Supreme Court.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 409, 6 September 1869, Page 3

Supreme Court.

CRIMINAL SITTING?. Saturday, Fkpt. 4. (Before Mr Justio Gresson and Common Juries.) The following is the com intuition o' otir report in th.c case of County and FiiZjihbon, charged with conspiracy to defraud : — Gorge lialleiuiae: I am a farmer, residing at i'olU-ston. I remember when tha Chives becime insolvent. I had a conversation with Fitzgiblion about the latter end of January or the beginning of February last. The conversation took place in Fhzg'-hhon'* house. He said that ("have (ouldn't pay his dibts. He took o:it his pencil an 1 reckoned on the tnb'e^ what Thomas Chave's croji wool 1 be worth. He said that if he were to stll everything about him he couldn't pay his dtbts by £i()o. He said he was bound to be insolvent, lie said that he would advise him to 30 and gi ta reaping machine at the same price as he had the other one for, 'from Fisher and Booth. He said he would be thought nothing the worse of for if. I understood him lo mean that Chave would put it in his schedule. I heard Cooney say that ha had bought th.grey horse and potatoes from Chave. Isaac Allen : I am bailiff to Mr Graham, the trustee in bankruptcy, in the month of May hist (the 1 1th). I seized certain prop! rty itl the eitite of Thos. and Francis Chave, bankrupts I went to Fiizgibbon's for that purpose. I saw there, and seized a reaping machine, a black horse, a cow and calf, a pair of harrows, and a clock. A feather led and box of clothes were afterwards givr-n up, after the action at the Resident Magiatiato'a Court. Cooney also gave up some potatoes. I told him that I had bjen instructed to seize them, and he said at once thtt he would give them up. Afterwards, I seized a gelding. Fitz.jii.bon paid £24 odd to Mr Graham for 133 bushels of barley. The property that I seized was all sold with the exception ot* the feather hed, grey ge'dicg, and b»x of clothes. ! They brought about £31. Fit/gibbon said he had bought the articles from Caave and ' paid for them. • i By Mr Joynt: Fitzgibbou afterwards; brought nn action against Mr Gnliam in tlie ! Resident Magistrate's Court fur £Ii;o. I know that he lost the action. He then gave! up the feather bed, box of clothes, and thprice of the barley. I hid a description of the artie'e* before 1 left town, and found the articles out. 'I hey were not concealed. 'Ihe reaping machine was at the end of the house I think Chave said that he gave the feather bed in part payment of a pig whi. h he hadi bought from Mr Fi'zg'bbon. the grey geld- ! ing was claimed by Mr Herbert Parker as bis; property, and it was given to him. 'I he potatoes fetched £8, £2 of whi h wan allowed to the landlord. This whb the the cisc for tlu Crown. j Mr Joynt sail he would cill no witne'si>s. Mr Duncan then summed up the evidence given in support of the indictment. Mr Joynt, in addressing the jury for the defence, said thnt he woul I have to adopt q*;ite a different line of argument to that taken hy his learned friend. Tie Crown prosecutor had endeavoured to imptess it upon the minds of the jury, that Chave ha I come into Court as a penitent sinner, intent upon making a dean lreast of the villany in which he had beeu mixed up. So far from tli? ir allowing such an inter pre'ntion of hia conduct to weigh upon their minds, he would ask them to look upon bim in his true lish f , namely, as one who by his own confession had proved himself to ba a perjured liar and co-conspirator, who now came into Court to destroy thu character of the very men who had endeavoured to befriend his wife and . children. Under all the circumstances of i case, he must ask the jury to dismiss Chave's evidence entirely from their minds, and to return a verdict of acquittal. His Honor then summed up; and tbe jury ' retired to their room t > consider their verdict. F.'AUDULKVr UANK'-tUPTCV. In the abs?nc* of the jury, Thomas Chave was arraigned and pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with concealing property with a view to defrauding his creditors. Prisoner, on being a^ked if he hid anything to say in mitigation of punishment, handed up a written statement which his Honor read. He referred for a character to : Messrs Cox and Baber, hut these gentlemen; did not appear, being, it was said, out of town. In reply to his Honor, Mr Graham, the' Provisional Trustee, repeated that the pri-: souer had of his own accord disclosed the whereabouts of the concealed property. His Honor (addressing the prisoner) said he had read his statement, requesting to be leniently dealt with, on the ground that be had been led into crime by others and that his wife and family would suffer by his im- ! ' prisonment. On tbe other hand, his Honor had a duty to perform to society, in order to put a stop to this description of crime ; but taking into consideration the lengthened imprisonment tbe prisoner had already undergone, and the fact that he had voluntarily confessed to the assignee, and afforded him every assistance, he would sentence him to 12 months' imprisonment only, at hard labour. VERDICT. The jury, after 1 eng thend deliberation, returned into 'Court with' a verdict of Guilty against Fitzgibbon and Cooney.

His Honor asked Mr Joynt if it was his intention to move in arrest of judgment. i\fr Joynt s*id he li id thought of iloitiij ao. Hi* Honor: Upon what ground ? 1 merely ask d you the question, tlrs bting rather an uiiusu «1 case. .'.fr Joynt : I don't kao-v th it I am quite, prepared to ' sUtc my grounds now, yr-u r ' Minor. lam ine'i-'ed to th'iik tbat the indictmunt ii incornct, the names of the crjdirTorsi not being set out. His Minor .-aid t'lat^ he didn't think <h t was material. If Mr Joynt desire 1 time, he would reserve judgment until Monday. Mr Joynt said he would (•■ c' obliged to hi.* [ Honor if he did bo. I" Sentence was accordingly deferred until 'this (Mi nilar) morning, in Chamber-'. The : prisoners have been detained ii the custody of tbe gaoler. The Court then n se.