RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. FRIDAY, JUNE 23rd, 1865.

Colonist, Volume VIII, Issue 800, 27 June 1865, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. FRIDAY, JUNE 23rd, 1865.

Befobe J. Poynteb, Esq., R.M.

THE BANK .CHEQUE CASE.

John JEllis, was brought up under remand on a charge of obtaining money under false pretences by issuing a number of bank cheques without having funds to meet any of them. Additional eridence was produced.

Eobert Disher, landlord of the Trafalgar Hotel, deponed to cashing a cheque for £5 on Saturday evening the 17th, between six and seven o'clock. Prisoner gave part of the money to Mr. Fletcher, his clerk. Witness paid the cheque into his bankers on Monday, and it was afterwards presented at the Bank of New South Wales and dishonored. In crossexamination, witness said that, prisoner had two musical boxes in the hotel to be raffled for j but they were not left with witness as security for the money.

John Mitchell, clerk in the Bank of New Zealand, identified two cheques as having been presented by him at the Bank of New South Wales, and dishonored.

William Fletcher, clerk to prisoner, deponed to receiving £3 of the £5 paid by Mr. Disher to prisoner; and in cross-examination said that prisoner was expecting money from the West Coast. Witness did not know whether the bank was in the habit of allowing Mr. Ellis to overdraw his account, and in reply to Mr. Kingdon he said that had prisoner given him a cheque in payment of wages he would have accepted it, he had got one cashed the week before for £8.

Thomas Snow, storekeeper, deponed as follows : Last week, on the 15th of June, I received a cheque from fcJie prisoner for £9 11s. It was a post dated cheque, being dated 17th of June. I did not present it for payment because he stopped me in the street on ttie 17th, and requested me not to present it until Monday, the 19th, as lie had not sufficient funds to meet it. Tin's was about ten o'clock on Saturday morning. On Monday morning I sent my boy to the bank with the cheque, and the reply was that there was not sufficient funds. The cheque still remains unpaid. Cross-examined : I did not give prisoner cash for the cheque ; it was given to me in payment of a balance on his account. When he stopped me in the street, prisoner did not tell me that lie expected money from the West Coast. No such conversation passed. I have some indistinct recollection of his saying that he would have returns from sales that day. Mr. Pitt then called the following evidence for the prisoner, . Joseph Kempthorne, clerk in the Bank of New South Wales, deponed, remember a cheque for £30 drawn by prisoner being presented for payment at the bank on Ist June, about half-past ten in the morning. There were not funds to meet the cheque at that time but it was subsequently paid the same day about two o'clock. This cheque was presented by Mr. Gibson, and I told him when it was first presented that there were not sufficient funds. It is about a month since Mr Ellis had his pass book made up at the Bank. It could not be made np because he retained possession of it himself. I don't think he has enquired lately what his balauce was. He has occasionally been allow«d to overdraw his account.

Re-examined by Mr. Kingdon: It is some time since he was permitted to make the overdraft, and I had orders not to allow him to overdraw any more.

Mr. Pitt submitted that there was no case to go to a jury upon The Resident Magistrate was of a different opinion. The case he considered was one that ought to go to a jury, the fact that prisoner gave a draft for £9 11s. to Mr. Snow when he knew he had not funds to meet it, and told Mr. Snow that such was the case, shows that he went to these people, and got them to cash other cheques, which he knew ho had no funds to meet. Ho must be committed for trial. '

After receiving the usual caution, prisoner was about to make a statement but was prevented by his Counsel Mr. Pitt, whereupon he merely said that all the cheques would have been met that week, as he had money coming to meet them. Further evidence, that of James Howe, prisoner's storeman, was then produced regarding the cashing of thi £5 cheque by Messrs. Wilson and Richardson, reported in our last, and the prisoner was then fully committed for trial on all the charges.

Bail was allowed of two sureties in £30 each and himself in £50, for each of the charges.

Mr. Pitt asked a lower bail, as prisoner was suffering from rheumatic gout; and as there might be some difficulty in finding such heavy bail; the prisoner if confined in gaol would probably die.

The Magistrate declined to lower the amount of bail, which he considered was small in the circumstances.

MASTER AND APPRENTICE. Edward Gilbert, a lad of 17, was charged with absconding from the service of Mr. Robert Marten, cabinetmaker, without his consent. An agreement between the lad's father and Mr. Marten, agreeing that the boy should work for four years for certain wages, was put in by the complainant. Mr. Gilbert put in another document purporting to be a duplicate of the other, but which on examination was found not to be correct, and Mr. Gilbert asserted that besides other objections which he had to the case, the complainant could not proceed on such an agreement, as it was only an agreement to perform certain labor. The Magistrate said that Mr. Gilbert's signature was there, and as such there wa3 an agreement, but it was not an apprentice's indenture, and therefore complainant could not proceed under the Apprentice Act. If he wished to bring an action it must be brought in another form. Mr. Gilbert said the boy had been very ill-used, as Mr. Marten had contravened the agreement by obliging the boy to do domestic drudgery, make puddings, wash dishes, and even scour the floor. The chief point he insisted on was that which wns plainly stated in the agreement, that the boy was not to be employed in anything else but his trade ; but instead of that his son had to do the work he mentioned. The Magistrate said it was needless to argue the matter, as there was no case under the Act. He suggested that the parties should try and come to an arrangement.1 Gase dismissed. ';

The Southland Raiiway.—An offer has been made to finish both lines of railway, on condition of their being leased for a dumber of yeara. The Northern Railway, a portion of which is at present open, more than pays expenses.