SUPREME COURT.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13679, 22 August 1908, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

l'er Press Association. AVKLLINGTOX, August 21. Hairy Balkuityne, a young man, charged at the Supremo Court to-day villi ka-ving committed an unnatural oil'ciicc was louud not guilty. • , CHBJSTCHURCH, August, 21. At Ike .Supreme Court to-day the kigkway rubbers were sentenced x<s- follows: —Joseph <Jokubtono to rive years, Frank Bolton to four years, and James Keegan to one year's imprisonment. Tke' sentences are considered very lenient. "William Bell, who came up from the Lower Court, on a- charge of breaking and entering and theft, was sentenced to six months' impmunnn.nL. His Honour said that the cuto was not serious. John Pearson, charged with unlawfully using an instrument, and .procuring abortion, and on further counts with misrepresentation and iudecent aysaull, pleaded not guilty. Ho was found not guilty of the graver charges, and remanded till 51st, pencliug argument on the trusstion of indecent assault.

In sentencing Johnston Hi ; -> Honour said : *" You have been convicted in four cases of robbery from the person while bearing arms, or, in other words", robbery under arms. You have been convicted in two cases of burglary. If you had been convicted of robbery alone I might have looked upon your offences as less serious, and but for the fact that one of you actually fired upon a. man, I would have looked upon the bearing of firearms as> merely a. piece of bravado, and not as a serious attempt to lise weapons. Could it have been ascertained wkick man nsed tko weapon, that man would have been charged with a muck more gorious offence.''

Mr Russell, Crown Prosecutor, said that in fairness to the accused, he must mention that 311 the ease of Mathers which had not come before the Court, tjo firearms had been used, although Mathers resisted the accused. His Honour said that the use-of firearms at all -was a serious Ihiug, and should be so treated. Tn addition to the rubbery charges there were two cases of burglary. Johnetcn had unfortunately a very bad record, notwithstanding his age. He knew nothing about the earlier years of Johnstons life, but he had become a criminal early. Johnston was liable under the recent Act to be treated as an habitual criminal, and dealt -with as such. Looking at his comparative youth, however, His Honour said he felt reluctant to put the -prisoner in a position which Mould leave it to the discretion cf tha executive to treat him practically as a criminal for life, but even eliminating as far as- possible the weapon-element from.the case, it was a- case for a substantial sentence. Should Johnston he. convicted of any crime in future, ' lie might be 'absolutely certain ' that the greater part of the*rest of his life would bj -spent -under restraint. In sentencing Johnston to five rears' imprisonment, ho was treating him "with great leniency in the hope that the "weight of the threat held out against him would deter hiui from further crime.

On the application of Mr KusseTl, His Honour made an order for the pro rata; division among those who had been robbed of £4 15s lOd found' in tho possession of tho prisoners..