UNKNOWN

Wellington Independent, Volume XXII, Issue 2567, 5 September 1867, Page 3

UNKNOWN

1... [^brefire-Ft^^'Jo^ae Jobnjton.] I Hlar-HonoEtoabWs eeat at 10 o'clock. »AISB PBSTBWOE9. . Smith Orton alias John 8. Orton, pleaded nofc guilty to obtaining money under false pretence* from Mr Charles Ticehurat, in the Wairarapa, Mr Izard conducted the case for the Crown, and the prisoner was undefended. Charles Ticehurat, a butcher, residing id the Wairarapa, knew the prisoner, who, in fch« months of June and July last, contracted a debt oi £6 2b. On the 6th August met prisoner at Abbott's Hotel, Feat hers ton ; prisoner sajd "I owe you some money, and having an account at the Bank will now pay it as far a» my funds mil go." Witness next day furnished the account of £6 2a, and prisoner gave him a cheque on the Bank of New South Wales for £6 10s, receiring in exchange three half-crowns and sixpence, (cheque produced and identified). Witntas applied for the money for the cheque but never ob« tamed it. Cross-examined by prisoner witness said that the debt was contracted for meat supplied to the men employed by the Telegraph Department, and that the tickets furnished with the meat were made out for a Mr Busine. Alfred George Willoughby, teller of the Bank of New South Wales at Wellington, said that the prisoner never had any account at the Bank, and that the cheque produced in Court had been presented for payment and dishonored. On the 26th July —some days prior to the date on which the cheque had been drawn —prisoner, aocompanied by a man named Busine, asked at th# Bank if any money had been lodged to their joint account, and were informed there had not been any account opened in their names. Constable Blake Butler deposed to arresting the prisoner. man named Busine had obtained a subcontract to do certain work for the Telegraph Department in the Wairarapa. Upon the sth of August he and Busine were in town, and received from Mr Brown, the head contractor, a certain sum of money. Immediately afterwards, he ran to the Bank to open an account but found the establish* ment closed for the day. On the came evening, he was informed that the men employed by him in the Wairarapa were striking work, and hehur* ried up leaving the money with Bueine to locigo the next morning in the Bank. He had no bu«« pioions o( his partner's honesty, and fully imagining the money to have been lodged, in all good faith drew a cheque in favor of Mr Ticehurat receiving the small balance of eight shillings for current expenses. He was, in short, a victim of misplaced confidence in the honesty of his friend and partner. His Honor having summed up, the jury re« turned a verdict of guilty. ANOTHER OHABCKB. The same prisoner was then arraigned on ft charge of obtaining from one Henry Thomas, the amount of £110s by means of a false pretence. Henry Thomas, a licensed victualler ut Greytown, knew the prisoner, who, on the Bth August, was in his debt the aum of three shillings. Upon that dny prisoner said " I hare not the money with me, but I'll give you a cheque;" witness replied "All right," and gave him £L 7« in cash, receiving in exchange a cheque drawn on the Bank of JN.d.W., at Wellington for £1 10$. Prisoner, when giving the cheque, told witness that money had, been paid into the Bank to hit account. Alfred George Willoughby, teller at the Bank of U.S.W., deposed to the cheque drawn by prisoner in favor of Thomas having been presented for payment and dishonored. This concluded the case for the Crown.. The prisoner made no defence, and the jury found a verdict of " Guilty." Constable Blake Butler produced a chequebook he had found on the prisoner, containing the counterfoils to fifteen cheques drawn between the sth and 13th August. Hia Honor considered that the cases were about as bud a 9( they could be, and that in spite »f the ingenious*defenco made, it would be absurd to come to any other conclusion than that the prisoner —mid probably his partner Busine also —were conspirators banded together to rob the public. The sentence of the Court was that on the first churge the prisoner should be imprisoned with hard labor for the space of two years, and that on the second chargo he should be imprisoned for two years m>re, the latter punishment to commence at the expiration oi the first term of imprisonment. HOBBE-ST BALING. James Wheeler pleaded not guilty to stealings horse from an aboriginal native named Moko Moko, residing at Parawanui. Mr Izard conducted the case for the Crown. Moko Moko, whose evidence was interpreted by Mr E. Baker, said : I recollect the 6th May; upon the Bth May I suw prisoner at Langley's, Manawatu; previous to that date I also saw him; I let him hire a horsa from me in the early part of that month ; he told me he wanted the hor«e to ride to Munawatu, and that he would return it; he gave me ten shillings, and I let him have a " fiery red " (chestnut) gelding, branded TA on the near shoulder, and marked with a blaze down the forehead, and a small swelling or lump on the back ; 1 value the horse, together with the saddle and bridle I let prisoner have, at £35. Prisoner rode away on my horse, promising to come back the next day, but he did not return ; I went to Manawatu, and saw prisoner at Langley'c; I said to him, " Where is my horse?" Prisoner replied, "On Lang ley's farm." 1 said, " Come, let us go and see it;" prisoner went and hid himself inside Langley's public house; Langley said to me, in prisoner's hearing, " This man (pointing to pri* soner) has sold your horse to a mun from Nupierj" prisoner, to this accusation, maao no reply, but subsequently told me he would follow -the mmr mnsr getrcno~tYOTse~t>aek ; XprocTuce two pieces of paper given to me by Mr Langley; they . were written in my presence by a pakeha from Munawatu; (document* produced.) William Lnngley, ferryman and pilot at Manawatu, 'said: 1 recollect seeing prisoner at my house some Sunday during the month of May last. Be came to my place on a chestnut gelding übout fourteen hands high, which he told me belonged to him. Ho asked me to buy it. I tsked him how much he wanted, and he replied " £510* for horse, ?addle,and bridle." On lookingotthesaddie, I recognised ir, undsaid " This saddle belong* to Scott., noes it not?" Prisoner said "Yes, tho saddle is Scott's, but the pony is mine." Prisoner afterwards went away with the horse, but soon returned without it, and said "Oh, by tho bye Mr Langley I've sold that, pony." I said "Indued, for how much ?" Prisoner said "£5 for horse, saddle, and bridle." I then asked "To whom did you sell it ?" and prisoner said " To a mun named Sullivan, who has juat come from Napier." Prisoner pointed out to me the person who hud bought tho hor»e. The next duy Moko Moko came to my house and osked me if I had seen anything of a pakeha with a small chestnut horse, I replied that I had and pointed out the prisoner. Moko Moko said "' That is the man to whom I let my horse." I said "If it is, he hae sold your horse for £5." Moko Moko asked prisoner where the animal was, snd prisoner told him it was in my paddock. Moko Moko asked him to get it, and ha ran away and hid himself. By the Court: Prisoner told me that he was the brother of a highly respectable settler on tho We.it Coast, named Wheeler, and as soon as I found he had got into trouble I wrote one of the

documents which have beeji produced, telling Mr "Whoeler how prisoner, was situated, w.ith-ihe. bject of inducing him to try and settle ihe Matter quietly with MoibMoke/ Mr Wheeler, however, denies that -he is any connexien of prisoner's. :*..-.•• „ '''■■ His Honor informed witness that he was not to criminate himself, and that it already appeared reiry evident frsm-his statement that ho had been . endeavoring to compound a felony. ■ This concluded the case for the Crown/ and his Honor having summed up, the jury found the prisoner guilty. • Hie' Honor deferred sentence until tho prisoners already convicted of horse stealing were brought up, as it was his intention to sentence them all together. CAXTtE STEALING. David Johnston, charged with stealing two cows, tho property of Robert Simpson, of Turakina, pleaded not guilty. Mr Izard conducted the case for the Crown, and Mr Allen appeared for the prisoner. Robert Simpson deposed : I am a settler living in ' Western Rangitikei ; in the month, of June last prisoner was a butcher in my neighborhood ; about the 10th June, two of my cows were missing, and in consequence of information I received, I, on the 24th of the same month, searched a slaughter-house used by the prisoner, and there found a beast's head lying on tho ground, which 1 believed to be that of one of the cows I had missed ; I recognised it by the marks, the color of the hide, and the eh%pe of tho horns. On finding the head I went to the prisoner, and brought him to mj house ; I said to him, " Have you heard what has happened ?" Ho said " No," and I then told him that I had found the head of a cow I had missed in his slaughter-yard ; we went to look at tho head, and prisoner said, " I killed that beast, I beliove I bought it from your brother ;" I told prisoner it was impossible he could have bought the cow, which was a pet with my children, and asked him when he last purchased cattle from my brother ; prisoner told me ho did so about six — tA — T~~yr uJ ' 1> 'i nrifinnßtLiiiiAhar-siud.ib would.. be very hard to make him pay twice For a cow. Prisoner then went away, and some days afterwards I again went to him on the subject, and he told me he could nofc have made a mistake about the cow, and felt convinced ho had purchased it from my brother ; at the same time ho agreed to pay for it in order that he might not be put to the expense of clearing himself in a court. In consequence of further information, Constable McLean, Walter Simpson, and I, went to a gravel pit, or water-hole, about four miles from prisoner's slaughter-yard and there we found the hides of my two missing cows. By the Court: On the head of the beast I noticed a hole like that made by a bullet, I pointed it out to prisoner, and ho said, " Yes, we always do it pretty well." Walter Simpson, brother of the last witness, deposed : I saw tho head of the beast found in pi'isoner's slaughter yard, and knew it to be that of a pet cow my brother Robert had lost ; prisoner said in my hearing that he had bought the oow either from some one at Rangitikei, or from my brother, Alexander Simpson ; prisoner also said it would be hard that he should pay twice for the cow, and I told him if he had bought it in good faith, neither my brother nor myself would think of taking any money from him. (The rest of this witness' evidence was corroborative of that given by Robert Simpson. Cross-examined by Mr Allen : I recognised the hides found in the water hole by my brother and the constable as belonging to the cows we hud missed. lam aware that prisoner has bought cattle from me and from my brother Alexander. Michael John Osborne 6aid : In June last I ■was in prisoner's service. I recollect one Monday early in June vre killed two cows about fcl»ree or four years old. ■ Prisoner and I started to catch tho cattle for slaughter, and prisoner pointing out the two cows, afterwards killed, said " They will do very well, and make Tery good beef." Wo drove them to the slaughter yard, prisoner shot them, and I cut them up ; we afterwards took the hides to the water hele and left them there. By the Court : It is not unusual to shoot cattle where there is not a proper slaughter house. I have bfen about ten weeks in prisoner's service. This concluded the case for the Crown. A question was raised whether or not the prosecution could stand, as tho prisoner was indicted for stealing two cows, and the evidence showed one of tho missing animals to bo a heifer. The Prosecutor was re-called and in reply to the Court said that of his missing animals, one •was a heifer, tho other a cow, that vras to say one had had a calf, the other had not. The information was amended. Mr Allen addressed tho jury for the defence, and pointed out that the prisoner's conduct had not been that of a guilty man, and that the evidence was quite inconclusive. His Honor referred to the learned counsel's address as ingenious, able, and pertinent, and, having summed up and explained the questions of law connected with the case, left it in the handi of the jury, who, after a lengthy deliberation, returned a verdict of guilty. SENTENCES. His Honor then delivered the following sentences in tho horso and cattle stealing cases : — Roe, Wheeler, and Johnston, two yearo'imprisonment with hard labor ; and Charlton six years' imprisonment with hard labor. ROBBERY WITH VIOLENCE. Thomas Watson and Edward Fitzgerald, privates in the 18th Koyal Irish Regiment, were placed in the dock, and pleaded not guilty to the above offunce. Mr Phuruzyn conducted the caso for the Crown, and the prisoners were undefended. James branklyn,of Wanganui, deposed to having been assaulted and robbed by two soldiers ol tho 18th Regiment oii the night of the 6th August, but could not identify the prisoners as his assailants. Sergeant Kelly, of tho 18th Regiment, merely eaid the prisoners were on pass on tho 6Lli August. His Honor considered there was no evidence to gu Hr a jury, and cu-iioi-cU tlic priauncro ti» ba dig. charged. ITALSE PRETENCES. ' Simon Dolan an'l John Driscoll, privates in the 18th R.i. Regt, pleaded not guilty to obtaining goods and money by means of forging and utter ing a fulse cheque. Mr Pluirazyu conducted the case for the Crown ; the prisoners were undefended James Neilson said : I keep a public house at Wanganui. On the 22nd August tho prisoners cami! to my house and ordered somo beer. They tendered in payment a cheque on tho Bank ol Now South VVales for £± 8s 4d, signed " Stanhope Ross, Captain," and I gavo them the change in a note, a half sovereign, some silver, and three coppers. I presented the cheque at tho Bank and never received any money. Charles Disney Butler, cI.M-k in tho Bank of New South Wales at Wanganui, said :— I remember tho cheque produced being presented at the Bank for payment. I refused to cash it, as 1 knew no one of the name of Stanhope Row. No such name was entered in our books at the Bank, and to my knowledge there is no such person. By the Court : I know thoro in a Captain Ross at Patea, but hid name is " Frederick '' Francis Stevens, chief clerk in tho Defence Office, deposed to knowing no Captain Stanhope itosj in tho Colonial Forces. This concluded the cueo for the Crown. The prisoners donied all cognizance of the cheque. His Honor said that tho case wa-i rxfcivmely clear il tho eviueneeof Neiison was o bo believed, and having explained the law of forgery left the

case in the- -hand*) -.of -the jury, who returned an imuiediut.o yerdkt of guilty again&t both plotters, and expressed an opinion that in Wangstnui per* •sons wore" Very liix in' Winesß in taking cheques from private-soldiers.. " "' '.'. "' - • His Houor deferred sentence till the following day aud. the Court adjourned at 6.30.