SUPREME COURT.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14218, 16 February 1914, Page 6

SUPREME COURT.

WANGANUI SESSIONS. TO-DAY’S SITTING, ( Before His Honour Judge Edwards.) The Supreme Court sittings were resumed to-day, when the foliowing business was dealt with. . CRIMINAL BUSINESS. THE MAHTON FORGERIES. J. H. Nicholls, of Marton, who, on Friday was found guilty on five charges of forgery after a fairly long time, came up for scntc.r.ce this morning. Speakir,g on behalf of the prisoner, Mr Collins e tated that lie had nothing to say why sentence should not be paused upon him. ' He, however, asked that his Hono r.r would deal as leniently with the pris< juer as was consistent with the inten £ts of justice and of the community gei /eraily. He wished to poii}t out to his H dTrour, that Nicholls had a wife aid c tiild and that these would have to share \ fte disgrace, etc., of the prisoner’s confinement in gaol. ( 1 His Honor stated that the offences were of an extraordinarily deliberate character. The ingenuity displayed, in their planning was out of the ordinary and it would not have needed much luck for them to be successful and for their object to have been attained. When the prisoner had seen that his scheme had failed he had the effrontery to invbkc the invocation of the Supreme Court, a civil action, to help him in his wrong doing. Then to add to his already very serious offences he had committed the most deliberate perjury by denying, at the civil case, that he knew anything of the authorship of the “Gibson” letters. This had not been enough for him as the offence had been repeated in the present trial. In this last case there was, perhaps, some excuse for the offence as prisoner was on his trial, but in the civil action he had deliberately lied to obtain money from another man with the assistance of the forgeries. The jury had recommended the prisoner to mercy because he had not received any pecuniary benefits from his wrong-doing. This was only a small matter compared with the main offence itself. It was quite contrary to the interests of justice that I crimes of this kind should be but lightly punished and after due consideration of the jury’s recommendation the sentence of the Court would be that Nicholls would have to undergo two years’ hard labour in the New Plymouth gaol, to be followed by three years’ reformative treatment. His Honour drew prisoner’s attention to the powers of the Reformative Treatment Board and told him that if he behaved himself he would have to serve only eighteen months in gaol. CIVIL BUSINESS. No business was taken in open Court today and the sittings were adjourned until to-morrow. CHRISTCHURCH SITTINGS. (Per United Press Association.! CHRISTCHURCH, February 15. At the Supreme Court bn Saturday,. Michael Nicholas Hogan was'acquitted on a charge of stealing I'sl- belonging to Charles W. Newbury. In the case of the Official Assignee in the estate of. Walter Shaw (formerly solicitor of Timaru) v. the Timaru" Property Company and Trevurza, in which judgment was given for defendants, his Honor made an : order to-day removing caveats from titles to the properties comprised in the agreement which formed the subject matter of the action, and the question of costs was reserved, but, according to the claims made, they will be very heavy. The “Herald” for printing of all de*•jtiution#.