SUPREME COURT.

Wanganui Herald, Volume L, Issue 14700, 3 September 1915, Page 8

SUPREME COURT.

YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. - ALLEGED SHEET-STEALING. A WAVER LEY CASE. ACCUSED ACQUITTED. Thp Supreme Court sessions were re suraed yesterday, when Samuel Wilson, cf Waverley, was charged with the then on the Ist of August, of 100 ewes, the property of W. B. Cave. There was isecond charge of receiving stolen pit perty. Accused pleaded' not guilty, and was defended by Mr Treadwell, with him Mr Graham, of Waverley. After outlining the case for the pros? /cation, Mr Marshall, Crown Piosecu.loi called Wilfred B. Cave, farmer, residing about 44 miles from the North-west- Road. Wi 1 ness had known accused for 18 months.to two years, and lived in Waverley. In April accused took delivery from witnes.of some fat sheep for Dalgety and Co. All witness’ sheep had a black band on the back. There were also 100 full mouthed ewes, heavy in lamb. These also bore witness’ brand, and were rnr riing at the end of July in a paddock near' tbo road. On the 31st of July witness and his wife left the farm- on a visit to Wanganui, leaving the borne empty. Witness stayed in Wanganui until August 3. and on the 10th he visited the pad ( dock where the ewes were, and form 1 they had disappeared. Careful search wav made, but only one ewe was found On the IRth he visited Feilding, and j visited a farm at Eandou. There he sai a number of lambs and ewes in a padi dock, aud recognised a number of them as his. Tv Mr Treadwell; The road which wen' past witness’ properly was not a buson?. . but still carried a good deal of . traffic. When. Wilson lifted the fat sheep I sold bv witness, be did to without an? written authority. He came at the ap ' pointed time. This was a common prac tic° amongst farmers. J. Monteith, stationmastcr at Waver ley. said he knew accused, who cn June 26 last ordered two sheen trucks. H‘ wanted the trucks to convoy sheep from Waverley to Marion. Accused said lie ordered the trucks on behalf of a mav named Stevens. The trucks were not loaded- On July 31st accused ordered two sheep trucks. The order was signed S. Wilsen. and the trucks were ordered for the Monday to convey sheep to Marton. Accused did not turn up for the early morning train, but arrived later on, and said he had slept in. Accused re-ordered the trucks for the following day by the 6.30 train, the destination being fixed as Feilding. Next day he filled in a consignment note to Abraham and Williams, Tedding. The consignment note was signed F. Stevens. No remarks were passed as to who owned tile sheep, or why the destination was changed. The sheep went forward by the 8.30 train. To Mr Treadwell; It was a common practice for drovers to order trucks for sheep for the owners of sheep. Witness had known accused for two years, and he bad always been straight in his dealings with the Railway Department. To Mr Marshall The order for truck. 1 made out in June stated that the trucks were ordered for F. Stevens. Witness did not know F. Stevens. F. Galvin, drover for VbraKam and Williams, Feilding, said that on August 3rd he received 09 sheep and one hogget from the trucking yards at Feilding. Some of the owes were in lamb. Richard Abraham, manager frr Abraham and Williams, Feilding. said thal on the 3rd of August he received a telegram from F. Stevens stating that ■ two trucks of sheep were sent to Feilding for sale. A day later a- letter . was received by the firm from F; Stevens, confirming the wire referred to above. In reply to a letter from Abraham and Wil-, Hams, F. Stevens wrote giving instructions as, to the disposal of the sheep. Witness sold the sheep at auction. The sheep were, sold iu two lots, one to A. Gray, : Sandon, 'SB; aud W. Moore, Palmerston North. 4.0,- The sheep were marked in blue raddle. Account sales and cheque was forwarded bv the head office to F. Stevens at Kai Iwi by mistake. To Mr Treadwell: Witness did not pay much attention to tie brands. It was a frequent practice to send sheep by rail and take, instructions by wire or letter. A telegram was. despatched to Stevens at Kai Iwi. and- so far as witness knew no notice had been received that the telegram had not been delivered. The firm had received no instructions to forward correspondence to Kai Iwi. A. Gray, farmer. Samlon, said he purchased -IS sheep at auction at Feilding on August 6th. Mr Cave visited the farm aud inspected the sheep, some of which he identified. Airs B. Downes, proprietress of .Clifton Boardinghouse, Waverley. was next called. Witness had had the house for 13 months, and accused had been there all the time. Witness did not know a man named Fred Stevens, and no one of that name had stayed at her house. In the earlier part of last month a letter was brought to the house addressed to Stevens. Witness asked Wilson if he knew the man, and, as he said he did, witness gave him the letter. She afterwards asked Wilson what he did with the letter, and he replied that he gave it to Stevens. This was the only letter that came to the house addressed to Stevens. To Mr Treadwell: A good many people came,to see Stevens at the house, and there were a good many that witness did not know. A good many people frequent her place for meals. As far as witness knew, a man named Stevens might have been at the house. 'Witness did not know anything about Stevens, hut somewhere about this time she be- , lieved there was a stranger at the house talking to Wilson about sheep. To Mr Marshall: ’Witness had not received instructions to receive letters for Stevens addressed at her house. Constable O’Brien, late of Waverley, said he saw accused on the 13th August, and had a conversation with liini regarding the sheep. Accused admitted consigning 100 sheep on behalf of a man named F. Stevens to Abraham and Wil-. liable. Feilding. at the beginning bf August. He said he got the sheep from Dalgety’s' paddock. Three days later witness ' again interviewed accused, and took down a statement from him. In this. statement accused ‘‘said he was engaged ! by Fred Stevens, of Upper. Waitotara; on Jnlv 30, to truck 120 sheep to Marion. He told him to order two trucks, and afterwards reduced the number of sheep to 100 ewes. Accused found the sheep, as instructed, in Dalgety's paddock. The sheep did not go by the train as instructed, and that day accused met Stevens in Waverley. who told him to re-order the - trucks and- consign the sheen to Abraham and Williams, Feilding. Seme of the sheep were marked with blue raddle, others with red, and some had a. black patch on the rump. He gave Stevens a letter addressed to him, care of “Carlton House,” in the ; evening a dav or jwg, -later-.. -Stevens had led accused. to y lte--

lieve he was a farmer in Upper Waitotara, and (was'.-a man 30 or .35: years cf age,, fair hair and complexion, clean -shaved except for moustache, slt llin to 6ft in height, gud slim build. Witness went on td say that he had been 1 iu Waverley for over 24 years, and had no knowledge of the man Fred Stevens. He had made inquiries, and searened the electoral; roiis, but could not find a: man, named Finn Stevens, nor had he heard of such a men To Air Treadwell: Witness could riot say that F. Stevens was not j.u. Wavvrley on the dates mentioned- by accused Accused told’ Mis story without hesitation, and quite willingly. Witness thought that accused gave his story quite atraignttorwardiy. Witness knew; accused, ftr two years, arid appeared to be very industrious, and was always employed. Witness knew nothing' against hiip, au4' accused was a steady, sober man. When making his statement, accused referred to a dog which accused, "said lie had bought off Stevens for £3, and that ft was killed next day. : Accused-said he had not paid for it. Witness suggested that accused was taking tlje cost out iu' work, and accused replied; “I suppose. Constable Breen said he had been stationed at Waitotara for about 2} years, and was well acquainted with the riesidents of the district. He ' frequently visited the Upper , Waitotara .district for about fifty miles, but had never, conic I across a- man named Fred Stevens, nor had he ever heard of him. There was a ■ young man named Stevens: at Kaimanuka. This mail wag- working -at fencing, was between. sft 6in and s£t 7in, arid appeared to be. about 23 or 24, clean shaven. Witness had made general inquiries about the place, but without success. - 1 . This closed the case for the Crown. THE CASE FOR THE DEFENCE. After outlining the defence, Air Treadwell called . 1 , i Samuel \V ilson, a drover, bf Waverley. Witness came to Waverley in August-, 1913, and had lived all the time at “Clifton House.” About sixteen months ago he took up droving, and had been iu conn riant employment. Witness said he first met Stevens-on the 29th of May, between Moumohaki and Waitotara,. Witness was driving bullocks to Waitotara. A conversation took place, apd the. two men exchanged names and addresses. Witness saw Stevens next on Monday, June 7th, when witness was returning to Waverley from Waitotara. A Mr Boyd, agent’ for fha N.Z. Loan and Mercantile, Ltd., was with witness, and pointed him out to Mr Boyd. On the 25th of June Stevens came to the Clifton Boardinghouse, Waveiicy, iu the evening. They stood talking cu the doorstep for some considerable time. Witness detailed other business dealings he had had with Stevens prior to the end of. July. Continuing his evidence; witness said that he saw Stevens on July 30th, in Waverley. He asked witness to order two sheep trucks for August 2nd. Witness was asked to load the trucks, arid was informed’ that/ theiriieep would be found, in Dalgety’s paddopk. , The statement made to Constable O’Brien was a, true, account of what had' occurred -between lie and Stevens. Stevens told witness that -he i had 120 sheep {IOO. ewes and 20 wethers) ' to truck to. Marion. Witness, told Mm 1 two trucks would not be sufficient, so Stevens said he-:/ would, cut the , wethers out. Witness- bought a leading dog from Stevens, and agreed to do his work for £2 as part payment and to pay him £3 cash. The. dog was run over next day by a motor-car///On Monday, August 2nd, ( witness first • saw,the sheep in,Dalgety’s i paddock, about: 7 o’clock. Later on in i the same day witness saw Stevens again, I and told him lie had failed to. load the sheep. He told me to order the sheep trucks for Tuesday, and send the sheep to Abraham and Williams, Feilding. Witness did so. -Witness admitted sending the telegram to Abraham and Williams, : 'and also that he wrote to Abraham and Williams, signing the letter P. Stevens, Cliften Boardinghouse; .Waverley. He . was instructed, by Stevens to do this. He i admitted receiving a. letter addressed to j Stevens from Airs Downes, and gave this j letter to Stevens on the 4th,of August, just outside the boardinghouse. He ad- 1 mitted replying to Abraham and Wil- j Hams’ letter byjinstnictions from Stevens. Stevens led witness to believe he lived in Upper Waitotara. Stevens was a man about 30 to 35, fair hair, fair, complexion, clean shaven except for moustache,' between sft llin and 6ft, slim, clothed, in riding trousers and leggings, brown coat, and felt hat. It was a common thing for drovers to take instructions in the manner described, and lie had done it before often. To Air Marshall: Witness had tried tp produce Stevens aud- failed. He had made several inquiries, but had not advertised. Witness had made inquiries in the Upper Waitotara, but had not gone there himself. He could only produce one man who hud seen Stevens. Witness could not sav where Stevens/ stayed at Waverley;- Stevens gave no instructions where witness was to send his letters, but said he would call for them. Witness, knew nothing of Stevens’ .movements; on , his whereabouts, apart from his inter- ' views with witness. Stevens made arrangements for the account sales and cheque to be forwarded to-,him, cai:o of Clifton House, To his Honor: Stevens did not call at the boardinghouse for the cheque. To Mr Marshall; Witness could not explain why Stevens did not come. Thomas Boyd said he was a stock agent at Waverley. On June 7th witness was at Waitotara. with opposed'. Accused had been speaking about a mari, but witness could riot remember his name. Later on they passed a man trotting in the opposite direction, anil -'.Wilson said, “There is the man who asked me to truck cattle.” Witness had no idea who the. man was. * , Airs E. Miller said she was a widow living at Waverley, near DalgetyV paddock. On the last Thursday or Friday afternoon in July she saw some sheep being driven up the road,, and ’’remarked that it was a stranger who whs driving

them. -He was a fairish man, slight, and she thought:liejliqd.a) moustache. There, were about 80 or 100- sheep, ■ and he d rove them to'Dalgety’a paddock. She was sure the man was hot Wilson.' To Mr Marshall: Witness did not know when the ■ sheep were taken out of the paddock. I David G. Lind, a. drover in the-Waver-’ ley district, said he had lived in the district for about forty years. Its was a common practice for .drovers to lift- sheep at a certain spot and truck them to some other destination. Drovers often took instructions from strangers. I G. Camithcra, farmer, said he was in a motor-car with Mr 8. Davis when it ran over a dog. This was about Friday, July 30. The dog belonged to Wilson, j and witness agreed to pay for it. This concluded the evidence. ! In addressing -the jury, Mr Treadwell 1 said that there was ;only one question, ; either accused sheep-stealer and, in addition, a deliberate perjurer, qr else he was an innocent man and an unfortunate victim of circumstances, and had been , made a tool of. Accused had followed a somewhat stupid and > pernicious practice, and had trucked the sheep on ■ the instructions of a stranger, and as a result he found himself in the dock charged with one of the most serious charges in the criminal code. If there were a doubt in the minds of the jury as to whether the accused was guilty, the jury were bound to give him the benefit of the doubt. Mr Marshall said that he had hoped that some evidence would have been forthi coming to show that accused came into possession of the sheep honestly, but the evidence shows that no one else but accused knew 1 Stevens. The jury had to consider whether accused had received j the sheep in an honest manner. Was it conceivable that a man who came into . a small, town like Waverley three times a week was not known. The man did not exist, certainly not under the name - of Stevens. The accused had to satisfy the jury that there was such a man as Stevens, and that he had been the victim of a villainous and dirty trick. His Honor, in summing up, said that accused had to give an explanation as to, ■how' lie got into possession of the sheep. The evidence was undoubtedly strong against accused. If the jury is satisfied there was , a man named Stevens, there was an end to the case. It was remarkable that accused had given no reason why he .wrote the letters for Stevens. It vrj\s remarkable that Stevens did not have his, letters addressed to the Post Office instead of to the boardinghouse where Stevens was not known nor had ever stayed there. Still more remarkable was it that after the sheep had, been consigned, Stevens disappears, making no arrangements for forwarding his correspondence. Had there been a Stevens, lie would not have stolen sheep for amusement. There had certainly been some transactions regarding trucks in June. This may help the accused some, but again the question arose, where was the man Stevens? Did he exist, or was he the accused under another name? The evidence about the dog was immaterial, and had nothing to do with the case at nil. The jury should, not discriminate between the counts , in the indictments. NOT GUILTY, The jury brought in a verdict of not guiltv, and .the accused urns accordingly acquitted. : , j."