CRIMINAL SITTINGS. INVERCARGILL, March 4.

Otago Witness, Issue 2556, 11 March 1903, Page 28

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. INVERCARGILL, March 4.

At the Supreme Court to-day two young fellows named Wm. Little and Fred Rodgers were charged with assaulting and robbing Maurice Gorman on a train between Thornbury and Makarewa. Prosecutor had £11 in notes on him. He is an old man, of peculiar disposition, and got into an altercation with accused, which ended in a scuffle on the floor of the carriage, Rodgers on top, and some blood flowed. At Makarewa Gorman got off the train, threw himsi'lf on the ground, and cried that he had been robbed. About the same time Rcdgers handed to one Shields what he took to be paper money. Shields, hcaiing Gorman's complaint, suspected it was his money he held, and wished to hand it badk to Rodgers, but was* told to keep it till next day, and that it was not German's money. Farther .on Shields got Rodgers to take back the notes. Soon after some children found two five and one pound notes in a matchbox in the cattle stop at Grasmcre, the first station from town. No one knew what banks Gorman's notes were on, but those found were of tho same denomination. Shields's evidence was only extracted from him piecemeal at three sittings of the lower court, his rcaton for reticence being that lie was afraid he might inc.iminate himself. His Honor, referring to Gorman's cantankerous behaviour, sa:d the charge of assault was weak, and the jury found both accused not guihy of both charge". March 5. At the "Supreme Court, Carl Hertz was acqujttc:! of an attempt to commit an unnatural offence, also of indecently assaulting a boy in a country hot,el. Accused, who v, as undefended, gave evidence that after playing cards and drinking with the landlord and othpri ho went to a room shown him by the landlord, in which the latter's two boys occupied a bed. Having taken too much liquor, he stumbled in tßkiupc off his clothes, and fell across the boys' bed, and they thereupon raised an outcry. The verdict was received with applause. The charge against Rosanrah M'Coy, of alleged stealing of £21 from a house she visited, was not finished when the court rose. March 6. At the Supreme Court. Rosannah M'Coy, charged with Ftealing £21 and a cash-box from under the mattress of a bed in a country house, was acquitted Counsel made a vigorous onslaught on the ju-tic?o who refused bail to the girl when there was not a tittle "of c\idrnce preferred by the pohce. His Honor said it was wrong to lock her up for a wee-k in such circumstance*. The alleged offer.c-2 was not serious enough to warrant such a cour-e. NEW PLYMOUTH, Ma-oh 5. The trial of Walter Smit'i on a charge of puirder was continued till 10 o'clock tonight, when the case for the prosecuMon closed. The judge and jury wore willing to proceed, but counsel for the prisoner (Mr Wo=ton) point b'.anb refused to open his ca=o after being engaged for 12 hours consecutively. Eventually the jury agreed to a.ijr.uru, and were locked up for the night. The case will be resumed to-morrnw mo.-n-A feature of the day's prcccedinors was the searching cross-examinotion of one Df the witnesses for the Crown relative to his past career. The revelation were somewha sensational. ' A movement is on foot in Christchurch to erect a memorial to the late Hon. W. Rolleston, and a meeting of citizens has been convened to consider the question. A crusade en the growers and sellers of disoased fruit hao been started by the Melbourne autho.-uies. and a number of ihem were recently fined in tho District Court.