SUPREME COURT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 205, 23 May 1908, Page 13

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSIONS. ' YESTERDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. ' ; fhe criminal sittings of tho Supreme Court , ; wero'resumed yesterclay: morning, His Honour ; Mr. '• Justice ■ Chapman taking his seat at ten . o'clock. i FORGERY AND THEFT. ' PROBATION REFUSED. Frederick Porcy Pilchor,a young man, who bad pleaded-guilty at, tho Magistrate's Court. / to two charges of forgery and one of theft at Wahganui, was presented for sentence. .Mr. • Buddie,''who"appeared on behalf of prisoner, , -asked; His Honour to take into consideration ; ; tho, fact that- his- cliont was only a ymith, •'■'also'.'that; he had; not previously been before . ' the Court. At the time - tho offences ! were ■ •< . oommitted,yth'o ,:'prisouor>. was' in need -,of money;!:-having 'incurred, greater; -expenses . thair he'could- meet.; : Ho' had, for instance, • insured his 'life. If probation could not 'be granted,'it was; trusted, that only a light sentence would bo imposed. < The Crown Prosecutor informed the Court ; that-nothing was-known, against tho charac- . ter of prisoner up to- the' date;of tilecommission "of tho offences. the prisoner, His Honour said: cannot treat this as a case'of a: single 1 impulsive act. You passed off > two. cheques . on.;'storekeepers at intervals allowing time . for ■ reflection, and . subsequently you were • guilty of a vory shabby act- of robbing a workman-of his savings. :This-is not a case in which rprobation should be granted. As I • must imprison you, I shall,give-the authori- '. :ties ; an" opportunity ..to keep you apart from - other prisoners,';so that you may,go out into .» the world, without, having mixed with habi- ..... tual criminals. The term' wili.be a short one. ~ I shall sentence you, to ..three; months' imprisortmojit on each charge;';tho sentences to be ■ eoncurrent. - 'ALLEGED FORGERY OF A RECEIPT. . "ABSENCE OF CRIMINAL INTENT." ■ QUESTION OF' GUILT RESERVED. ■, Wallaco Herbert Stewart, ..who., had .been tried.'on the; previous;.day on. a charge of . ' havjig'.forged and 'uttered' a ' receipt for, ■\ £5 55., was again/set forward. Tho jury, it "will be remembered, brought . • • • in the following verdict :: " Guilty, but without criminal intent." : ■ ' . His Honour said thatj after having looked at the definition of forgery, in; the Code and . tho.-fonn in which the verdict had been ren- . dered,; ho ;.felt;.sufficient ..doubt .about the . matter that <ho .'thought it desirablo •to reserve to ;tho Court of Appeal tho question as ■. to; what; was; tho effect, of tho Verdict. He ■would•,not ;;pass.'sentencb. ion -the-prisoner be--cause 'th'at.-wbuld beVright.'V It ;inight.be that the Court of Appeal would dccide, that .tho verdict was equivalent to one of acquittal. " ; • Prisoner, would therefore be admitted to bail - . until tho;.next; sittings, : of .'the'/ Court of Appeal. . . . ■ ,-. . .1 Tho.prisoner was'released on/tliofollowing , ' bail:—HimSelf in one surety, of. £100 and two of £50 each. THEFT FROM A DEAF MUTE. PRISONER CONVICTED OF RECEIVING, f hearing ; of tho' charge against'. John ..Sidney Hincs ■of having on May 27, IDO7, stolon £115 from the person of David Sutherland- was resumed. ■i- .: Mr. Kirkcaldie.appeared on bohalf'of the prisoner.. Ther names of tho jurors wore as followl ; Thomas Loydon.(foroman),>-F. W. Petherick, 1 , , A. S. Chapman,. A. Gray, -Wm. Tait, C Clark, H. 11. Vile, G. Milne, R. G. Hill, H. E._Long, AV. A.; Pearmenj, and H. Donkm. • Tlio ovidenco of the principal witness, John . James, Ryan,.,wa3.to'tho.;elrcct r that a man . named.M'Nab took- tho money out of Suthor-land-.s .pocket,. .whilst they, were .at: the reaT of tho Aro .Hotel. Subsequently M'Nab snared part, of tho proceeds with prisoner 'ond himself. . . .„ ~ - Further evidcnco .was .called in support of tho - charge. .-Detective Cassells deposed that he arrested - , prisoner-on April .24. •. Prisoner . said: ■'! I • don ,t; know cither M'Nab. or Sutherland. .1 •„ ;. . know,nothing about them'.'", ■; M'Nab had been • imprisoned for tho offonco. J. C. Mason and W. J. M'Keown also gavo ovjder.ee. • . lli-iscloscd thecaso for tho prosecution. .- No .evidence ; : ;was'' called -on ! behalf of ■ the . cetenco. - ■„''-v - - ■ Counsel addressed the jury, and His Honour summed up. • , jury, which retired at 11.50, returned at. d.«Jo-.jnth _ a verdict ithat' prisoner was guilty.of haying reooived-a portion of.tlio' money,-knowniK.it to havo been stolen, j lf' ' asked, that', prisoner bo dealt with in' a lenient " The Crown Prosecutor''mentioned that prisoner had served a number of short sentences. Tho offences of which he had been convicted .wore threatening 1 - behaviour,'' vagrancy, and ' consorting, drunkehriess,' illegally on promises, • broach of the peaco,'and tiieft. '. -His-Horiour-.said.-that'he trould assumo in •; - prisoner s favour -that' lie did not design tho robbery. The. conclusion which the jury had coir.e'to was. that at an .early stage' prisoner' , kixoiv that M'Nab had- robbed tlio man, and - : that-prisoner, willingly took liis sharo of'the . ' proceeds.ln circumstanccs, liis Honour .. thought that it: would be.sufficient to pass on ' prisoner a sentence which would act as a ■ caution to-'-; him against .participating iti transactions of the kiild in future. ' Ho would' ' bo sentenced to nine months'; imprisonment with hard labour. ■ i CRIMNAL ASSAULT. , STRONG COMAIENTS BY THE COURT.,SENTENCE:OF SEVEN YEARS. • ~ ■ Roderick M'Keiizio, ' who -Had,■ on' the pre- ■ vious day, ,been found- guilty -of having indecently assaulted two girls aged six' and eight years respectively, was presented' for Bcntenco.' Prisoner stated that he had been in prison .- for four months awaiting trial. It was, He continued; the'first time that a charge had '. been-preferred :against 'him; , .' 'Tho-CrOwn Prosecutor informed the Court ■' thst nothing else was . known- against tho •. ■ prisoner. • -. His llonour, in passing sentence, said : — "This ;is iiot the kind of caso in which previous, good .character is; to,be, taken into ooii--Bidoration:',A man may be bonest in moiiey matters and in his relations with'his fellow men, biit may, nevertheless, havo an iiiclina- . tion to commit this-kind of- offence; That is, unfortunately, a common experien'ce; Tlie crime of 1 which the prisoner; has been found'. guilty is, to my mind,' the most serious of which man can be oonvicted, excepting, of oourso, that which involves the doing away - with the.life of another person. • The prisoner : has, shown perverted instinct, ■' which had led -liim/to: tamper with two little girls. It : ■ is quite- likely that' ho was, practically speaking, ■ unable, to control himself. It looks as if that'animal-instinct which ho has shown is- of • such a : character that he was . ; . guite oblivious to the harm/that he r.as doing.. : "1 not',to. consider this case from the poist- of view of the criminality, of tho prisoner .in .the ordinary sense,"'' said His Honour, "but I havo to oonsider it from tho . ; point of: view; of' tho prolectioir of young girfej especially of thoso rhose;parents can't ati-ard. to hare them'-Tutchad,' but allow thorn to yrander. aboiit .the streets unprotected. Paiimts ifho aro in a bettj- position arc abls to. krr» tkeir children mfegntrded by • hav? , ing tomesne to tratch theai. The parents of tho children ill question we not in this po»i- '., tion, and it .falls to'the police and the W&11- , disposed members of the conmiunity and ulti- . ma'teiy to the Courts of Justice t» iniLct that ' thoy .should bo -protected at far. m poiaibk. Now, , a matter .of tliis sort is, net-:.t» b» troateid lightly.. It Ls; true 1 that b# vi«lenc« • was done to these chilflrtn, but everyone who has ;had tho timo to mako observations sees >- that yoking girls—innocent young girls—may bo corrupted,. and that the corruption may begin at an early ago, with such actions as

tho prisoner lifts committed. Tho prisoner possibly docs not quite appreciate what I am saying, but I am'not merely speaking to him alono. I am now called upon to punish tho prisoner by sentencing him to a long term of imprisonment. What I have to do is to punish tho prisoner in such a way that others liko disposed will boar it in mind. : - "Throughout Now Zealand," continued His Honour, "it has boon found necessary to treat such offences with severity. In inflicting sovero punishment upon prisoner, I do so because I am satisfied that when a man shows pervortc<r instinct, as lie has displayed,it is better for the protection of,young girls, and even better for himself. Ilo' should, practically speaking, bo effectually set asido so-that, ho at least will . not repeat tho offenco. In deciding to sentence him to a. term, which might seem. excessive, I do so for tho reasons given, also because ho- has shown a disposition;to repeat tho'offence day by day. It would bo absolutely unsafo to.'.let him bo at large, bccause he would ropeat the oftoneo. That, unfortunately, has been tho experience in similar cases, and it would'bo/ the same in his caso. I,am sorry to havo to sentence for a long term a man against whom therowas 110 other' imputation, but I regard tho offence as a grave and gross crime, so far •as tho interests or tho community are concerned,; and ono" in which it is necessary to treat with great severity., Prisoner will bo sentenced to seven years 1 imprisonment with hard'labour." , ■ A-SERIOTJS CRIME.; " LOST HIS MORAL RESTRAINT. ' SENTENCE OF FIVE YEAR-S. ' . Frank Halligan, a young man, was charged with, on April 26, 1908, at Dannevirko, having attempted to commit a serious criminal offenco against a - woman, and, on April 27, 1908,' with having: assaulted her with intent to commit the same offenco. / .Mr. Wilford' (with him, ; Mr. O'Lcary) appeared on behalf of the prisoner, who pleaded not guilty. . Tho following jury - was ompanelled:—D. Williamson (foreman), -A. Webloy, H. Hayward, W. Hayes, Jos. Tilyard,' Wi Brown, W. H, Hicks, A. 'Reid, H. A. Laws, W. J. Thomson,' Jasy, Dykes; and A. J. G. Smith." His'Horour made an order requiring tho -public to be excluded from tho Court during the hearing of tho case, and also forbado'tho publication of the evidence. . The jury, which retired at 10.50, returned at 11.15 with a verdict of " guilty." His Honour, in passing sentence, said:— " L entirely approvo of tho verdict. I do not see how the jury, in facij' of the evidence,' could honestly have come to any! .other decision. . . . Tho sentence which I must inflict is-one which will act as a deterrent. On a former occasion, you were before the Court for an-infringement of the law, but I think that class of case is so different; from this that I do not refer to that as a ground for increasing the . severity of your 'l punishment; but! I do not forget that, in addressing mo; on that occasion, your counsel told me that, at one time, you had occupied a respectable position in Dunedin, -and were a man of moans', but in some way you had frittered away your means, and seemed, to have dropped 'from tho position of a very respectable .man to a debased condition. Evidently you had lost your moral restraint, hence your conduct on\this 1 occa-. sion. Now I must inflict a sentence which; will act as a warning to others. It is that you be imprisoned, with hard - labour, for Jive years."' '• --V ' The ; prisoner, upon - hearing the sentence, was much affected.. ; ''' i- '< — • ; Tho Court adjourned till 10.30 on Monday "morning. •. . ... ■ ■■ ■ -■