POLICE COURT.-Yesterday.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VIII, Issue 2171, 12 October 1875, Page 3

POLICE COURT.-Yesterday.

(Before Dr. Kiigour, J.P.; trad E. W, roffSET, ' . Esa., J.P. Labcknx, — CharlesHemmings was charged that, on the' 9th instant, he did feloniously steal, take and carry away 10j in gold,. the j property, of Charles F. Quint, —Accused, for whom Mr Tyler appeared, pleaded not guilty.—Mr Bullen detailed the circumstances of the case, and called Charles F. Quint, licensee of the K il Desperandum Hotel, who deposed that the accused had . been in his; employ lis barman, and was so employed on Saturday night. His duties were to take cliargo of the bar, receivo money for tlio liquors ho sold. The cash-box ho produced was kept in tho.till to hold gold audi notes. There was no'silver kept in that box. In, consequence • of:something he heard, ho mistrusted tho accused, and he took steps to prove whether the prisoner was honest or not. On Saturday night he left accused'in the bar, shortly after six o'clock, and went out the frontdoor as if going down tho street, and told tho prisoner he was going but. He turned in; the back way, took off his boots, went upstairs to a room over the bar, from which two flooring-boards bad been ro-1 moved, and from whioh, through holes in the ceiling, lie had a clear view of the bar. He saw accused shout four drinks, for which no money was put into the till. Ho saw a £5 note tendered to accused in payment for drinks. He took the box out •of tho till, and said that he would give him three £1 notes and. four half-sove-reigns. ■ Witness then. came into the bar out of the back. Accused was surprised, and witness told him' not to give away half-sovereigns on Saturday night. The customer then said ho would not pay the sixpence, and witness said, "All right; pay some othor day." The money was then put back into the box, and the box returned to the till. Witness did not know how" much, money was then in tho box, butthere were four half-sovereigns and some other gold. The steamer then arrived at the wharf, and as the house was empty, witness said, loud onough for prisoner to hear him, " I'll go down." Witness did not go down; he went round by the back entrance, again, took his slippers off, and went upstairs to where lie could command a view of the bar.; Prisoner was then at the street-door. He from tho from the front door, keeping his eyes on the.streetuntil lie came to. the till. He. opened the till, and took out, the tin box, which he placed on, tho'edge of the till. He put-his hand in the centre com-partment,-weffthe gold was kept, took a ..coin'out and put it in'liis trouser's pocket, keeping his ; eyes on the door all the time. -Witness was positive ho took a coin out. It might be a sovereign, but it could bo no .other than a sovereign or a half-sove-reign. Witness, from his place of concealment, sung out, " George, that will not do." • Accused was quite surprised at heading'the voice, and said, j'Ay! what! Where * are you P" Witness. said, "Here,'' and. thrust his arm through the ceiling to catch him, but it was not long enough.-Witness ran down stairs to the bar. The box was then in the till, and the till closed. • This had been done from the time wilness poked his arm through the coilingv itness took him bj\tbe collar and tbld* him to leave the bar rind leave the house. He told him what he had seen, and accused said,:" What do you mean P T never wronged you." He, demanded his yvages, and witness told him : to call on Monday morning. He said ho. was not going without his wages, to walk the streets all night, as ho had no moneyto pay for his bed. Witness tpld' him to take his things his box) and gor He senator a .policeman, and Detective Breniian came. He went with him to the prisoner's .'bed-room, and saw the detective search his box. There were two one' pound notes, a half-sovereign, and a lot of small change -6d and 3d pieces —and somo coppers. . Witness showed, the detective the place from which he watched accused. Prisoner had no right to lake coins from that till and place them in his pocket.—Cross-examined: I am sometimes suspicious. I caught one and turned two away for being drunk. He did not discharge- the man he had before defendant on suspicion, but for being drunk. : He .' first suspected the prisoner on Saturday night. He had missed money for a fortnight previous. Accused had given notice to leave, and was to have left on the previous Wednesday, but he remained in consequence of Mrs Quint being away. He said he had promised Mrs Quint to remain till she came back, Witness was then examined as to the position of the bar, and his point of observation. There were' only three notes in the box when he tendered the change to the customer. When witness remonstrated with him, accused, took the money off the counter and put it back into the box, without counting, it. There were at this' time about half-a-dozen people in the bar. Accused could not'see the, door when ,standing at tho till. When witness came down accused did not ask him to search him. Accused was at that time three-parts tight. Witness could not say that there was a sovereign or half-a-sovereign taken out of the till. About eight or ten minutes elapsed from the. time accused went upstairs until witness followed him up. The money, was in a till in prisoner's chest.' The detective searched' the person of the accused' as well as bis box,—By the Bench: When accused withdrew his hand from the box, witness did not hear any jingle of money. He was too far away.—Detective Brennan\ deposed that he -went to theNil Desperandum Hotel on' Saturday evening, and went into a room where he saw'the prisoner. Ho searched a box belonging to accused, and found in it two £1 notes, half-a-sovereign, 16 sixpences, 4 threepenny pieces, 4' fourpenny pieces, two two-shilling pieces, and some coppers amounting in all to £3 8s 3-jd.—Mr Quint was re-called and cross-examined by Mr Tyler: Accused was paid up to within a week of his leaving his last payment.—Detective Brennan examined: Accused was the worse for liquor. Mr Quint charged him with stealing the halfsovereign. Accused said he was at the till counting the half-sovereigns at the time .Mr Quint sung out to him, as ho wished to see whether ho got back the right change. Witness said the place from which Mr Quint watched the accused there was a clear full view of the bar.—Cross examined: A ccused said' he had changed a pound at Joslin's, but did not say that he had also changed a pound at the Pacific. , Witness searched accused, but only found two sixpences in his vest pocket.—This closed the case.— Mr Tyler addressed the Court. He contended there was no evidence of an offence at all. He referred to the serious nature of the charge, and commented onthe evidence to show, that there was no just ground for suspecting the accused. He commented on the animus shown by Mr Quint's evidence, and on the improbabilities of the whole affair and the inconsistencies of tho prisoner's conduct if ho was a guilty person, but its consistency with that of innocence, and asked the Bench, in dismissing the case, to say that there were no

grounds for suspcofing tho prisoner of ■ the crirno with which ho was accused. He called Mr Curtis, who deposed that ho knew defendant, who was in his employ about three months. Ho left his employ ' through illaesi, hut returned a;ain. He could, give him a very good charaofer. Sir Quint found fault when aiiouaedcamo'.; back to witness tlid second time. Last week accused was in witness's bar, and had some drink at the bar.' Ho got some- ' change' from the barmaid. It was liko ehaugo for a £1. ile did not. notico whether there was a half-sovereign in tho chango, but in tho course of businoss they usually gnvo a half sovereign instead of silver.—f his closed defendant's case.— The Chairman slated that tho Benoh, in . dismissing the case, wished to-say that:'■ thoy dismissed it in conscqnonce of the ' fact that it was not proved that any ; ■' money had been stolen, but the presumption against the prisoner was exceedingly strong, and thoreforo he had narrowly escaped being |punished for the offence with which Jie was charged.