SUPREME COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17936, 15 May 1920, Page 5

SUPREME COURT

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. (Boforo his Honor Mr Justino Sim.) 'Iho criminal sittings wore reaurned at 10.30 a.m. yostoiday morning. TlilfiliTS OF MUiNJSY. A youth IV youxs of ago named llobort Iltinry iiiouluo was bruug'ln, bolero ilia Honor fur senteiuw on live cnargee ot thut ot money belonging uo J. S. Sniclair. iLe liad pleaded guilty to tlieso uhaxges. Mi' Haalon, who appeared for prisoner, said tlu> youth wuri the oldest oi a lluuily of seven or eigilt, and up to tho present iiad bomo a clunnacUir. Mr bmaair hud rung up to aay so Prisoner seomod to havu swldaily derveloped a deairu to " out a dash" and to ride about in motoa: cars, 'i'lio money takiai bad beeai quant,- and tho parents, quit© rcspcctaiblo persons, oould wot repay it. Mr fionlon suggested Uiat prisoner should bo kept out ot gaol, and made to work in order tiuifc ho ruiglit pay up. Tho Probation Oilicor (Mr F. G. humming) staled that the Rev. E. A. Axvlaun was prepared to control tile youlli till he reacued tlio ago of 21. If he worked till then ho would be enabled to repay the stolen £135. Mr Axelsen notified hia readiness to take control of tho youth. His Honor accepted tho suggestion and ordered tho prisoner to bo released, on giving an undertaking to report to tho Juvenile Probation Ollic.er during a period of four years, mid make restitution, and pay tile costs uf the prosecution. • THEFT OF A HEIFER.. Thomas Collina was charged with stealing an Ayrshire two-year-aid heiier, valued at £15 lbe, the property of Tom Lewis. Accused, who pleaded not guilty, wua defended by Mr B. S. Irwin. Tho Grown Prosecutor stated that tho heifer stolen was grazing in a paddock belonging to John liall at Normanby wlien accused oame and asked Hallos youmg son to help Mm out with the heifer, which he' stated he had bought. They took the heifer to a paddock belonging to accused's brother. A few days later accused had this heifer with other cattle at Burmside yards and asked Stomach, Morris and auctioneer to soli it for him. It urea sold for £4 17s 6d to A. J. Ings, a Tomahawk farmer, who afterwards disposed of it to Warren, a dealer; and it was afterwords found by Lewis and by him and others. Appaently it was suggested for the defence that this heifer was one of four accused had bought at Lewis's sale in October, but as a matter cf fact Collins then received the four cattle he had bouglit, and at the time of tho purchase this particular heifcr was grazing at Lament's place at Mihnmka. The witnesses far the Crown were Tom Lfewis, Tom Lewis, jun., J. W. Lamont, P. J. Bellyer, Ernest R. Ball, Stanley Hall, Albert John Ings, Roes Douglas, and Detective Cameron. Mr Irwin, addressing tho jury, said that the colour and build of Ayrshire cattle were very much alike. They were much of a muchncss. Collins took has cattle away afte/r Lewis's rale, and they naturally would go baok to the place where they had been herding with oilier cattle. Hellyer said that Collins had been back several times. These cattle were going back, and he went looking for them, and wont to Hall's, iwid seeing this one, and believing it was his, he asked young Hall to help him out with it. If the hoifer had been stolen he would not have done tliat, and lie would not have taken it to a public salo. He had been satisfied that h© was taking bis own beast away. His Honor, in the course of summing up said the question, was whether accused when he took tho heifer out of Hall's pad dock honestly believed that it was one of the heifers he had bought at Lewis's salo in October. There was no direct evidence to show that accused had lost one of his heifers. The heifer had been calved on Lewis's farm and taken to Lament's farm, and why should accused expect to find it on Hall s farm? The jury retired at 12.45 and shortly after retirement woro provided with luncheon. This naturally protracted the sitting of the criminal session, and it was 2.45 o'clock before the jury returned with questions as to the conversation that had taken place between awused and Detective Cameron; and as to the relative distances of properties concerned in the caso. having been answered the jury again retired shortly before 3, and returned at 3.20, when tho foreman said that the jury found that it *Vaa quite clear _ that tho animal sold by accused was Lewis's heifer, but that, as there was a grave doubt oif ony l anminal intention on tho part of acctmod, a verdict of not guilty was returned. Accused was therefore discharged from custody, and the criminal sittings finished.