SUPREME COURT. — CRIMINAL SITTINGS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 616, 8 December 1863, Page 5

SUPREME COURT. — CRIMINAL SITTINGS.

MONDAY, 7th DECEMBER. (Before His Honor Mr Justice Richmond.) His Honor took his seat at 10 o'clock. SENTENCES.

Robert Latte, convicted of horse-stealing, was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. John' Bronckar. who pleaded guilty of feloniou ly assaulting hia wife, was .euterised to nine months* imprisonineot with hard labor. Jo-eph Hanley, who pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting a constable in the execution of his duty,was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment with hard labor. William Henry Head, convicted of embezzlement, and recommended to mercy by the jury, was sentenced to three months imprisonment with hard labor. . James Jeffry and John Eccles, convicted of steal-, ing goods from a dray at the Taieri, were etchsentenced to rix months imprisonment with hard! labor. Joseph Gray, who pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing a sum of money entiusted to him by his, master, was sentenced to nine calendar months with hard labor. William Henry Campbell, a youth of 17 years of age, who pleaded Guilty to the charge of horse stealing, was placed in the clock. His Honor, in passing sentence, seemed much affected that one so young should be placed in that, position, and reinarkel thaihe wiis exceedingly sorry to have to pass sentence of imprisonment upon him at all, as it seemed probible that on leaving the prison, he would be likely to be •vorse than when he went into it He trusted the severe lesson he had already received, would put him on his guard against the temptations to which he would be subjected in the'place tp which he must be 1 sent. He was beyond the age at which corporal punishment was usually administered by -the Knelisli .practice, a course which he (the Judge,) believed would have been the most proper to have been taken in the cass, but which he did not feel justified in sentencing him to. In consideration ot the recommendations to. mercy, of-the presecutor and Mr" "Hbwdlffr he should, pass a short sentence, and if the Governor should interfere and remit it, on condition that;the youth's friends were prepared io give security that he should' remove - from, the Colony, he (the Judge) should feel glad. The sentence of the Court wa«, that tbe prisoner should be confined to thegaol with hard labor, for the space of three calendar-months. ■--- - v ■-.:; AREA. GNMENTS.; - John-,Kinnear, charged with rape; George Pickup,. with embezzlement j and John Ke.rn.y, with cutting and wounding, each pleaded Not Guilty. ~ EMBEZZLESfBMT, William Martin Burke was charged with appropriating money the property of George Cowie, Manager of the Union Bank. The indictment was laid under the Baukers'Act. Mr Michael Prendergast defended the prisoner. The. Crown Prosecutor, in stating the case, said that.the prisoner had been entrusted with LSO by George Cowie for the purpose oi gold buying on behalf of the bank, and that he was by agreement to return the amount in gold or money... His Honor said that the term 3on which the money was advanced was not a bailment of money according to the ict. A bailment of money meant the entrusting a person with .a mm .of money for a specific purpose to carry it to some place or todo some act with it distinctly prescribed, and the sooner the magistrates understood that the better, as some mis.ipprehensioa aepeared to exist in the matter. If the evidence only went'to establish the point of entrusting- it for gold buying, there was no case to go before a jury. The Crown Prosecutor acknowledged that' no criminal charge could be supported again -t the prisoner. ■ •

His Honor directed a verdict of acquittal to be returned, and the prisoner was discharged.

TRIAL POSTPONED. ' Thomas Frost was placed in the prisoner's dock for trial, . Mr Wilson, on behalf, of the prisoner, asked tbat the trial might be postponed, as? the prisoner had not had the depositions in his possession 'a sufficient time to prepare his defence.

The trial was postponed to ten o'clock this day (Tuesday). . J

t v.- ■-*-•' ~ tl~ 4PE* Jonn Rinneav was charged with committing a rape on-, the peron of Elizabeth . Ferguson, a married woman,-on board the brig Welcnue, bound to Laun-ce--ton, when lying at Port Chalmers, on the 27th mu 1 r Jast> Mr WilsoQ defended the prisoner. _ The revelations were of such a disreputable character that the charge, was withdrawn by the Crown prosecutor. The jury by consent- returned a verdict ot not guilty, an 1 the prisoner was discharged. tS-ZAI^ T WITH INTBST 1° DO BODILY HARM _John Kearney was oha*-g~jd- witb askulting' John Hutchinson. Abile with a knife on the evening of the 25th October. There were two counts in the indictment, one charging the prisoner with attempting to murder, and the other with assault with intent to do bodily harm. The prisoner was undefended by counsel. . *

The evidence went to prove that the proseontor was walking on the Arrow township in company with a Mrs Wilson in the moonlight, when they were accosted by the prisoner from behind, who called out, if you are a man stand and deliver." On Abile turning round _he saw the prisoner with a sheep knife in his hand uplift-d as if intending to strike. Abile told Mrs Wilson to run and escape, aud at the same moment the prisoner rushed upon him. The prosecutor-m.t him. seized him by.the throat, and threw him down, receiving in the straggle a wound in the head. They rolled on the road together, and Mrs Wilson seizing the prisoner by-the hair contrived to get the knife out of his hand, but had the musoles of three fingers of the left hand in doing so, which prevented her straightening th ? m. While on the ground the prisoner had attempted-to stab Abile between the shoulders Tlie testimony given by a medical practitioner called Douglass, proved that the wound given to Abile was a slight cut about three inches long. It only required dressing onc3. He was of opinion that the^pnsoner was at the. time insane, and he formed that opinion on 1113 conduct. Sometimes he was iov«JL_« 1 :iA?f? B| n«inK'» »nJ I at others depressed. Somebmea he talked in a confidential tone, ato'hers he spoke in a loud defiant manner, and that without apparent, reason. He had a'so various delusions. At one time be thought he was the devil, at another he imagined he saw a woman, whom he believed to be the Queen, and said " she alone could pardon him." Ihe uisease might have been the consequence of preTW^^d^ nkinK,' bnt the ni^ht the offence w.is committed he was not under the influence of drink. He believ-d him restored to reason before leaving Queenstown. - r..-.. . ■ , b

Dr Hulme, Provincial Surgeon, did not perceive any.wmptoifts_Qfmsanity.in.the prisoner, nor had he observed such since his arrival.in Dunedin. In delirium tremens the tremor of the hands and toneue was always present. Mr Douglass was recalled, and said there were no symptoms of dehnmn tre new iv the prisoner when' he saw him at Queenslown. „T t h. e. P2!.j«» officer. who arrested the prisoner, said on taking him to the lock up he went very -ouietlv for, a short distance and. then, with a scream, he stopped_and ordered lutn to "stand and deliver " »-$mL Ju,Fy retned for a few minutes and returned a ThS-_n wu e"}]}y-on the-.grbind of. insanity. The j added they did not consider him of sound mind at™ wms the offence was committed. The prisoner was committed to the common gaol know Keeping lmtil t!,e Governor's pleasure is

. LARCENY. ~ ,*™?_ ?e/, ic\ up was in(|icted on a charge of stealing 16C0 lbs of beef of tbe value of L 69, the property of his employer, William (irifrin. There were four counts in the indictment. One charging him with embezzling.the me'U, tiie second with embezzling the 'money for which the meat was sold, the third with a -breach of trust ns baillee of the meat, and the fourth with a breach of trust as baillee of the money. Mr O'Loughlin defended the prisoner. William Griffin, innkeeper andZ butcher at Tuapeka, the prosecutor, on his examination, said that

he -'purchased' ,a .. b'uri-hering business, Zat Tuapeka; of ZEllson," 'and' ihe prisoner Pickup, who were;..'.partners,*..' on the 31st August last. . He let the. prisoner the shop ..on that day which he kept to the 9th September, when he went; to witness and told him-he could, get no more beeffoff the slaughterman, and he had. better take the shop into his own hands. He offered t stop in the" shopa few days as he wantel to collect some debts owing to him. Witness said he would satisfy him for histrouble, and agreed to "it. , He gave prisoner an order, to Lancaster Wroth'ers'to supply the shop with beef. He was to sell tiie ber-f, receive the money, and " turn it up " to him when he went into the shop. He went to the shop on the Saturday, and found the prisoner gone, and a man named Metcalfe in possession, who said that the shop was hU, and that he had bought and paid for it. There wa3 meat in the shop to the value of L6O or L 65. He saw 1200 or 1.00 lbs of meat in the shop. Richard. Lancaster, carcase butcher and slaughter man, supplied the prisoner with beef up to the 13th September on his own account, up to the 9th or 10'h and after that time on an order from Griffin. He supplied those carcases of beef for which Griffin poi I. ■

Two witnesses named Lancaster and Jo"hrx Metcalfe were called, but did not appear, Further evidence in corroboration of the facts stated was given.

Air O'Loughlin argued that there was no case to go to a jury, as there was no evidence of the beef sold to Metcalfe being the sameasthat paid for to Lancnstor, nor ot selling the meat outside of the authority given to him, and on other grounds there was no case to the jury. Mr Howorth replied.

His Honor decided that there was a case sufficient, for the jury to decide, not Only with regard to the larceny of the beef, but also as to whether the money was embezzled'Or not. '"•'-.

Mr O'Loughlin addressed the jury in defence, and argued that in ■no sen^e could the prisoner be considered a servant to the prosecutor —that there was no evidence that the meat was the property of Griffin, and further that the prisoner might have: acted in selling, the business to Metcalfe under a; mistaken idea that his leise not having expired he^ was yet empowere I, notwithstanding Irs bargain with Griffin, to .dispose of it. He further argued that ; there wa~s.no.proof that the meat was that claimed to, belong to Griffin, and therefore the prisoner could not be convicted of larceny of the meat. His Honor summed up the evidence.. The jury after consulting a short time, returned a verdict of guilty of larceny of tha beef_, and acquitted the prisoner on the remaining counts. Sentence deferred. The Court adjourned to 10 o'clock this day (Tuesday.) The cases appointed for trial this day are:— Reg. v. Frost and James, horse stealing. Reg. v. Frost, horsestealing. Reg*, v. Swyer, forcible entry.