SUPREME COURT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20709, 6 May 1929, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

PRISONERS SENTENCED. Mr Justice Smith sat in the Supremo Court on Saturday morning for the purpose of passing sentence on the persons ■who had been convicted at the criminal sittings during the week, and those who had pleaded guilty to the-charges preferred against them. * INDECENT ASSAULT. William Ernest Mackie, who had pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent assault on females, was the first to apj pear. , I , G- J. L. White, who appeared for ; the accused, said he ventured to suggest that Mackie s crime sheet would speak more eloquently than anything he could say. ■ Ihe accused was 58 years of age, and came •of a pretty good family. He was a bard-working man so long as he kept away from drink, but be had been addicted to excessive indulgence in liquor almost throughout his Hfe. The man went to the war m 1915, and served-for three jears. He was engaged in the battles of Messmes and Passchendaele, where he received severe wounds. He returned to j.\ew Zealand permanently unfit, and seemed to have been an habitual drunkard ever since. He had been on “the Island ” no fewer than four times, including one period of two years. He had been away trom the Island” for only about six months, and since then he seemed to have been about town and taking methylated spirits. Since he was before the lower court he had been arrested and remanded for medical treatment. The accused had very little recollection of what had occurred, but it could be stated that he had no intention of doing any harm to the children concerned. It did not seem to be m bad case of its kind. Ihe accused bad pleaded guilty so as to avoid the necessity for the children appearing in court. Mr White said he proposed to hand in a letter from Mr U Duncan, a solicitor, who had known the accused for a member of years, and he intended to call Captain Anderson, officer in charge of the Salvation Army shelter, under whose charge the accused had been since he came from “the Island.” The speaker . suggested that it would be a pity to send the man to goal, but it was necessary that he should be placed under restraint. Some three or four years ago a ease which was almost identical came before the late Mr Justice Sim, and ally 011 "' 1 it was the second conviction, his Honor released the accused on probation on condition tha.t he remained in the salvation Army Home in Christchurch during the period of probation. If the' accused weye put in a home he would be Kept under restraint, and ho (Mr White) tic°e" Kht t lat "' oUld 3neCt the cnds of i us ‘ Captain Anderson stated that drink was the cause of Mackic’s present trouble, ihe accused must be kept under restraint d ' o C , qui . te in order for him to enter the Salvation Army Home at Addington. He would have to do a certain amount of work there, and he would not he . allowed do go out unless an officer accompanied him. Mr P. B. Adams (Crown Solicitor) confirmed what Mr White had said about what was done in an earlier case. He though,, the same course had been followed twice in the last four or five years. ?, , r f« arded as somewhat unusual, but the circumstances seemed to justify ■ In „ the Present -case the accused nas well connected, and his trouble seraicd to be duo to liquor and old age. tat Eonor: Is the accused willing to take out a prohibition order? Mr White: Yes. guiltv S i d thc ac , cl ! secl had pleaded but it char i ? M L °( indecent assault, t • JJ as dear that the girls were not lieveef ilm t t ?/"P ered ith - He quite betimod,lhj accused was drunk at the V™ 0 a P d did what he should not have matter rt tl O eSS ’ m- Was a very Reriotls ffiok tn tw the P’lh'm was entitled to look to the court for the protection of a on^h'Jt l^ 10 str - c^ s ' T ho accused had a. long list of convictions for drunkenness, which seemed to be his one failing; there Wlmt the c , onvic,t . iorls any kind, vvhat the accused required was a lenethv discipline. If he passed a rtsnbe a vrv n, rin S ?r rnenfc th « ternl Co 'ild not lengthy one. ; He thought the proper course to adopt was to admit thc accused to. probation for’five • yea ™ One out a lO bc tbat he Rllould take renew it f™ H lOll t ord ? r ft >rthwith and ‘that n tlme to . tln . le - Another was \rinv h d . W‘ n 1,1 the Salvation, home 1 « tL at s A i ( [I T- ?ton or such otll cr thmjght fit f Salvation Army officers t° place him in during the was th a t f fkJ° batlon ; , A third condition of the LI aC S UBed should P a J’ the costs i the prosecution, amounting to £5 4s k T< V ar of , hi ! Probation. The other, conditions of probation would apply. REFORMATIVE DETENTION. tcne' I o am a ’r.h meS appeared for senJlr 4 a f , cha ie c t of itidecent assault. I T Vr- .Hanlon (instructed by Mr nothing, J hat there 1 was S? 7? •&“ acter lalThi's "ilfe. 1 ' 3 ' 3 b ° rne a good char - said that the circumstances offcn.P iT® su r h tiiat > though the WnfV m,g M' bave fi 6oo dlle to sudden ffid P not I nlnJ t th aS dear.that the accused am not play the game in any wav. He lought that the probation officer’s view was Prebatmn could not be thought of the a °°:- v lO Vlew the fact that hn%vA. C n C i d fi ad no . Previous' convictions he would be ordered to bc detained for reformative purposes for a period not exceeding two years. • FALSE PRETENCES AND FORGERY brands B-ernard Francis appeared for sentence on two charges of false prefences finr] one of forpery, who appeared for the Sa ff that !t T lst be 'admitted t° wh] cb the accused had pleaded guilty were of a serious +w re ’ ’t woiild be conceded that Z e J, };' ere the result of extravagance, Rambling. or dnnkmp. TJie inonev seemed to have-been lost in businesses which the accused was carrying on. It was needless , 'l ct ;iils because a full , and Hank statement had been made to thc pohee. It might, however, be said that the accused started business in Dunedin as an estate agent and did so well that he foolishly embarked’in a motor business, little realising the amount of capital necessary to carry on ■successfully. He met :'.TfJ onl V ,IC T' a at first - and then went fhi/ buying, also doing well in this at first. Then he found that his business w-as on too large a scale for the amount of capital he possessed. After the war.there was a slump in house build=VnA™a C L I .i, " a !r tben t,lat tb® accused stooped to the offences with which he was charged. lie was a married man with four young children and prior to the offences had borne an irreproachable character. If he were spared imprisonment he would be -able to pay £2OO a year towards restitution Counsel hoped that the court would be abte to grant probation. Mr Adnins said that thc accused prior to the offences certainly did hold the position of a well-known and respectable citizen, Tho amounts involved in the charges weve very large, amounting altogether to between £3OOO and £4OOO. So tar. as the suggested restitution was conceriiod it would merely be a ease of robbing Peter to pay Paul.” The whole • ”bo_ accused s financial affairs were involved and were in the hands of the assignee. He had got himself into very deep financial wafers. After some discussion bv counsel on previous cases involving motor cars in winch the men who were charged had been fined, his Honor said that ho would have to deal with the rase as it appealed to him. Ho regarded the charges as serious. These companies, which were aliened by law, existed for the eon veil icnce ot people who required advances on motor cars, but there was a clear opening for dishonest people to represent that the care were free from any hire purchase agreement and to go to another company and borrow money on them. These companies tyere entitled to expect the utmost good faith, and the court had to protect ■that class of business. It was a m..iter of public importance and unless there could be some kind of inter-company checking the business presented very serious possibilities. The accused would be detained for reformative for a term not exceeding three years.

BREAKING AND ENTERING. Anthony Cabral and George Spiers, who were convicted on .Friday, on a charge of breaking and. entering the premises of Messrs White and Co., with intent to commit a crime, also came up ior sentenc . Mr Adame stated that Spicrs’s father was in court, and wisher, to say something about his son. .Mr Spiers stated that his son had been a good boy. all his life, but had been drinking very bar! lately. This was the first time lu had been in trouble-, and the speaker hoped his Honor would g.vc him a chance. If that were done the accused would be looked after.- He had been led away. by others. On one-occasion, said Mr Spiers, he and his wife had come down bo take out a prohibition order against the accused, but they could not find him at the time, and the matter was dropped. Mr White,, who ■ appeared for Cabral, stated that the accused was 26 years of age, and apart from some youthful escapades, he had not been in serious trouble since 1918. In 1920 he was convicted on a charge of having converted a motor car to his own . use, but it did not appear to have been a Very serious case, as he was merely ordered to come up for sentence. He had not been before the court on a serious charge since he was 15 years of age, and his family had informed him (--r Whits) that he had been on his best behaviour since then. He had been married for four .years, and the birth of -a child was expected very shortly. It seemed that quite recently he had given way to drink, which appeared to be his trouble at present. When accosted by Constable Excell in Spiers’s yard he was under the influence of liquor, and the-, were four bottles of beer under the seat of the car. The probation officer thought it was in the interests of the accused that he should be given a period of reformative treatment. That might be in the interests of the public, but ne (Mr White) failed to see how it could be in the interests of the accused, who seemed to_ be trying to make good despite the misfortunes of his youth. The speaker thought it said a great deal for the accused that he had not been in trouble for such a lengthy period. He was suspected of having been involved in the case in regard to Hudson's wheat, but there was no evidence of that, and .t could not be taken into account. His Honor; Oh, no, Mr White said_ that Cabral practically stood in the position of a first offender. He appearc to have been trying to make good. Mr Adams said that while in the case actually before the court it might appear .that Spiers would naturally be the ringleader, tl police view of the relations between the two was that Cabral was the ‘brains” of the party. It seemed that liquor was Spierss trouble, ii had fust made inquiries, and had been informed that the lorry belonged tc Spiers, and was held free of debt, which indicated that in the past he had been industrious and capable of attending to his business. He should be capable of doing much better than going astray as he had done. Mr Adams said he understood that if probation were granted to Spiers his father and mother would be suitable persons to look after him; providid that he was prohibited from taking liquor. That seemed to be essential if he were loft at lat’ge. The speaker said he understood that the conviction of Spiers meant .that his license as a public carrier would be cancelled on account of a fear of the continuation of similar offences. His Honor said that in view of the circumstances as presented to him that ; morning he was not quite clear aa to the course he should take. The accused would be remanded till Monday morning.