MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 290, 28 March 1877, Page 2

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

THIS DAY. (Before George Svmpter, Esq., and F. Feswick, Esq., J.P.'s.) DRUNK AND DISORDERLY. John M'Lennan, charged, with the above offence, was fined 20s. LARCENY. James Brennan was charged with stealing from the tent of Mrs. Kearney, one Crimean shirt- and a pig's head. Prisoner pleahed " Guilty." Alice Kearney deposed : I live in a tent near the lagoon. I left the tent on Monday, and did not go back till Tuesday morning. When I left the tent I tied the door with a piece of string, and on going back again I found the door half open. On going inside I missed the articles produced, and reported the matter to the police. Never saw prisoner before. The value of the articles stolen is about 7s. Constable Stewart deposed : I saw the prisoner about half-past 4 yesterday afternoon in Thames-street with a bundle under his arm. From information received afterwards I arrested him, and on opening the bundle found the articles produced. He first stated that he got them from the beach, and afterwards said that he took them out of his own cwag. He was under the influence of liquor at the time. Mri. Kearney, on being recalled, stated that she was quite certain the articles were in the tent when she left. Her husband could not have taken them, as he only came home once a week. Sergeant O'Neill informed the Bench that there had been five petty larcenies of a similar nature to this one reported to the police during the past week. The Bench sentenced prisoner to one month's imprisonment with hard labour, and remarked that they would have made the sentenca longer had prisoner not pleudod guilty. They hoped this would Ije a warning to him in future.