ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 552, 24 September 1863, Page 5

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

OPENING UP THE ROAD TO THE WAKATIP. {To the Editor of the Daily Times.)

Sir, —We should feel obliged by your notifying the public, through your journal, the fact of the withdrawal by tha Government of the subsidy for the mail service to the Lake Wakatipu at the end of the present month, compelling us to pull off our stock and coaches from that road at such a time and season when we can deliver cur passengers and parcels through with regularity in three day?. You are quite aware ot thp difficulties we have had to encounter during the past severe winter months, owing to the rapid rise and continued height of the rivers, and the want of suitable punt accommodation, and we think it premature to withdraw the service via the Molyneux until at least a trial has been given of the road via the Dunstan.

We need hardly remark that the whole of the country, from Molyneux to the Lake Districts, will be, by the proposed change, completely cut off from the Dimedin district, and ia many parts landowners arnl others engaged in business have commenced, Upon the faith of the Government, giving them roads and a service ; the withdrawal must prove of material injury, whilst for a small grant the present mail arraugemen'.s would have been continued aud rendered of great public service.

We are, &c,

W. Mitchell, Pro Henry Hoyt aud Co.

Cobb's Office, Dunejin, Sept 23rd, 1863

PRIDE OF THE YARRA CATASTROPHE. {To the Editor of the Daily Times.)

Sir.—l see by yesterday's and to-day's newspapers that the body of the unfortunate man Frost has been recovered, and has received interment at Porb Chalmers. But why has his remains been meanly and hurriedly burieJ away there, while here, in our cemetery, all the other victims in that sal catastrophe have received sepulture with almost regal pom,), and during a day of general and heartfelt mourning. Caa it be that we givd his remains the less honor because he was a rough hard-working citizen—perhaps unknown and friendless—surely not. I hope this has arisen through some oversight, and that his body will yet be placed beside those who were co-partners in his sad end.

That little group of graves in the Dunedin Cemetery shall stand as a monument of that awful night when the sad tidings of the collision came like a thick pa 1 over the happiness of a people. Our children will ia future years stand beside them, and remember the lr father or their mother telling them the sad story, which then they could not fuify comprehend. How that one n'ght, when they sat smiling and happy round the tea table, or were kneeliu* to repeat tneir eve*ins? prayer at their mother's knee,— an awful thing had happened, and that almost within sight ot their own home, a dozen souls had, without notice, and iv a moment's time, been hurled iuto eternity; and the victims of tbit sad night are all there at th'-ir feet, beneath those little grassy mounds, sleeping the sleep that knows no waking till the jud&meut morn. No, not all; there is one wanting: at tne present, which I hope will soon lie be»ide the others.

Hoping these remarks may draw attention to the subject,

I am, &c,

D. M. S,

I understand, from a letter which appeared in your paper a few weeks ago, that Afr most has left a wif .and ii large family in Victoria entirely unprovided for. If this be true, surely the public of Duaden wii: feel sufficient sympathy for the poor widow aao fatherless '• bairns" to do something—if not to clieei their sorrowful and drooping hearts- -at least to assi.si and comfort them in their distres?.

I'unedin, 16th September.

SUPREME COUR \\~ CKIMIX.U. SESSION. Tuesday, 22nd Sbptbsber. (Doforo His Honor ;Mr Justice P.ichmon.]). SENTENCES.

Thoraa^ Smith, convicted on Monday of for<,J n <r and uttering a forgei cheque with indent to d-frau.r lltor fen!e" *° tvr>'° >caw' ilIl ''li?oumeafc J with Lari William Baxter Morrfc, who on Mon 'ay ple?(ie4 guilty to the charge of forKing a cheque on the U.ii»i S?U" S h^iatr yeaiS' t iv GARROTriNG. Henry Forman woj cLarged with njsaultincr (in company with another person nnknow,) jZtacs M Vee. with l&tenti'm to commit a robbery. Tho Crown Prosecutor having stated the c^e James M'V.ae, a saawan of the Sampson st-amer faiaJtaton the eveuiug of the 7:h July ha vis ie the Princess Theatre, an 1 had in |,v pocket L6 2out of which he paid 4< for four dsi.iks in the Vesti' bule. He afterwards went out. i t! to the passage 1.-td-mg to the Provincial Sale Yard, in which "be was seized by two men, one of whom caught him by the neck, and pressed his hand under his chin, while the «.-tuer put his hand iuto his pocket. The fir^t nam-d VVfTlt t)n Mthro;lt S°aS t0 Prevet)t M« crying out. v\hile the other man was attempting to fob him the witness struck him an I knocked him down He rse ana ran away. The prisoner then attempt-d to runaway also, but t:;e witness having K'ofhfa ?JL Bl? Wecl ,roUud/ and took liold of him. He oalled out and two gentlemen corning U n, OnpolicemS ° WUneSS aLd tUe o"«Vnt Jib?i

Aiexduuer Hutehinson, a gold escort carman on the evening of 7th July hal his r.tfentimatti^i b? a Bhoutinp, and noise of..^filing in tUe ™.% oetween the Vestibule of the Princess Th.at^tnd the Provincial Sale Yard. He went with another peram to see what was the matrer, an 1 foundl he prisoner struggl ng to get away from M'Vee. iiis companion stayed to assist ,n securing the prisoner, whi c he went »,,.) fetched the poiiceiiPan on duty in mgh-sueet. who took him into eu.toly Jarae* Ctp tick, a p-.-.liea c.i..st;ble, proved takine tfce prisoner into custody. wi^ng «r« defeS. bp°Ueilt *" " ""^^ °f fiUisty* Se:itenCß

UOBB3RY IN A BROTHEL.

Jolm tfilksaJ/oaJohn Brummev, and Mary 4nn Jones, altos Mary Ann Wilks. 'alias Mary 4nn Bninime.v, were cliavged wick robbing ThwphUns Da Lisle of a purse costaining eighteen sovereiips, i« a house of i.i tame, in the Octagon. There w.ts another count agamst the female piisjner iv the indictment i?SS?t!E. Wlth WceWn«tta P^erty, kn,wig Evidence was give a to the tStob that Ds L'sle with a female went to sleep afc the house kept by the' prisoner on the night of the Gth June last. Duriuz iJie night, his purse containing his money wa% takea trorn his trousers pocket. He complained of the loss and the purse was returned to him with only one sovereign in. The female prisoner had on her person, when arrested, a purse containing several sovereigns, and one half sovereign, which De Lisle lilentihej as one received in change from her tha previous evening, and which she confessed oa her apprehension to have uiven to him. The jury found the male prisoner guilty of stealing, ami Hie tpuule of receiving the property, knowing It to be stolen. s

Seiitcuce was deferred.

BILLS OF INDICTiIEXT. The Grand Jury found true bills against G. C Quick, for perjury. Thomas Davis, for larceny. The case of Suttpn, for larceny, fell to the ground on account of the absence of the prosecutor, whose recopmzances were ordered lo ba estreated. Before being dismissed, the foreman of the Gracd Jury read an address to His Honor, complaiuiug that not. more than fitteen persons were in attendance as a Cria-Kl Juy, which gave a minority of foar the power of overriding tha decision of the remaining c even Inconvenience had been experienced in more than one mstanre in consequence. His Honor agreed that it was not desirable that so small a uumoer should be empanelled, as inconvenience might arise iv consequent in a variety of ways. The jury laws were admitted to be defective and required revision. He thaaked the Grand Jury" for their services, and dismissed them. STEAUKO BLANKET 3. John Brown, William Pitman, atid William Banner, were charged with stealing blankets the property of Butterworth Brothers. On a second count the prisoners Pitman "and Banaer were accused of receiving the blankets knowing them to be stolen. ---■ Mg-Wiiasgrgpyoa^Aj Jy»*rt%.'. '&!££} lV-M-Jftanger. - — The Crown Prosecutor having si afced the case, 'Henry A; Edmiaton, salesman to Buttenvorth. 8.-others, said that ha gvtve notice to the police one morning in June last that some biaakets had been stolen from the lower store of the premises in Hi^hsireet; a baie having been cut open, and-5 about twenty pairs ahstracted from it. The back door was open when he went to the store about (he middle of the day. The building was then unfinished, and iv the hands of the contractors. The witness considered that the blankets produced were of the same make and quality as the remainder of the bale. Jonn Henry Bartilles, a restaurant keeper, knew the prisoner Brown, who lived eleven days at his house. After leaving the house the witness bought two pair of blankets of him. The prisoner told kirn, ha was hard up, and as the witness wanted 12s GI of him, he took the blankets at 22s Gd, and gave him 10s in change, telling him it he wished he could have them back on repayment of the moaey. Peter Clayton, the contractor who built Butterworth's store : Knew Brown and Pitman. Brown had been working for him there for some weeks, and was paid off on Saturday, thu 6th June. He recognised Pitman as one whom he knew ia Victoria, da Monday evening the store was locked, and he left tiie key in the lock inside the door. On the Tuesday evening the door was locked, but the key was gone and oa We inesday moruing the door was open, and the key was iv the doar.

Gh O. Clayton met the prisoner Brown coming out of the store about a quarter past four o'clock ou the evening previous to the robbery being discovered. Henry Sargeant, a bricklayer : Knew two of the prisoners, and saw Brown on the Jetty, speakin" to Banner in a boat in tlie Bay, the day after "the solders left Dunedia. Brown spoke to Banner from a lighter.

John Turner Gsuld : Was in partnership with a man named Victor William White, as restaurantkeepers in Ounedin. On the 9tii Juae the prisoner Brown went into their place with blankets to-- sale and his partner bought several pairs at twenty shillings a pair.

James Farrell,- of the Detective Police, said that having received information that Butterworth Bros, had lo>t some blankets, as he was going by the Provincial Sale Yards he saw the prisoner Browii sitting oa a bund.'c, which ou being examined proved to contain blankets. He made inquiries aboat them which not proving satisfactory, 112 took him into custody. He found a document on Urown's person which led him to go ti Port Chalmers, and search Banner's house, but found nothing there. He recovered the blankets sold by tlis prisoner to the various boarding-housekeepers to whom they had been sold. J

Ann Alderson, a resident at Port Chalmers: Bought some blankets for her brother and a female friend, of Pitman. Banner and Pitman lived each in a tent near her place, and the latter had some blue blankets tor sale, She asked Pitman if he would sell any. He agreed, and she purchased three pairs for 3ua. I. hey resembled those produced in Court. James Deane, brotiier-in-lmv to the last witness, confirmed the evidence she had given ; which, was further corroborated by Margaret Dewe, his wife. John Dewe, a stevedore, living as Port Chalmers, bought a pair cf blue blankets of Pitman for da, who offered them to him.

.Evidiuce was given that the prisoners Pitman and 3anner had given a semptress half-blankets for the purpose ot beiug made iuto jumpers. A po,iceman, then living at Port Ohalmera, on the evening of the 13th June, saw the prisoner Pitman take a bag out of his tent and throw it away on the1 waste ground at the ba ;k. He examined the contents of the bag, whica prov d to be a pair of blue blankets. He dc-nitd having thrown anything away.

.Roger Merton RalhiKsbaw, storeman to Bufterworth Bros, on the 10:h June last, went with a load of bales to the back door of their store in Highstreet, which was locked. He went round and found the key in the door, and on turning a few bales over he discovered one had been opened. He had .-seen it the previous evening, but did not notice its being open then.

Air Wilson submitted that there was no casa against Banner.

His Honor ruled that there wa3 evideuce to go to the jury. Mr Wilson addressed the jury on behalf of Banner. The prisoner Brown, ou nis own beh;;it:, called as a witness, Henry George Wellington, who stated that he could not say what night it was when Brown and. another went to his house. It was a oaturdny night, he bslieved, in June. They left with him two pairs of blue blankets. The prisoner retume!, «nd-witness gave hi:n one pair.. He had orders not to deliver both pairs to him

The prisoner Pitman >ad he got the blankets from Banner on, the Bth of June tQ sell for him,

Til", jury, -uter iv.iiriog n sho-fc lira % reiluvtcd a verdict of Guilty of r-ceiving again.-.!; Brown; and Pitman ami Banner Not Guilty.

•His Homor sai.i the prisoner Brown was not charged with receiving, but with larceny. If, th refpTP, the jury did not feel justified in finding him gu'lty of raking, they inu>t acquit him. The jury again retire.!, a-nl after a short time tiiev returned a verdict aga: nst Brown and Pitman of Guilty, and William Banner Net Guilty. '.-Banner was discharged ; and the Court adjourned to 10 o'clock the foUowW day.