Resident Magistrate's Court.

Southland Times, Issue 4860, 11 February 1884, Page 2

Resident Magistrate's Court.

. «. . Saturday, 9th February. (Before H. McCulloch, Esq., R.M.) DRUNKENNESS. John Whitly was fined Ll, or in default, 48 hours' imprisonment, for having been drunk. LARCENY. William Price was charged with having stolen a quantity of paper from the News office, of the value of 4s. Robert Gilmour gave expert evidence as to the quality of paper produced. It woa the wiqe aa a

sample, also produced, of tho paper used in the office; the slight difference in the shade was produced through one having suffered ■. from exposure. There was no other paper in town Bimilar to that used in the News office/it being of a peculiar sine. Witness also' identified in a similar manner another "size of paper used in the News office for j printing the weekly paper. He hid.no hesitation in Baying that the size used for the daily paper could not be procured elsewhere in New Zealand, : as it had been specially cut. To accused : "Had 'given him a quire of paper for bill posting, but none of this particular size.-—lse-tective Ede deposed that on the accused being arrested he said he had bought the paper from the News office. The witness produced samples of paper obtained from different sources and gave evidence thereon. — J. Feldwick deposed that the paper produced was part of some made specially to his firm's order. The paper was imported for them, and he knew of no other paper published in the colony of the same size. It was not customary for them to sell the papery but he believed the clerk had sold some! The paper alleged to have been stolen was worth about 4s. Had seen accused about the office, but it was not with witness's sanction that ha was there. ". The paper was kept in a storeroom next tbe machine room, and when the machine was working a person could easily enter the. storeroom and not be heard by any of the workmen. — James Thomson, printer, gave, corroborative evidence. — Mrs Neiderer deposed that she had been purchasing waste paper accused since the beginning of .January. In the paper there were frequently clean white sheets, which sue took out and kept apart. Had given up allthe paper to Detective Ede. — E. Rogers, '.lerk in the News office, deposed that on three occasions he had sold paper, to the accused. On sth January sold him two quires of jw-hite paper, and one day last week ; six sheets of a paper quite different iv size from any of those produced. Had sold him two quires about nine months /ago, but it was of a different quality to what was now used. — Accnsed said that he used white paper for bill posting. He got some himself, and was frequently supplied with it by theatrical agents. It* often occurred that he had quantities over, and they accumulated. He had never taken any paper from the office except, what had been given him. — His Worship^ did not consider the acccused had accounted for his possession of the quantity of paper, seven quires, allegad to have been stolon," and therefore sentenced him to two months' imprisonment, with hard: labor. . ."'