SUPREME COURT.— CRIMINAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3253, 10 July 1872, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.— CRIMINAL

. . .—«. Tuksdav, 9th July. (Before Hia Honour Mr Justice Chapman.) ORAJH) JUKV. Tlic following were sworn of the Grand Jnry :—Robert Henry Gillies, Foreman, William Orani Ball, Alexander Bartleiuan, Arthur Uoverly, Colman Burke, John L. Butterwortu, Daniel Campbell, William IT. mmmt _ o^mmmmmmmmmm^mm^mmmmm Cutten, Thomas Dick, George W. Eliotfc, : • Charles Flcxman, Thomas S. Graham, John Hißlopi Henry Hough ton, Alfred Jackson, Latham 0. BcaJ. tiik <:har<;k. His Honour said : Mr Foreman and Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, I.am happy to inform you that the calendar is not a heavy one. There are seven prisoners for trial, two of whom are united in one offence, but, on the other hand, there are two indictments against one prisoner for forgery, and three indictments against another for embezzlement. I find by the statistical returns lately published by the Registrar General, in the year 1870 forty-eight persons were committed for trial before the •Supreme Court. During 1871 thirty-one persons were committed, but owing to a change in the time of holding the sessions of the Court, that year really included thirteen months, so that the number of prisoners now on trial is equal to the average of last year. The cases that will be brought before you are not such as to require any lengthy remarks from me. There is a charge againat Ann Sutherland of attempting to commit suicide. There is Borne evidence io show that she was not very well treated by her husband ; and it appears that in a moment of excitement she took some laudanum that was in the house—not procured for the purpose, but probably enough to have killed her, had she not been taken, to the; Hospital,, where, havjng^eettsttcnded;i# fey Pr Yatcs, she recovered." . Tlie ustial way of dealing with such cases is for the Court to take some' guarantee that the offence .\riJT not be repeated. The offenders are required to enter into sureties to come up for punishment when called upon, and'if there :ia no attempt to commit the offence agrun, they are not called upon. The only'thing, the Court can do is to bring to bear some coercion on their minds, and "generallyJ ifc operates as. an effectual, warniug.': There is a case of d&ttle stealing, similar to one or two brought bsfore tHe 'Court previously, * The prisoners are David Jones and Henry Francia, It appears that tliey, -wer© sent out to look for cattle, and so fair were* engaged in a lawful purpose, but they picked up a bullock that; -was not branded like, the cattle they were sent for, 'arid there Is tome _ c'vidence to shew that they knew it was r not the proper brand; on the whole, the evidence is not.strong: Bat there is evidence to shew that the prisoners. gave two contradictory accounts, which perhaps constitutes the rapieibua-circumstances against, them.-- ■ However,!'your duty ia this-: If you think'that upon the whole evidence tbejreis, a sufficient case, to:justify you in.requiring the prisoners to explain it, or answer it, you. will find a bill; if, on the other band, you think there, i* not sufficient to call npon them to ,answer,.' yon. will he justified, df course, in ignoring'the charge. There are two cases of"larceny thatrdo not require any remarks from me- jhe»; there is the case of' Hyman Cohen. It'is like many othercase* that have been brought before this Court-r-, sachaato-,ensure detection within a short T>eriod 'tdpeic the commisripn of the offence.; J£w^ne.dLth*^iwl»^^ criminal on thj^accouiit,.but wJiich,the certainty UMm&Minl&^Ufy afterwards xrould doter a man,^qne.wpnjdjropposei fro* committing:' Hy*»n Cohen signs tlie name

SITTINGS,

of Mark Cohen, in one case, to a bill of exchange ; and, in another, to a cheque, or order for the payment of money. These instruments were made payable at the Bank of Otago. They had some little time to run, and therefore detection could not take place during that period; hat, of course, directly, they were presented, it was found that Mark Cohen had no account at the Bank, and be denied that the signature waa him. Under those circumstances, ybtt will have ,no difficulty in finding a bilL There" are three charges of embezzlement against Henry Stewart M'Coil, and you are well aware of what the offenco of enilwui^ment consists. If money comes into "the possession of a «U rk or collector, or other person. authorised to receive monoy, and he neglects to hand it over to his employer—that constitutes embezzlement. Formerly, the offence was merely a fraud, but by a'scries of sta : tutcs which have been in existence for nearly a century, it has beta made equivalent to larceny. That, gentlemen, is the simple list of cases you have to dispose of.

THK SUOOTINO -CASK AT .ST. HATHA>\S.I v t John Ewi'ng, who was committed at the I Inst Criminal' Sittings of the Court, on the I charge of shooting; a .Chinaman, with intent 'to do grievous bodily harm, and who had I Slab been released on hail, now came- forward to receive sen ten cc IMr Stout, counsel for the accused, ro- ; minded 'His Übnonr that witnesses as to character were called at the trial, otherwujo they would have been called now ; also, that the jury recommended Ewingto mercy. In reply to the usual question. Kwing said ho had nothing to say why the sentence of the Court should not be passed upon him, but ho wished to make a. few remarks in mitigation of the severe punishment which was usually, inflicted in such cases. He canic to this Colony when quite a youth, ten years ago, and he had since been engaged in mining pursuits. He had worked in one ! neighbourhood for eight years. By Kbeadinees and perseverance he had accumulated considerable property, and had spent a great deal of money in connection with mining, lie was owner of a claim in which ho employed four men. About three months prior to the 26th November, gold robberies . m the neighbourhood where ho resided became frequent. He told the jwlice and ndvised his neighbours to keep .watches. The clihnhnlderß accordingly - set watches. He aiio told the agent of the Bank alwuit the robberies. Although gold in its natural state was pretty nuich alike, in his there was a peculiar kind of noml, and the agent of the Itank twice allowed him some gold which had been offered by a Chinaman for sale, ami which was mixed with sand of that description. It had been generally Htatt;d that Chinese, under certain circumstances, were-" very dangerous characters, and that they had frequently stabbed people. His (Kwmg'a) claim wav situated in a very lonely place. It was nvohlight when the ofTence was committed, and he never dreamt that Clriuamen would attempt to commit a robbery on a moonlight night. When the alarm wan raised, and he seized a guv and fired (the gun usually bdng in the possession of the man who watched at the utaim), he waa under the impremioa that there1 was a number of Chinamen near, find that the man who had been watching was in danger The ground, too, was of a nature ao rnpgwl that a large number of Chinamen might havo been in the immediate' neighbourhood------withiw a few yards, in fact —without his seeing them. His Honour: I have no reason whatever to doubt the truth of your statement. I daresay that, encouraged by previous prejudices, your animosity against Chinamen in general may have.been, excited by the pilfering habits of the persons about you, and there appears to be no doubt that this man —this particular Chinaman—bad been guilty of pilfering, Ixxsuse he was convicted by the Magistrate. Therefore lam dJHposed to bel ieve every worcL- of you r 'etaX^tßSnt; but you must bo aware thafc you are not entitled to take the law into your own hands. The peculiarity of the case is this, that although in a moment of excitement yon committal this offence^ ami imagined, from the broken character of the ground, that there were other Chinamen in the neighbourhood, it was not dark ; ifc was daybreak, and you had time to look around you and ascertain the true state of the cafto. The other feature is that your companion, i Leonard, acting alone, found his own j strength suffiVcut to bind the Chinaman, ! and that, at the moment you fired, the Chinaman was partially bound ; your comj panion was dragging him along. It appears therefore that yon were two to one ; there ■was no necessity for firing. I shall teke into consideration the recommendation of the juiy ; they did not assign any reason, but that I can conjecture. First of all, there is the testimony as to good character, and fcUere is no doubfc there was provocation, 'but not sufficient to justify an act of this description. That may have entered into the minus of the jury, and bo they recommended you to mercy. To such recommcndatimiß lam in the habit of payiug attention. : The prisoner; Will your Honour penult me to stite whatoneof the jurymen said in the atrcet V .. . . . . His Honour: No; we, cannot even take the evidence of a juryman on oath regarding what takes place in the jury box. It is sufficient that they have recommended you to mercy, itflucJi recofliffiendntion I treat with rcspeei Tito other cfaamsfcincc-in your favour is, that you acted suddenly— you appear to have lired in a moment of excitement, almcst immediately after emerging fio:n your house or but; but it is a very wise part of our law, that when Cliinnincn come into the country, they, like others, arc liable to tho laws of the country ; if, therefore, they commit an offence, they arc plumbed—and; aa a compensation, they are protected by the law, of \ihioh fact you, an intelligent, and, I am bound to say, respectable, man, must have been aware. Chinamen are entitled to the same protection which the law grants to any other of Her Majesty's subjects. Ido not intend to inflict a heavy punishment, but it is necessary thafc f c Jaw should be vindicated. The sentence of'the Court is. that you be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for a period of eighteen month*, That incaps-twelve mouths, as yojx are awareif '' .fsrKjUiiKt; ulists, Joseph,, Capstfck, 24, was indicted for having, -on the 2'Mh Jane last, 'utolen eit'ht hides; the property of Mr William Bridgman, tanner, Caversham. The case for the Crown was, that on the 28th June, WjJliaih Cook,- carter for the prosecutor, obtained seventeen hides from Mr Wilson, Maori HUI/ for Bridgman, * fiy whose premises Cook took them. Some of the, men at the tannery ; cut off the ncckfpicceß from the hides, otherTvise they -were'lcft' iir the same state as when placed there'*by Cook. On the fotlowing ' mormnjr'cjjht"of lli'c Tildes were missed, and they' >w«fe wibßWiiiently found on tho premises of Messrs Murray, Itoberta, und Co-,, Princes street,,to whom they had been sold at. 16a &-pi©cc- The-hides were; easily identified, and although the-prisoner had told Detective Farrell that he obtained them at Lake'.)Vakatip three weeks previous to wiling them to ifewra .Murray, ,tlol>erti aud Co., it would be shewn that this could not bd tlie"caeel-)''-'' . '-. -'! ? The first witaeew called was William Cook, and he denied, iri answer to aqnestibn. by the prisoner^ that he {the prisoner) paid Mm £4 four tbe-*igUfc pide*. Ti»d>ther yi^nesses; examined were Williom Bridgman, tanner, and the storentan for Messm Morray!,. Roberts, and Co., who stated that 10a a-picce was 1 not a low/.'tirJoe /or the hides ; he^uld. buy hides at a: less pnee. Tie price, in fact^ depended upon the quality of > the liidea. ■ Detective Farrcll and, Mr f WiJspn^ "Maori Hill.* *w*»e also examinee!: • ''". :\ ± j ~. Tho jury found the prisoner Guilty »_ aftcfr a brief cpnwlt*tion, wy.hout;leayingtbehjoai His Honour: The jury'have found *you guilty on evidence that could leave no doubt on the minds .of any reasonable men. 1 have no doubt about the matter' myself, arid ? i approve of tfap verdict; Yon aeern, to -«avie attempted, in the cross-examination of tha{ witness Cook, to cast' gmUi npok^Eim, top , .■ . - ■Jrv- ■ ■*%•?. ,rx :s |«

' you asked him whether lie had sold you thaeight hides. Ho answered "No," and his answer was effectually confirmed by Bridgxuan, for tho answer of that witness to tho very first question \va» that Cook actually took the hides to his premises. That attempt of yourßj, therefore, to fix guilt upont Cook, failed. The sentence of the Court in that you bo imprisoued for twelve calcndarinontlw. ATTKMITIMJ TO t'OMMIT SLMCIHE. Ann Sutherland, wife of Mr William. Sutherland, tailor, Dunedin, pleaded guilty to having attempted suicide. After His Honour hail made n few admonitory remarks, the accused entered into recognisances to appear when called upon, and was discharged, her husband becoming surety in the sum of £100. FOROKKV. Hytnan Cohen pleaded guilty to forging* the endorsement of Messrs "Wilson and Matldox to a bill of exchange, and uttering the same, with intent to defraud. The prisoner was remanded for sentence. KMJTIKZZI.KMKNT. Henry Stewart M'Coil wns charged witk embezzling the fium of £5 His KM, the property of the General Road Board. Then; were two other counts, charging tho prisoner with embezzling money b«!on ( <?jng to the Stoney Creek Road Board, and other money belonging to the Chairman and members of the Stoney Creek Road Board. Mr Taylor dofendod the prisoner. The case for the Crown was that tho prisoner was appointed as clerk of tho Stoftey Creek Road Board in August, 1871. and collector in tho month following. His salary in respect to this office wns i'G per annum. Of course his wbolo time was not titkon up collecting money for tho Board, because tho entire mm which had to bo collected only amounted to £35 7s 3d, so that of that sun* the former waa considered a fair proportion. The prisoner had a 1 so held the I office of schoolmaster. On the 18th Oc--1 tober. 1871, tho General Road Board granted permission to tho Local Board to levy a rate of 2d per acre, and issued a precept for the collection of that rate, and authorising the prisoner to collect it.' The prisoner received a cheque for £.1 lCs 10d from Messrs Brycc Bros., ratepayers, and tho prisoner's dnty as collector was to pay that amount to Mr Arihur Calder, the treasurer to the Stoney Crcuk Road Board ; but instead of doing bo, ho handed it to a Mr Nicholas, .stationer, i« liquidation of a debt which ho had incurred ff.r stationery in his capacity :is a schoolmaster. The amount owing to lS'kholas was £\ KJs Bd, and the prisoner received the balance. Ultimately, the prisoner was requested by the Board to pay the money, * period within which payment should be made being nntned. Instead of paying the ■ money, however, ihe prisoner resigned him appointment as schoolmaster, and after having tried to borrow J25 fnin a friend to mpet bin engagements, he left Stoney Creek, telling his friend that he intended to go to Ban Francisco.

Evidence was taken shewing that the prisoner by letter had stated his intention of paying certain sums to tho credit of the Board at Balcliitha, but that he failed to da so. It was admitted by one of the witucrae**, in cross-examination, that originally there was no time specified for the paynn nt of the money, and that the prisoner was allowed to> purchase stationery for the use <>f ihe Board, and deduct it from the amount collected.

Mr Taylor, in addressing tho jury for the prisoner, contended that inasmuch as the Board had allowed the prisoner to pay debts owing by them, they were not justified in expecting him to account for any specific sum. The evidence 1, he said, went to shewthat tho account between the prisoner and the Board was simply a debtor and creditor account. The Board had allowed the prisoner to deal with their funds. It wan not denied that the money hail Iwen received, but there had been no felonious intent. The true state of the matter was this : the prisoner was allowed to pay account*) with the money of tho Board, ntfrf be"wits'only bound to account for the balance. It should also be remembered that tho Board owed the prisoner £G for salary, and that on attetnjnVljadl been made to convict him for neglecting to pay the sum of £5 Kin 10d, although more than, that amount waa owing to him by the Board. -

His Honour, referring to tho fact that no special time had been fixed for the payment of the moucy by .tho prisoner to the Board, pointed out that it would be a question for tho jury to d«cido whether the prisoner had retained possession of tho money only a reasonable time. The account, too, which the prisoner defrayed with the money of his employers, waa not for stationery obtained on their behalf, but for school-books and other things which he required. The jury should also bear this in mind, that a person employed by another waa not at liberty t* help himself to his mdnry. If a master failed to pay a servant his salary, the latter had a legal remedy. A servant had no right to appropriate money merely on-the ground, that it was due to him.

The jury, after having deliberated for about three quarters of .an' hour, returned a. verdict of Guilty, hat recommended the prisoner to mcrcv, "on account of the loose manner in which the Rnwl Board appeared to have kept their I woks.'! . i Prisoner's counsel intimated that he would 'call witnesses as to 'character on th^jfollbwing day, and sentence was conic<jtden"tly"i(7fv ferred. '

The prisoner plemlcd piiilty to two other charges, namely, embezzling £9 7b Bd, ami 17b 2<l, the property of the General Road Board

The Court adjonmcd until next day at )0 a.m. - . .-..■.'•..