SUPREME COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16928, 14 February 1917, Page 2

SUPREME COURT

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. (Boforo His Honor Mr Justice Sim.) Iho quarterly criminal sittings of tho Supremo Court commenced yesterday morning boforo His Honor Mr Justice Sim. Grand Jury. The following Grand Jury was sworn in: Thomas E. Shiel (foreman), Willi am R. L. Bird, Claud T. Lee, George A. M'Gregor, James Auld, Arthur Jeffs, William Pryde, Henry 11. Wise, William A. Moore, Charles W. Williamson, James Dow, Andrew Given, Peter Johnson, John M. M'Arthur, Philip D. Garsido. Samuel If. Aburn, William G. North, Neil F. Mitchell, and Peter Boyd. His Honor's Charge. In his address to tho Grand Jury, his Honor said that the calendar on the present occasion comprised no less than eight cases, which was an usually largo number for Dunedin. Of these no less than four were oflbnees against females. The most serious of these was one in which two women were charged with using an instrument for an illegal purpose. His Honor outlined the evidence contained in the depositions in the lower court. Tho girl concerned was named v'ictoria Hughes, and tho persons charged were her mother (Mrs Hughes) and a Mrs Eadie. It appeared from tho depositions that Mrs I-lughes applied to Mrs Eadie, who undertook the matter. Tho girl was seriously ill for a time, but her life was saved by a doctor. A miscarriage took place. Thero was a written confession by each of the acoused. The Grand Jury would have no difficulty in finding a true bill against both women. Of course, so far as Mrs Hughes.was concerned she did not actually assist in any way, but in approaching Mrs Eadie as she did she had mado herself a party just as much as if she had actually assisted. There was another case in which two men were charged with a somewhat similar offence, an attempt to obtain a noxious drug with a similar end in view. Tho girl concerned was named Violet Ruby Blake, 16 years old, and the accused were her father and a man named Kean. The depositions sot forth that the father approached Kean. who undertook to procure tho drugs. His Honor read a lettex from Kean to Blake, showing that the drugs were obtained from a Mrs Towler in the Arcade. Sfo far as Kean was concerned a clear case seemed to be made out. and as far as Blake was concerned it seemed reasonable to think that what was done was done at his request. On the evidence the Grand Jury would be justified in finding true bills against both the accused. In another case a old man (Robt. M'Leod) was charged with committing an indecent assault on two little, girls (twins), years old. The Grand Jury could! return a true bill. The fourth of this particular diss of offences was a. case in which a bootmaker at Port Chalmers, a man named August Konkel, was charged with having carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 16. His Honor dwelt on tho main facts in the depositions, and said there could be no legal consent on the part of such a girl, and if she repeated the story she told in the lower court the Grand Jury would have no difficulty in finding a true bill. Of other offences against the person there was a case in which a man was charged with committing assault so as to cause actual bodily harm. The accused was named O'Brien, and the assault was on a man named Henderson. It appeared from the depositions that tho two men and a number of others were in the coffee stall at 11 p.m. on the date in question. They appeared to be more or less under the influence of liquor, and Henderson was talking in a silly way that annoyed O'Brien. Somebody struck a blow, knocking Henderson down, and he received concussion of the brain and a fracture of the base of tho skull, necessitating his removal to the Hospital, , where he had to remain some time. None of the witnesses called in the lower court could speak definitely as to who struck the blow, but when tho accused was interviewed by the constable he admitted that he did. If the Grand Jury was satisfied that O'Brien struck the blow it should bring in a true bill, leaving the question of self defence to be investigated by tho common jury. There was a somewhat curious case of forgery against a man named Thomas Tait in connection with a letter written to a newspaper under the name of another person. Tho accused, according to his own admission, wrote to the editor of the Otago Daily Times a letter purporting to be signed by A. Parkes, Hampden. What he did was to use Parkes's name without authority, and, on his own admission, seemed to intend that the letter should be acted upon as if genuine. On the admissions made by the accused tho case seemed to bo brought within tho terms of the statute, and it was the duty of the Grand Jury to find a true bill. The remaining cases were offences against property. In one case a man, John Webster, was charged with arson by setting fire deliberately to the premises of Messrs A. and J. Watt. There was no direct evidence of ,his having done so, but if the Grand Jury could accept' the statements made to the detectives and constable as amounting to an admission of guilt they would of course have no difficulty in finding a true bill. Then a young woman, Jean Tobin, was charged with stealing the sum of £40 from one Alfred Olsen The depositions stated that Alfred Olsen came from Hyde and cashed a cheque. On November 10 he went for a motor ride to Outram. When ho started out he had £40 in _ bank notes in his pocket. The car was driven by a man named Ebzery. Somewhere near the Queen's drive, Musselburgh. Ebzery saw the girl Tobin on the footpath, and invited her to go for a ride with them! Part of the way Tobin was in the front seat with Ebzery, and part of the time at the 'back of the' car with Olsen. They had some drinks at Green Island and Mosgiel, and it was obvious that before Olsen got back to Dunedin he was more or less under the influence of drink. The charge was that the girl took advantage of his condition to get the money from his pocket. Olsen complained to the Dolice. and on i the following day met the girl along with Ebzery, and ho said she admitted she 'had taken £5 from his pockot, and told him she would give it back to him. She gave back £4. Tho girl was interviewed by Constable Kelly, and mado a written statement in which she admitted having given £4? back to Olsen, but denied having stolen any money from him. saying that what die gave back was money ho had given her. Afterwards she mado a verbal statement to Constable Kelly different altogether, admitting 6ho had taken the money from Olson's pockety It seemed they would be justified in 1 finding a true bill as far at any rate as the £5 was concerned, if the evidence did not justify the charge in connection with £40. True Bills. The Grand Jury found true bills in all eases. In the charge against Jean Tobin, however, tho bill was brought in for £5, not £40 as mentioned in the charge. USING AN ILLEGAL INSTRUMENT. Jane ' Hughes and Ethel Eadie both pleaded guilty to procuring abortion and also to using an illegal instrument for that purpose. 'Mr Irwin, for the accused Hughes, said she was 53 years of age. When the girl Victoria Hughes found out that her mother know of her condition she became depressed and threatened _to do away with herself! The accused, being afraid she would do so', approached her'friend (Mrs Eadie), who, in a weak moment, undertook to do what she could. When it was found, after the operation, that things wore not going well, the accused immediately got a doctor, showing her thought was-for tho girl and in no way for herself. He would ask that his Honor treat the case as leniently as possible under the circumstances. The accused had brought up a family, had a very hard struggle, and had been a particularly, good mother. Had it not been for the girl threatening to' do away with herself the accused would never have taken the action she did. ,

For the accused Eadie, Mr Hanlon said she was 33 years of age, married, with four children, ranging from 4 to 8 years old. Sho had been a very good mother, and had done everything for them in the absence of her husband, who_ had been away for two or three years in Manila. The reports as to the accused's antecedents were good. As far as was known, this was her first offence, and in the circumstances he would ask such leniency as might be possible consistently with the interests of justice. She was a close personal friend of Mrs Hughes, and that was why Mrs Hughes approached her, and why she undertook to do what she did. Mr Hanlon stressed the point that the accused had not attempted to protect herself, though sho might very easily have done so. His Honor, after pointing out that the offence to which the accused had pleaded guilty was a very serious one, the maximum penalty provided being life imprisonment, with hard_ labour, said it seemed to him that, in view of all the circumstances, ho would bo justified in making the term of imprisonment a short one. The position would havo been altogether different if there had been any reason to suspect that Mrs Eadio was carrying on a business of the sort. As 'a matter of fact, she did receive £5 in this instance, but he would treat the case as ono in which there was no reason for suspecting ahe was carrying on such a business. The prisoners were both sentenced to six months' imprisonment on each of the charges against them, th© sentences to bo concurBen*.

A FOOLISH ACT. Thomas Tail; wsis charged that on or about September 27 ho did, at Hampden, commit forgery of a letter purporting to bo signed by one, A. Parkes. Thero wa3 a second count that, on or about the same date, knowing the aforesaid document to bo forged, he attempted to causo the editor pf tho Otago Daily Times to act upon it as if it had been genuine. Tho accused, Jor whom Mr E. P. Lee, M.P., appeared, pleaded not guilty. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr \V. 0. MacGregor, K.C.) said the prisoner lived at Hampden. On September 27 lie wrote a letter to tho editor of the Otago Daily Times concerning a,, returned soldier named Callaghan, but that letter, although written by the accuißed, was not signed by him in his own name, but in tho name of A. Parkes, Hampden, and was intended by tho accused to be published in the Times as beinsr a genuine letter from Parkes. After reading tho letter, Mr MacGregor said it was evident from its toDc that the accused had some dislike to the returned soldier, and asked the questions in the letter for the purpose of seeing Callaghan in the public press. It was obvious that the questions were maliciously put. They would have reflected _ gravely on Callaghan, and might have involved the newspaper in a libel action. Tho Crown Prosecutor proceeded to state how tho editor of tho Daily Times wrote to_ Mr Parkos, pointing out certain matters in connection with the statements in the letter. Mr Parkes, of course, could not understand what it was all about, and as the result of his reply the matter was put in the hands of the police. A. Parkes and Detective Sergeant Kemp gave evidence. The accused snid that certain statements wore going about in regard to Callaghan; he did not believe them, and wanted them substantiated. Tho statements in the letter were not his own; they were tho statements going about. He wanted tho letter signed ' Deceit," not Parkes. Mr Leo: But you intended to mislead the editor with regard to who sent the lettor.—l suppose that is really what it meant. The accused added that his intention was to clear up matters in the interests of the soldier. . His Honor, in summing up, read tho section of the Act bearing on false documents, and said a false _ document meant ono tho hole or a material p&rt of wViioAv purported to bo made by a person who had not authorised tho making of it. That description clearly applied in tho present case. It was admitted by Tait that, he made the document -and know at the time that ho was not authorised to do so. ,To convict tho accused, however, tho jury must bo satisfied he made it with tho intention that it should he acted upon as genuine. Well, ho sent tho letter to tho editor of the Daily limes, and admitted to tho detective that ho intended it should bo published in the paper. Whether that brought the matter within tho meaning of the Act was tho only point on which tho jury could have any doubt at all. So far as the question of motive was concerned, that did not matter in the least. It was, of course, open to the jury to make any recommendation it liked. The mere fact that it was not a serious case or struck them as trivial was not a reason for not convicting tho accused. The jury retired at 2.10 p.m. and returned at 2.40 with a verdict of guilty, and a recommendation of leniency. Mr Lee asked for probation. His Honor, however, said it was a case where it wouJd be sufficient if tho accused paid the expenses of the prosecution. It was an act of foolishness on the accused's part, and if he paid the expenses as a fine that would be sufficient in the circumstances. The accused was accordingly ordered to pay the sum of i/ 9. NOXIOUS DRUG. John Blake and John Ivean were charged with, at Berwick, attempting to supply a noxious thing to Violet Ruby Blake. Mr lianlon apeared for Blake and Mr Scurr for Kean. Both the accused pleaded guilty. Mr Han lon, for Blake, said that he was an old man (76 years), and had boon in Now Zealand for 10 years, during which he bore a. blameless rccord. His wife ran away from him with another man 11 or 12 years ago, and left him with two little girls and a boy. One of tho girls had married and tho other had gone to spend a holiday with her and had got into trouble—it was suggested at the hands of the brother-in-law. The. father under the circumstances was nearly distracted. Had the idea of getting the drugs not been suggested to him while he was in this state he would never have thought of procuring them. The stuff was quite harmless, and had done the girl no injury. He submitted that under all tho circumstances the couirt might extend probation to the accused. Mr Scurr, for Kean, said tho accused was a clean living man, living in perfect amity and quite happy with his wife at Berwick. It was only the keen persuasion of Blake— really an old man's tears —that induced him to consent to get tho drugs. He had enlisted and was to have joined the 26th Reinforcements. Mr Scurr suggested that Kean also might come under the provisions of the Probation ActMr MacGregor said the police report on both men was that they bore unblemished characters. Mr lianlon said in that case there would be no need for him to call a number of witnesses who had voluntarily offered to give testimony as to Blake's good character and his Honor agreed His' Honor said that had Blake been a younger man it would have been his duty to sentence him to a term, of imprisonment. He had lived a blameless life for 40 years and in face of the fact, also, that no harm had resulted from the use of tho drugs, ho thought ho would be justified in ordering the accused to come up for- sentence. Having dealt with Blake in that way he would deal with the other accused likewise, and what induced him also to act in that way was tho fact that he had volunteered to fight for his country and would, no doubt, carry out that intention. He would order both the accuspd to come up for sentence p.t any time during tho next three years. The accused, however, should reimburse the country ■for th" _ cost it had boon put to in tho prosecution. Each accused was accordinglyordered to pay the sum of £8 7s. ° INDECENT ASSAULT ON CHILDREN. Robert M'Leod, an old man, was charged with indecent assault on two little twin girls at Musselburgh on January 26. The accused plfsided not guilty. There was a separate charge in respect of each child, and each was dealt with before a separate jury. The evidence, however, was the same, the alleged offences taking place at the same time.

Tho facts wore outlined by the Crown Prosecutor, and the evidence of the children and t.hcir mother was taken. Mr MacGregor referred to the case as one of those becoming too common in the country. Detective Hammerly also gave evidence. The accused gave tho charges an absolute denial. One jury retired at 3.30 p.m. and returned at 4 with a verdict of guilty, accompanied by a recommendation to mercy on account of the prisoner's ago and the "fact that no actual bodily harm had been done to the children. Tho other jury retired at 4.15 p.m. and returned 20 miinutcs later with a similar verdict. The report of tho antecedents of the accused —a. single man—showed he had been previously convictcd erf false pretences at Christchurch, and was at present serving a term of 21 months' imprisonment on a series of charges of issuing valueless cheques in Dufaedin in January and also in July of last" year. It was only when arrested on tho charge of iVidecont assault that the other charges could bo sheeted homo to him. His Honor said that when a jury made a recommendation to mercy he always, if possible, gave effect to it. The difficulty in tho present case was that when an old man like this began committing these offences he really, constituted a danger to young girls, because one never knew when he might commit another. Such men were prone to continue them, and therefore, if the accused were sentenced to a term of imprisonment he would be prevented for a time. He would be sentenced to two years' imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to be cumulative and to commence at tho expiry of the man's present term.

A MOTOB ST?IN. > Jean Tobin, for whom Mr C. W. Scorr appeared, pleaded guilty to the theft of £5 from Alfred Olsen.

Mr Scnrr said that the parents of the accused girl were very respectable people, and up till this unfortunate incident she had enjoyed a very good reputation. In her work and socially she bore a very good character. Sho had been a good girl in every way, spending her evenings at homo with her parents and behaving herself altogether. The circumstances in the case were not the most pleasant. It appeared that the girl was led into accompanying the men in a drive in a taxi, and during the course of that drive a theft was committed. It was shown by the girl in her statement that she was prompted to commit the theft by the owner and driver of the car. The original charge was theft of £40, but the Grand Jury had found a true bill only in respect of £5, evidently taking the view that the girl's claim was the correct one by believing that the balance of the money was taken by somebody else. The accused girl had been ill and was out of work. There was also the fact that her home surroundings were good, and he would submit that she might receive the benefit of the First Offenders' Probation Act. fCha' Probation Officer (Mr JEV G.

mmg) submitted a favourable report, and tho Crown Prosecutor indicated that the polico report was favourable. His Honor : I suppose the polico have made inquiries ana are satisfied the money was there. Tho Crown Prosecutor said yes. Pie gave details proving it was practically unquestionable. His Honor: It might be desirable to consider whether this taxi driver ought to hold a license. Tho Crown Prosecutor said he understood that that matter was already under consideration. Ilis Honor said that the report of the probation officer was favourable. It was a case where tho prisoner should bo released on probation. She would bo so released for a term of three years, one condition being that she bo of good behaviour and another that she pay towards the cost of prosecution the sum of £9 10s. Mr Scurr pointed out that her present circumstances and those of her family made payment a matter of difficulty. His Honor fixed tho sum of £5 to be paid up by tho end of the year, and £4 10s by tho end of 1918.

In Asia Minor, the " leader " of a herd pi camels is frequently a dowkey—a much respected animal in the East. If the leader happens to fall ill, or bo absent from any 0 °. r . cansG > the herd almost invariably mutinies.