RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXIV, Issue 2822, 13 April 1869, Page 2

RESIDENT MA GISTRATE'S CO URT.

Satxteday, Apbii 10. (Before J. 0. Crawford, Esq., R.M.) lAECENY. David Abbot and Henry Sowden, A. 0. recruits were charged by J. Meik Boyd with stealing wearing apparel and other property of his from Sweeny's Hotel. Prosecutor deposed that he knew the prisoners. He had been down the beach, and had seen the prisoners drunk. On going liome^ he found his swag broken open, many articles gone, arid the remainder strewed about. He valued the articles at £i 10s. Honry Burahem, A.0., said he knew the prisoners, as they belonged to the same force. While in a music hall the night before, one of the pri- ! soners came in with a pair of spurs j but as he j was engaged at the time he. could not swear to the person. The prisoner was trying to sell the spurs. After some chaffering he bought the spurs for half-a-orown. On returning to the hotel he discovered, that the. spurs had been stolen. Constable Melville deposed that from information received ho arrested the prisoners and took them to Frankel's shop. He found the articles then in Court on the premises, and lYankel identified the prisoners as the parties whom he had bought tho things from. I Jacob Frankel, deposed to purchasing the articles then in Court from the prisoners yesterday. Ho had bought the articles at different times during the day, and on one occasion he was on the point of going to bed when the prisoners knocked him up. On paying over to Abbott the money for one purchase, the prisoners had some altercation about tho division of the money. The prisoner Abbott, in defence, made a rambling statoment of how he had sold these things for other members of tho corps, who were ashamed or did not like to do so themselvos. Sowden denied all complicity. As the previous history of the men was known to the force, one of them having served six months in the Wanganui gaol, and a dear case being made out against them, his Worship sentenced them each to sis months' imprisonment with hard labor, •