tho Lower Cn.urt), which provides for a fine. lib submitted that the Supreme Court-bad no jurisdiction to try tho charges except under tiio information sent from tho Lower Court, namely, a committal under tiio Act of Ifcirfl. The definitions in llio two sections were -entirely different, and the Crown had not treated him fairly. Hii; Honor reserved his decision on the questions - raised. Roth prisoners declined to plead un-dc-r tiio indictment, and his Honor ordered a plea of nob guilty to bo entered. If the accused were found not guilty there would Tjj no need to decide the points at issue. Mr Hindmursh was associated with Mr Jellicoe for the defence. Sixteen “ challenges ” were made before tiio jury was formed. Mr William Smith wits chosen foreman. ' Mr Myers, in his address to tho jury, ‘said there could be no -doubt as to tho evils done to tiio community by gaminghouses, and those evils were, intensified by tho fact that a lot of honest working men spent money-inside them that could bo much better spent in other directions. , Ho explained the guano of “ two-up” to tho jury, and assorted that from the- evidence, direct and circumstantial, there was an unanswerable charge against accused of keeping a common gaming-house. Chief-Datcotivo McGrath described the pciico raid on tho club-room. Tho officer's evidence was tho same ns given in tho Lower Court, which has already appeared in detail in the “Times.” At the conclusion of the case for the Crown tho Court adjourned until 10 o’clock this morning.