Supreme Court.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 94, 1 September 1868, Page 3

Supreme Court.

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. This Dat. (Before Mr Justice Gresson.) The September sittings of the Supreme Court commenced at 11 o'clock this morning precisely, at which hour his Honor took his seat in Court. The following gentlemen were sworn as the V grand jurt. Messrs R. J. S. Harman (foreman'), George Hnrt, T. M. Hassal. W. L. Hawkins, J. M. Heywood, A. Hornbrook, W. H. Lane, Sir Michael le Fleming, John Marshman, Allan McLean, E. W. Morrah, -T. Ollivier, George Packe, Joseph Palmer, C. Reynell, E. Richardson, and H. A. ScoTEj? His Honor delivered the following charge: Mr Foreman and Gentlemen of the Grand Jury — Last year you made a presentment on the subject of the inconvenience to which you were exposed frora the want of a proper Court house. At the conclusion of the session, I brought the matter under the notice of His Honor the Superintendent and his Executive Council, and I am happy to be able to inform you that they gave the subject their prompt attention, and appeared fully to recognise its importance..* I trust, therefore, that I shall soon be able to congratulate you on the removal of an anomaly at which strangers visiting the province have frequency expressed their astonishment, that, while boasting as we do, of~,our close imitation of English institutions, and our profound respect for the law., we hare hitherto failed to make even decent provision for its administration Gentlemen, during the last ten years I have frequently had occa-ion to address you on the defective condition of our prisons, and the importance of a uniform and comprehensive system of discipline in dealing with tbe criminal class of our population. You are aware that in the month of November last, certain Commissioners were appointed by Royal Commission to inquire into the provisions and operations of tbe laws iv force relative to prisons in the colony, aud iuto the treatment and management of prisoners, especially those sentenced to long periods of imprisonment. The report has been printed and laid before the General Assembly, and as the subject is one of general interest, and it is probable that some of you may not have seen the report, I think that a few minutes will not be mis-spent in bringing under your notice some of the conclusions at which the learned Commissioners arrived. After noticing the want of uniformity as to rations, and also as to the regulations enforced in the various prisons throughout the colony, they suggest, that in order to ensure uniformity, a proper system should be introduced for the training and, promotion of gaol officers, and that an Ip spector General of prisons should beapponVJed, to whom the Visiting Justices should<eport quarterly, and who should examine. **fich gaol in the colony at least once a-vear/'and report to the General Assembly. T*iey also notice, the fact, to which I have averted from this place on a former ocp<^ion, that although "The Neglected and-Oriminal Children Act, 1867," provides^Sr the establishment of reformatories^* l^ juvenile offenders, its provisions are.«**jiy permissive ; and tbey express their conviction " that there is no matter connoted with the administration of criminal i^tdtice so imminently important, and the urgent necessity for which willleßS bear to be trifled with, than the establishment of euch institutions." The gaols of the colony are found to be, for the most part, insecure in respect of construction, and without provision for separation or olassificHtion of prisoners. Tlie labour done by the convicts is proved to be neither severe nor irksome — not substantially felt by the prisoners, and without deterrent influence upon them. The habit of permitting prisoners to work in the streets of the towns in which the gaols ar£ situate, is condemned as " most objectionable " as regards both the prisoners and the public. The Commissioners recommend that the present gaol*, except a few (including Lyttelton) which are pronounced only fit for lock-ups, should be adopted so as to accommodate debtors, short-sentence prisoners, and prisoners awaiting removal to a central penal establishment ; that proper provision should be made for separation of classes, that short sentences should be sharp — the first and last portions being passed by tlie prisoners in separate cells by day as well as hy night — that provision should be made for labour, both afflictive and industrial, within the prism ; that religious services and secular education should be conducted by chaplains (Protestant aud Roman Catholic), regularly appointed and regularly reporting to the Government of the colony ; and that proper accommodation should be provided for these purposes, — that in case of sentences exceeding 6 (six) months, each prisoner ought ti be allowed (through a regular system of marks) a certain amount of money in respect of extra work, to be appropriated to his use on his discharge from prison ; — that all the local gaols, ss well as any general establishment, should be under the same ultimate control ; should be frequently inspected by some competent persona to whom "Visiting Justices should be obliged to report at least once a quarter ; that such persons should regularly report to the Legislature, and their reports should be published. That the conversion or r< construction of the existing gaols should be conducted on a uniform principle — plan and details to be approved and certified by a common (i. c, colonial) authority. The report expresses the almost unanimous (pinion of the witnesses as to the desirability of instituting with the least possible delay a penal etablishment for the colony, and contains a most valuable exposition of the principles upon which soch an establishment should be founded, and the nature of the system which should be observed in it. I fear it would take more time than we can afford at present to go into this part of the

report in such a manner as to do it justice, but I trust that most of you, if you have not yet seen it, will refer to the document itself. You will perceive that the value of prison labour in Lyttelton gaol for the five years ending 3lst December, 1867, amounts to the large sum of £15,244 15s, while that of Auckland gaol, which had considerably more than double the number of prisoners, is only £10,000 (about), and that of Dunedin gaol, which had about the same number of prisoners as Lyttr-Itou gaol, is only £7,259 18s 6d. The cases in the calendar, with two exceptions, are of the ordinary character, and it is therefore unnecessary to trouble you wuh any observations upon them The excepted cases are charges of embezzlement against the late Clerk of the Bench at Christchurch. By the " Public Revenues Act, 1867," and the regulations made in pursuance thereof, and contained in the General Government Gazette of 12th November, 1867 — the accused became in virtue of his office of Clerk of the Bench, a Receiver within the meaning of the Act, and bound to pay into the Bank of New Zealand every day before it closed, aa part of her Majesty's Consolidated Revenue of the colony, the whole of his receipts from fines and fees. He was also bound under the 12th Section of the " Resident Magistrates Act, 1867," to take charge of, and duly account for, all moneys paid into court under executions or otherwise than for fines and fees. "The Larceny Act, 1867," section 70, provides that " whosoever being employed in the public service of her Majesty in New Zealand, and entrusted by virtue of such employment with the receipt, custody, management, or control of any chattel, money, or valuable security^' shall embezzle any chattel, money, or valuaWe security which shall be entrusted to or received, or taken into possession by him by virtue of his employment, or any part thereof, or in any manner fraudulently apply, or dispose of the same or any part thereof to his own use or benefit, or for any purpose whatsoever, except for the public service, shall be deemed to have feloniously stoleu the same from Her Majesty," &c. I advise you not to embarrass yourselves with technical questions as to whether a case of embezzlement has been made out in respect of a particular fund or sum of money, but to send the case to a jury, if you believe in the moral guilt of the prisoner. Gentlemen, I will not detain you longer from your duties. The Grand Jury then retired to their room to consider the bills. In a short time they returned into Court with a true bill against Edward Genet, for embezzlement. His Honor asked the Crown Prosecutor if he was ready to proceed with this case. Mr Do'jC-in replied that he was quite ready, but Mr Wynn Williams, who had been retainpj* for the defence, could not attend to-Jay. ' His Honor postponed the trial until some other day during the session, most probably to-morrow. WIIJFOL DESTRUCTION OF PKOPERET. Thomas Paul King was placed at the bar charged with having wilfully destroyed some trees on an intestate estate at Oxford, on or about the 3rd July last. The prisoner, on his arraignment, pleaded " Not guilty." Mr John Mummery was chosen foreman of the petty jury. Mr Duncan prosecuted on behalf of the Crown; the prisoner was undefended. The following evidence was given : — Harold Henry Deßourbel: I am curator under the Intestate Estates Act, and acting as such I know the rural section in the Oxford district No 201. The section contains 200 acres, half of which are in my charge. I bave taken possession of it by virtue of my powers as Curator. The greater part of the 100 acres in my charge is bush. When I took possession of the land, about the end of May lust, I found that the greater part of the timber had been cut down and sold. It had been cut down quite to tie value of £100. I gave no authority to anybody to cut timb r. I know the prisoner. I found him living on the 100 acres, aud cautioned him to leave, telling him he had no right to he on the land. He said he would not go off. I also cautioned him not to touch any of the standing timber. I told him at the same time that I knew he had cut timber before. Prisoner told me be would not cut any of lhe timber. I cannot state from my own knowledge that the prisoner cut any trees afterwards. I took possession of the property by the authority of Mr Boys, who was acting under power of attorney for Mr Walter Reeves, who died in England. Mr Walter Reeves was father of Mr Thomas Hosier Heeves, the owner of section No. 201. From information I have received, I believe that Mr thomas Hotter Beeves died in Sydney, New South Wales. Mr Walter Reeves took possession of the land as heir-at-law of his sole son. He ia since dead. I do not know who the present owner is. By the prisoner: At first, I took possession of the whole of the section. 1 kuow that Mr Walter Reeves is dead, from information I had from Mr Boys. I saw letters certifying his deiease. Deidrich Seabrook : I am a farmer. 1 know rural section 201, at Oxford. There ia bush v; on it. I know the prisoner. I have seen him on that section. I saw him fell a tree which was growing on the eection, and cross-cut it about two months ago. I have not seen him cut trees since. I bad seen him cut some firewood, posts and rails, and that sort of thing, on the section, about a fortnight, or perhaps more, previously. The prisoner asked me to pull the logs out for him, and I refused. The tree which I saw the prisoner fell was worth about 7s or Bs. I cannot state exactly the value of the posts, rails, &c. His Honor inquired if Mr Duncan had any other witnesses to depose as to the value of the timber. Mr Duncan replied in the negative. He would therefore abandon the prosecution.

The jury, by directi< n, of his Honor, returned a verdict of acquittal. His Honor — Although I have felt it my duty in a certain degree to act as your counsel, Thomas Paul King, I must tell you before I discharge you that you have been guilty of a very improper and very unwise act. 1 trust that the anxiety you must have suffered, and that the painful position in which you have been placed to-day, will be a lesson to you not to interfere in future with property that is not your own. And although getting off on a point of law, I must tell you that you have done a very improper and a very rash act as regards yourself. I trust this will answer Mr Deßourbel's purpose, in guarding the property of others in his capacity as Curator, and that it will put a stop to* any interference by unauthorised parties with the property of another. I do not regret at all the anxiety and trouble you have had in this case, because you deserved it, although I felt it my duty to direct the jury to acquit you. you are now discharged. TRUE BILLS. The following true bills were returned at the hour of going to press : — Edward Genet, embezzlement ; Javnes Morgan, bestiality ; Thomas Paul King, wilful destruction of property (acquitted) ; Henry Montgomery and John Lambert, obtaining goods by false pretences ; and Charles Rosenski, bigamy. BESTIALITY. James Morgan was indicted on the above charge', and the case was not concluded when wey*wpnfc to nresfl. t'v