POLICE COURT.—Thursday.

Auckland Star, Volume I, Issue 240, 27 October 1870, Page 2

POLICE COURT.— Thursday.

(Before H. H. Turfcon aud D. B. Thornton,

Esqs., Justices.)

Dbunkenness. —T. Richards and Mary Jane Smith were each fined 5s and crsts, or to be imprisoned 24 hours with hard labor. Jane Prazer, Eliza McGinn, and John Johnston, fined 103 and costs, or to be imprisoned 48 hours. James Perton was fined 20s and costs, or to he imprisoned 48 hours with hard labor. Vaobaxcy.—Eliza McGinn, pleading guilty of being an habitual drunkard, was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labor. Breaking into a Stoke.—John Coffey was charged by James Murphy with having feloniously broken into the auction mart of S. Cochrane and Son, and stolen therefrom two ea?es of tobacco, containing 177 lbs, and valued about £40, the property of J. W. Reid Charles Harris wa3 included in the oharge, which in his case was withdrawn. Mr. Joy appeared for the defence. —S. M. Bushill deposed : I am storeman in Mr. Cochrane's. On Monday afternoon, the 24th inst., JI left the auction rooms at five minutes past six. All the doors were properly secured. There were four cases of tobacco in the mart. Returned to rooms at 7.30 a.m. next morning, when I missed two cases. They had counted about 200 lbs, value about £40. I found one small door connecting «the next stores open. The catch of the lock had been taken off. The inner door to Mr. Jervis's office was open and the large door was ajar, the bar being removed. The auction mart and Mr. Jervis's office are under the same roof. (Plan produced.) Prisoner Coffee has been in Mr. Oochrane's employment off and on for several years. He had beenf^m ployed on Monday, in the storeroom, polishing tables. I identify the cases produced as laving been in the store at the time. It was the property of a Mr. Reid, bought by. him, but not removed from the store.—Cross-examined by Mr. Joy :As to the fact of all the doors being properly closed, could not swear that the inner door of Mr. Jervis's office was locked that night. A person entering by that and going into Mr. Cochrane's store, would be obliged to break the passage door to get into the auction mart. There is also a private entrance into the mart, through Mr. Cochrane's private office. Mr. Detnouline's office also communicated with the store and mart. Alfred Augustus Brown deposed : I do business in Cochrane's building?, Fort-street. I left my store shortly after 5.30 p.m. on Monday last. The front door was secured inside by a bar of iron. Mr. Jervis's doors were closed. The door leading from my store to Cochrane's I saw locked. Returned to my store next morning about half-past nine. Saw prisoner in my store ou Monday afternoon, hq was polishing a table.^Cross-examined by Mr: j O yl—Detective Jas. Murphy deposed: 'A bout 8 p.m. on Monday evening I noticed two bad characters going towards Cochrane's Buildings. Found on examination that the door of° Cochrane's was open.' ;On pushing it I found some one pushing against me. It opened a little. Called another constable and we pushed the door open and asked who was there. Prisoner was crouched down behind the door. He said, "It is I, Mr. Murphy, it's my first attempt, I will show you all the damage I have done." I then stopped him and cautioned him that whatever lie said would be used as evidence against him. Found"'the. inside office door of Mr. Jervis's open, and found the two cases produced in the centre of Mr. Brown's store. Prisoner said, ' I will show you where I took them'from." He took the screwdriver (produced) from his pocket, and drew the screws of the catch on the door' leading from Mi\ Brown's to Mr. 'Cochrane's.' He said, "That's how I got into Cochrane's." I examined the mart and found no• Gritrehce1 effected in any other way. The place pointed; out from which he had taken the tobacco was the centre of Mr. Cochrane's mart. There were two other cases there. Prisoner further stated that he was advised by two other' men to hide himself in the cellar, and that if he would have the tobacco ready they would come and take it away ; that he had hidden himself in tho cellar till after dark, and then removed the, tobacco. I took him and the tobacco to the Police station.—Cross examined by Mr. Joy, who addressed the Bench at considerable iengt-h to "show"that this charge, as one of being at night on premises without lawful cause, should have been brought under the Vagrant Act for summary jurisdiction;

also that there was no breaking and entering proved either in law or in fact, and that all the buildings being in the occupation of Mr. Cochrane, the goods have not "been taken and carried away."—Prisoner was committed for trial, bail being allowed, two sureties of iSO each and his own bond for £100.