SUPREME COURT—Criminal Sittings. THIS DAY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 9670, 12 April 1893, Page 2

SUPREME COURT— Criminal Sittings. THIS DAY.

Wednesday, April 12.— Befoie His Honor Justice E. T. Conolly. Tho half-yearly sittings of the Supreme Court were opened on YVednesday. His Honor took his scat at 11 a.m. GRAND JURT. The following Grand Jury was empanelled :— J. Armstrong, C. F. Atkinson, J. G. Arthur, H. Brown, E Broad, W. Cottier A. Drake, A.C.Fo kes, A. D. Gray, M. J. Jones', J. Kelly, H. King, J M« Lightfoot, F. J. Mace, H. S. Matthews, T. Jone«, D McAllum, C.T. Mills, A. Shuttleworth, W. T. Small, J. Skinner, R. S. Saddler, F. L. Webster. Mr Browa was chosen foemao. HIB HONOR'S CHARGE. His Honor in charging tho Grand Jury said that the cases that would be brought before them were not many in number, but it was peculiar that very few of them were of the ordinary character ; in fact in regard to some of the caseß he belioved that they were the first of their kind that had been prosecut' d in the colony. There were three cases of an ordinary character. First there wns an indictment against a, person for larceny frou a dwelling, the offence being practically admitted. Then thore was i charge of burglary, tho offonoo in this case being also practically admitted. Tho third case was that of forgery and uttering of a cheque. Jn this case prisoner was employed by tho prosecutor, from whose cheque book the cheque was missed, but not at tho time it was supposed to have been taken ; in fact it appeared as if prosecutor had been caroless with his cheque book. The prisoner left on Janu ry 28, and tho same day the cliequo whs caahe 1 , the signature i eiog a good enough iniit tion of prosecutor's signature to lead a person to cash it. When the cheque was taken to tho Bank, the forgery was, however, discovered. It was for tho Grand Jury to consider whether there was evidence that prisoner had forged the cheque, and aso that he uttered it. If they were satisfied on these points then it would be their duty to return a true bill* His Honor then said there were five indictments for makiug false declarations v der "Tho L- nd Act, 1835," before a Justice of the Peace, t.io Act declaring tho same to be n miademoanor. Tlid Act providcH - : for.-- tho ■ making of certain declaration when applying for land, the applicant declaring that ho ia not the occupier including the land be is applying iorofa certain quantity of land, and if a persons signs contrary to that condition then the Act makes it a misdemeanor. There were four charges against Hendy, who was indicted for making four false dcclarationflon July 12, 1890, in respect to four separute applications for leasehold. Accused made a declaration that includ ing Hie land he applied for he did not occupy 640 acres of first class or2ooo acres of second-class land. Tho four declarations although of the same nature, were taken separately, because if applicant had beensuccceb''ul in any one of them he would have exceeded the quunt'ty of land he was ectitled to occupy, The blocks that were applied for were 720, 900, 820, a,nd 830 acres in area respectively. Hia Honor then referred to the evidence in the cases. He Fuid that it would appear that accused held fivo leases and three freeholds, of the total oxtent of 1369 acre*, and if he had been successful, in any one of tho applications, then it would appear that accused would have held an excess of land. If they were Hatiofied on the points that a false declaration had been made, then it would bo their duty to return a true bill. If a true bill were found, there were other matters :hat would, pet haps, be brought forward, euch os that the accused was misled in certain matters, or that he had no fraudulent inten'. Thest were, however, not matters for them to consider, but whether the accused did at the time he made the declaration occupy, including the land he applied for, a quantity of land in excess of the area allowed by Act. His Honor then referred to the case against J. F. Pease, which was similar to tho other ca.es he had referred to. His Honor, in cf nclusion, referred to a case of perjury which might be brought before them. In this case the accused person had had a civil action against the prosecute-, heard before the District Judge at Haweia. A charge of perjury had emanated from this case, and had been heard before Justices at Hawera, who had refused to commit the accused for trial. [His Honor then defined what constituted perjury, and what was required to prove it.] He pointed out that the peculiarity of tbe case was in the fait whether tl;oy could arrive at a diffo rent conclusion to what tho Justices had. The Grand Jury then rotired. True Bills. — True bills were returned aB under :—: — Nicholas Collins Stitchbury, forgery and uttering ; Rebecca Hannam, larceny ; Ruru, burglary.

FORGERY AND UTTERING. Nicho'as Coll ns StUchbury. a lad about 16yearB old, was charged with the forgery and uttering of a cheque in the name of R, O'Donovan on January 28, 1893. Ho pleaded guilty. Mr R. O'Donovan at His Honor's request stated that the lad came to him from Auckland recoinmonded by a labour agent. Witness left his olienue book in a tent at the camp where the lad was employed. His Honor : I see it is a good imitation of your signature.

Witness : It was not considered so at the Bank.

Inspector Thomson in roply to a qucs tion from His Honor statod that the lad's father w&s a respectable roan in Auckland, but owing to tho father being reducoil in circumstances the lad had been compel le 1 to go out to work.

His Honor, in sentencing accused, said the caso was a difficult one to deal with. If accused had been younger he would have aout him to a reformatory, but ac cused was too old for that course. In view of the report before him he could not admit accused to probation, for from that report prisoner had a bad record in Auckland, and His Honor wondered at a labor agent recommending him to anyone. His Honor then pointed out the seriousness of prisoner's crime, and sentenced him to 12 months' imprisonment.

ADMITTED TO PROBATION. Rebecca llannam,& middle aged woman, pleaded guilty to the charge of the larceny of a quantity of goods from tbo Rahotu Hotel on March 6.

His Honor said that he had receive I a letter that morning signed by prisonor. He asked prisoner if she hud sent the letter.

Prisoner, who \yus sobbing, replied that \iot husband sent it at hoT-wwli, His Honor here read tho lettor. The husband, at His Honor's request, then got in the b x, and bogan to cry. Ho said that his wife had got into this trouble through nis bad temper and drinking habits. His Honor expressed tho hope that Hannam would prove a hotter husband in tho future. Witness : By God's help, I will. Dr O'Carroll gave ovido cc that ho had attended the woman, He hud always known her as an honost woman,

bVgoant Duflin also gave tho prismor a good char ctor.

His Honor then admitted prisoner to probation for 12 months.

ALLBOED BURGLARY. Runt, a native, was charged with committing a burglary at iho Moturoa Hotel on March 15. Mnjor Brown interpreted Prisonor pleaded not guilty. Mr Standish prosecuted. Prisoner was not represented by CounßoK

The following jury was empanelled :—: — S. Rundle, H. J. Richardson, T, Sole, jun., T. G. Sole, T. Sparglo, J . Gibson, G. Tunnecliffe, junr., C. B Gabb, 1. Elliot, A. F. Dugdale, W. Cunningham, and F. Austin. Mr Gabb waa chosen foreman. Mr Standish called

W. J. Honey field, licensee of Moturoa Hotel, who stated that accused slept at hia place on March 15. He did not see Ruru next inornin?-, and could not say when he left the house. Witness found that the "window "of the b>r had beon forced, and "a sum of money taken out of the till. He saw Ruru near Mr N. Kings mart a few days subsequently, and asked him about the affair. After some talk Ruru asked another native to lend him some inoDey t > pay witness for what was taken, but the other native would not do so. Constable Rediean afterwards arrested the prisoner. Prisoner asked witness a number of questions. Constable Rediean said that Ruru made a voluntary confession to him. Ruru said he had broken the pane of glass, put back the catch, opened tho window, got inside the bar, took thirty shillings in silver out of the till, and sp nt the money in beer. Tho Court here* adjourned till 2 o'clock.

BUTTER MARKET IN ENGLAND. The London correspondent of tho Dunedin Star writos, under the date February 24th, re* ecting . tho butter market al Home, as follows : — There has boeu little movement in the butter market since last I wrote. Prices remain at about tho same level though sales are somewhat easier to effect. The weather haR continued unfavorable. I have bo often cautioned shipoora anont direct consignments of largo -quantities of both butter and c'^eeso that I scarcely like to run on that lack aga'n. However, as the practice seems to have been on the increase this year, it may not be out of place to embody the following particulars of an ( auction sale of Australian and New Zea j land butter, hold at Bri to!, on Thursday, February 16. I cannot vouch for the absoluto accuiacy of the figures, but they were takeu on the spot by a reputable man, and one in whom I have perfect faith. The result of the sale is a pointed sequel to the experiences of a large Victorian house, and also to thoso of a New Zoaland shipper who Bont goods to Bristol on the strength of attractive promises, and in spite all that has been said and written with regard to the danger of overloading provincial towns. In all 2,078 boxes wao put up for auction, comprising eighteen well-known brandp. Of lot 1, 113 boxes were offer- d, of which 10 sold at 89s per cwt Lot 2 : 64 boxes — 20 sold at 953. and the remainder at 89s Lot 3 : 52 boxes (was withdrawn). Lot 4 : 86 boxes 20 sold at 88s. Lot 5: 93 boxos —10 sold at 84s fid and 10 at 80s Lot 6: 112box«j— lOat 90a, 10 at 86*, and balance at 85s. Lot 7 : 452 boxes — 20 sold at 90s. Lot 8 : 139 boxeß— lo Bold at 92. Lots 9 and 10 elicited no bids. Lot 11 : 75 boxes— lo sold at 90s. Lot 12: 150 boxes— lo sold at 88s. Lot 14 : 434 brxes j — 70 Bold at 94s 6d to 95a. Lot 14 :83 boxcß— lo at 96b and 10 at 955. Lot 15 : 46 boxes— all sold at 87s. Lot 16 : 62 boxes — 10 sold at 95a. Lot 17 : 45 boxes — 10 sold at 85s. And lot 18 :61 boxes — 10 sold at 91b. I have refrained from supplying the brands for fear of giving offence. It will be seen from this list that only about ono fifth of the cntiro quantity put up found purchasers at an average per cwt. of 89s 3d. The butter was described as •' prime," but that word on an auctioneer's catalogue may mean anything. On the wholo, I am informed, the stuff was of exce'leut quality and in first-rate condition. The moral of .this Bile is obvious, and comment seedless.

The disappointing prices of the Dresent season have brought over to England several enterprising colonials, who seem to think they ran by personal touting arrange to trade direct with retailers, and bo save the agent's percentage. It is a laudable ambition this desire to get past the middleman (No. 1) ; but those who have tried to do it in the p:ist h >vo generally gone back to the old style of business. .Retailers are as a rule very shy in entering upon a new method of buying their stuff, and they will take a lot of persuading before entering into contracts with Antipodean sellers. They like to buy '" off the iron,' 1 and be free to pick and choose among brands. There is something pathetic, not to say ludicrous, in 'the fixed notion which a certa ; n class of colonist seems to have that his unaided efforts can effect radical ohanges in tho inotliol of trade obtaining in London. How many New Zealandcrs, I wonder, have coine'Home during the past three years to eradicate the ageat and other evils of t'io dairy produce trade. I could n ime a round dozen, and goodness knows how many ono his missed ever hearing about. They umally secrete themselveß in odd corners of the mutropolis and go steadily to work en their great scheme. In a month or perhaps less they begin to dimly comprehend that the , trade they bad hoped ta regenerate to their own Meals is an nrt. But why continue ? Tl.o end of euch and every one is tho came. An ngent gets hold of them at last, and they ictire to the colony sadder and wiser men, having achieved absolutely nothing. Hore aro a couple of extrac's from a New ijeala d up country journal which were Bent me by a friond in the colony. They are both excellent illustrations of the methods of provincial agents ; — "Mr——, the well known agent, says that ho has had a succession of lively markets and good prices. As far as he can judge, however, tho demand this year is going to bo on the finest grades. Notwithstanding the gre -t cost of landing butter from New Zealand, Mr it> confident that even at a cost of 1 12 b 1 tnded ho can always obtain a profit." " This," comments the editor," is a very straightforward kind of letter" " Then, again, and Co., the big — — importers, state that they anticipate an average price for creamery of 124s to 128s throughout tho season, and even venture to predict they will be able to realise from 134s to 137s for the very beft quality. As regarde farmers' buttor, it will also como into a good market, because butter is going to bo scarce, and we antk-i-l ate realising for that quality 1 12s to 1145." In the language of the iinruort .1 Hanß B : " Varo vas dot barty now ? " The following is a comparative list of prices:—

Mr Milton Craig begs to call the attention of the musical public to his new shipment of pianos and organs. Show rooms next Alexandra Hull. — Alivr.

Tbe Best Remedy for Indiqjstion.— Norton's Camomile as a Pills are con fidently Roroinmended as a Simple Remedy for Indigestion, which is the cause oi noarlytll tho diseases which we are subject. Nobton's Pills, with justice called tho Natural Strongthener of the Human Stomach," act as a powerful tonic and gcntlo aperient, are mild in thnir operation, and Bafo under any circumstances. Sold on ltottl< b, at Is l£d, 2s 9d, lla, by al "Medicine vendors throughout the World. To Darken Grrt Hair. — * Lookyera 3ulphur Hair Restorer ii ; 1m quickest, beet safest; costs ess, effects more than an other T>i6cclor producod ia most nature LooKyer'a t pour is the only EnglisaHtii Biatom wtfnntUy wld— Adti

Normandy, extra mild ... 120s to 124s „ Koodtofinc... 100s,, Ills Danish and Swedish ... IOGd „ 110 b Brittani' BGs „ 104 a Frioslund 96a „ 105? Australian 80s „ 108 a Hew Zealami 70s „ 106 a American GBs „ 80s