Supreme Court Sessions.

Southland Times, Issue 10198, 2 July 1889, Page 2

Supreme Court Sessions.

(By Telegraph.) Dunbdin, July 1. Harry Oonn, charged with infringing the conditions of the Probation Act, had his term extended for four months longer. James Johnson got two years' hard labour for uttering a forged cheque for L 7 on the Bank of New Zealand. The boy Otto Rainke, who has repeatedly absconded from the laduatrial School, was santenced to f our weekaMiard labour with eight day*' solitary confinement on a churge of bouaebreaking, the Judge saggesting that ho should.be charged with breaking away from the Industrial School so that he could be flogged, a remedy which Has not yet been teied on him. John Fitzgerald and Georj c Palser were indicted oa a charge of robbery. Palser was found guilty of robbery and Fitzgerald of receiving, the former being sentenced to two years and Fi fzgerald to 18moaths'. imprisonment. This closed the criminal business. Ohristchurch, July 1. The following sentences were passed to-day :— Henry Birmingham, for larceny, three years; Norman Augustus Hall, for forgery (two charge*), three years; William Rose, for forgery (two charges), five years ; Erasmas Jorgensen, for larceny, three years ; James 0. B&gnell, for' larceny, two years ; : Lillian Rinßley, for forgery, admitted to six months' probation. Anga«tuß May, who pleadfcd "Guilty" of larceny, will bo senteeced, to-morrow; John Neilson, accused of uttering a cpunterfoit half-sovereign, was acquitted. No bill was found against John Warren, accused of forgery; ■ Wellington, July 1. Mr Justice Richmond, in his address to the Grand Jury at the opening of : tbei criminal sessions, said the chief cases of interest were charges against a farmer of burning his own stacks with alleged intent to defraud tha Insurance Company ; the robbery of a safe from the Feildinjj Post Office, and the Kaiwarra murder. It was many years since so grave au offence as the latter had occurred in the district. The only question would bo whd did it. He would not attempt to go. into. the evidence, believing it would bo bettor to ba silent on the subject. The jary would have to confine themselves to soch cvi« denco as was put before them. The casa was one of circumstantial evidence only. In most mnrder cases of the worst clasa there was seldom an eye witness, and the evidence was therefore purely circum* stantial. True bills were returned against all the persons accused. Henry Duncan and Emily Olsen were acquitted of passing counterfeit coin, and a second charge against Duncan also failed. Richard Taylor was fonnd guilty of stealing L14 12s from R. C. Neville, who had taken com passion on him when without money and gave him food and shelter in bis house. Sentence was deferred. The Kaiwarra murder trial is fixed for Monday.