SUPREME COURT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 506, 13 May 1909, Page 11

SUPREME COURT.

gV:'A;-C .-."i. V:.:--;' NCAHAURANCA STATION CASE. ■ , . "HIS FIRST SERIOUS ACT." . ■ Upon tho Criminal Sessions being resumed ~yesterdayj.sontonce;was.passed,on a sailor named Alfred Burnicle; ■ alias James Ecarcc, who had boon found guilty of having entered '-.'.thb's^railway ; at :Ngahauranga night, andstolen ono macintosh coat', ono oho jpiiir of gloves, tho -property of Mr. Kearney, tho stationmaster. Mr.'Webb ' said that, the -various offences of : which prisoner had previously been con- . victed had all arisen from his weakness _ for . drink. This was the first act of a serious ;nature.which'lie. hy .'committed.'"-■.■Ho-asked that leniency should bo extended to 'him. ' . His Honour remarked that, of the -twenty previous • convictions > againstprisoner,'. fivo -fpr thefti; Prisoner: had given; trouble to the police pretty continuously for ..six years.: If. almost unprotected places, like railway , stations, : could not be protected: in 'brie',way, they must; be protected in. ariothor.,Ho might Jtell prisoner that; if he again came before the Court he would be more severoly dealt with. A sentenco of nine months' imprisonment would bo imposed. ,

THE AFFAIR AT THE "CRICKETERS' ARMS." : OLD: OFFENDERS TREATED LIGHTLY, i Having been found guilty of -having assaulted an old man named James. Carter in an ,'outbuilding ■-■ (it. the :Criclceters' Arms, Hotel,'.with;intuit'to : rob' him;-three middle-?, aged men named .''William -■ Thomas, .John Trainor, and George Williams were then set forward for sentence.. • ' ';>.Mr.'-Bolton; said'i that hone of the previous convictions igainst involved offences, of a serious character'. He was; a married man witha-family, and had resided here for many* years. This was the first, .charge involving dishonesty-. against him. - - •■ " - - Williams'' stated'.; that,•. ever since; he' had been in Now :■ Zealand,. he ; had been industrious and'-honest. Evidence as to his charactor could be given by some of tho largest contractors here. If . his, Honour gave him , a chance ho would have no cause.to regret it. The Crown Proscoutor; ? mentioned - that Trainor had. been convicted between 1896 and 1906 of using obscene language, :assault, willful .damage,'being'on licensed'premise's, : .'etc;;;' ' the"largest' sentences' imposed'on-him being, two oi ono month each. Most of; the offences, it was probably- fair to say, were the result' of drink."' Except when- ho ;took he behaved himself properly and' went to work. -Thomas received two years for as- . sault : and'robbory at Christchurch in 1900; two years for assault at . WcUington in 1902; aAd;;,disorderly and consorting-with thieves in 1906. /According to: the, police, .these; sentences' had. 'not ;• ■■ been a lesson' to -him, -for. he •llad' . been : loading a loose life,.; doing little -or no .work. Since Williams .had been ■in Now Zealand ho had not; been convicted, In New South Wales, however,' there were. gome serious convictions -'against'; him. Ho': was sentenced to ten years for robbery ;with -violence-in 1889. ...Subsequently ho ..was. sentJtb '.'gMl; for : ; fivo ! -'years, ; for ? attemptmg .Afco; chokei ■/arid.'.- with .'.'attempting to,' rok' I'.'Other' offences 'committed: by .liiini mcluded' riotous behaviour and'assault ori tho' police. V.He had been .warned by .tho Now.'.Zealand.'polico .to. "go straight."' _ , , v Addreasmg' tho prisoners -his Honour : said :''.tli'at'-; all had. rather bad records. . As: for Trainor,. ho might say that it was in his favour that there TMO / t .io\.charßM-:'ih.:'ith©'rpas.t' : of;' excessive' 'of ,;3i .;:;i In; fKoicaso of assault brought against him only a fine was imposod.vWilliains's rcoord showed that -ho had previously been' guilty of j crimes or violence which, judging; from:? the sentences, were of 'a' more'serious character than tho ['present offence. charges of assault included ono, which was considered so serious that ho. was sent to gaol. for twelve months. As. for Thomas, ho had been conyiotediof the. same, kind of thing -before, - and judging frtm .his rea>rd he had been in the habit of associating with: disreputable people. ;If it:had been,a oaso of robbery from a per- . son who : had exhibited: temptation,, it would have been less serious. This> was not like a case of a drunken, man who had notes almost dropping out of his pockets. Tho bad feature :of the case was that there was some-v thing like a conspiracy—prisoners had put their heads together to follow and rob the old man. Furthor-than that; ono, or per- : haps;two, of itle.'prisoners-.wis; guilty of, con-'i ■ siderable violence to him. If prosecutor had suffered any serious injury. thoy. would have ; found . themselves; consigned to prison for; a long term.; What probably hapjiened was ..ttottthey .'-knocked • his-head ;agaiiist ; the'wall ; to. silence him j: if ihe had; not sung out they, might not have doco' it. ' 'Ho could not overlook the fact that thero was violence, preceded by somo.;arrangement-toi got hold of tho . old .-man's: money in order to get drink with. it. It would bo'necessary for him to impose ;a;. ; sehtence j:of. ;twb tyears •; with-.hard" labour, on- Thomas ; and'.-Williarijs, '.and of eighteen months'with hard labour on-Trainor.

• - A BARMAID'S RING. ■~ SENTENCE' OP TWO YEARS. • ; 'Arthur New,'..alias Curtis, a middle-aged ,;' man, was then indicted for N that 'he did, on , ; February-25, steal a. diamond ring from a •; barmaid named :■ Constance Elizabeth Ray. • • •;,". Replying to. tho. usuali question, prisoner,• . who.is':very, deaf;..said: 'Implead guilty on the • advice of my solicitor: V ... •,.. .Mr. rCracroft - Wilson/said that. in-'advis-irig prisoner 'to.'pleadguiltytehad'haddiffiCUlty in getting him -to understand his position. -According to the depositions prosecu- ./ tor was a. willing lender of. tlio ring,. and . prisoner, seemed to think that he could do . . what ■; he ■' liked, ; with,':.it,' provided '..that :.; ho returned it'. ; within a . reasonable period; He . appeared, to - .have been a. . constant' customer ■' at .the ' bar . ; presided' over ,'by the. prosecutor.' 'On -one .. -occasion,' at any rate—when ho got the ring '. —ho purchased champagne.. It •' seemed :to •' be customary, for' barmaids tolend '.their lings to''customers, who were proiicl of tho fact. Prisoner' pawned tho • ring, expecting to be.:able, to• redeem it before ho'was' re- : :qiiiredsto ,'ieturn'it. .'When he was 1 asked . about; the ring, he, told some silly . stories ,':&s ..to 'What had become '.of. it,: and,;eventually, took the, young lady .'another ring, in :. place .' of .: the" one which ho had taken. If ' there'-.had been more: time, . and ho had not .had hard luck, everything Hvould; have .been all right. ■ Tlio: ; Crown Prosecutor; said that,- in 1895, prisoner 'was. sent to gaol, for.';six-months oii three charges of theft -at Stratford, and . that, this year, ho had been lined £10' for sly grog-selling. On the other side,' he -had served a number of .'sentences, ' varying from . two :months:to,.three .years, '-'for larceny, false pretences; theft from tho. person, ;, etc. ; ; ■ r He seemed ,to have, earned his -living' in New .Zealand. by - sly grog-selling, and frequenting ' racecourses. .. . His Honour said that he had no doubt but:that the act was,a; dishonest.one; ' 'In the first place, there; may- have'been some of returning '; tho ring. : After-' . > j ; prisoner :had',.behaved dishonestly and . shamefully .with .the- property, of the young .woman.:;. Taking"into consideration' the kind of onences. which ;he had committed before, ■ it appeared that ho was quite prepared to : commit a dishonest 'act if he thought that lie could get away without punishment. Tho proper course .would ;be to. impose: a sentence of - two years' with hard labour; • which ho . accordingly did. . . A SALUTARY SENTENCE.

HIS HONOUR'S REMARKS. Bernard Smith, a middle-aged man, was then .arraigned' on .'an' indictment charging '.him with having committed an assault on n child aged 11 years 7 months at Karori on April 17. Prisoner, A who was .defended : by Mr. Cracroft Wilson, denied .'tho offence. His Honour directed that ; tho Court bo cleared during tbe,hearing of the case, and . made an order forbidding tho publication of the evidence. '' I'hs jury, which retired at 2.35, returned at 2.55, with a verdict of guilty. ■ - Mr. Wilson asked his Honour .to tako into - tho' fact that Drisoner waa a :;\K- .■

married man, and had been in gaol for three weeks 'awaiting trial. There was nothing against prisoner's record for tlio past four-, toon years. Prior to that, however, he had committed the breaking and en- : tering. ■ ■ ' ;i '' ; His Honour said that prisoner had been convicted of what lie'regarded as ono of the most serious crimes which'.a . man- could; commit. In fact, "ho . did 'not' put - crimes against, property same scalo . at all. He wished it to be understood that, in cases ■ of tho kind, not only he, but the other Judges,; felt bound to inflict - severe sentences; It ;Waß ; essential that'-it should be. knoivn far and wide that a man who - committed ah act of the kind .must expeefc to bo severely punished. .-There were, many people; wjio ...could not afford to have their children guarded on their way to and from schooli- ;■ Such men as accused-must learn, that they ; could not ;do that kind of thing without danger of long incarceration. If_ it were' considcred .that, the punishment.■ inflicted in such cases were inadequate, parents of children who' had been . assaulted would; resort to measures of their own to' redress crimes of the kind. The sentence of tho-.Courfc would be. five years' imprisonment' with hard labour.

ALLEGED FORGERY AND UTTERING. VERDICT OF "NOT GUILTY." Alexander M'llillan, ai young man, was charged with having' on February 9, at Wellington, forged the name "Andrew M'Mul-;len"-.to;a-,receipt;forja money order for:£l9 ; 18s., ! ''arid : then,' knowing the 'acknowledgment, to be. forged,' did use .the same. as : if. it were genuine,' and, further, with having by means of false 'pretences obtained a. steamer passage; ticket, and '£18 13s. in moneys from the Union Steam Ship Company with intent; to defraud. • . .- '-■ 1 ' Mr. Williams-defended tho prisoner, who pleaded "not guilty.," Andrew H'Mullen, labourer, Hawera, deposed; "that ; '..on'-February •'B,\ by, telegraph from Wellington he requested the post;master:at;.'Wangaiiui to.remitihim (by money order telegram) . £20, oiit ~of ~the moneys to his .credit, in the sanngs' bank.'' there. The signature " on',; tho ..receipt for. the: money wa? not'his.:';.; " i : :. . Sydney 'Burnett;.,.-'clerk:;in "the ..telegraph office, said .'that,;,on 1 February; i 9, J prisoner asked ;if' there i wasi a; money? order.'telegram for'ihim!.; -.Witness, thought -that-he -gave his name as- "M'Mullen." -At.any rate,- he answered satisfactorily the questions which.wcro put .to him. He remembered that 'prisoner 'pointwl out that,,the. surname ■';was .- 'misspelt—that', it; should,, be ~'.'M'Mullan. As far;:as he .remembered ~there: w'a"s ; ;rio, conversation .with- respect ~to ithe;'Christian name.,' ■.'■ * '■ ~ • ■. - -. i . ■ To Mr. Williams: He did- not remember tho replies which prisoner made to the questions put to him; ' Nor'would he swear that 'prisonei - ":did not' say.ithat. ', the - '.surname . should; beVs'pclledVv'.'M'Millari.'' . The ;. remittees':name.- and the office of origin; were. ur known to him at tho time. clortin the employ,of the U.S.S. iCo:;' stated that-, prisoner tendered-a money ' order: telegram ;f or £19' 18s., when paying, for a single, tickot for Gisborno. .Witaess'. told t prisoner that his signature. at. the bottom of the' money border would have,..to bo tho same as was .in the body, of the docu-, merit. ■. Prisoner told ;him that ho wanted to get;.away;t6'GisbQrn6..th.at night, and'it was. too lato for him to get tho order'cashed at tho Money Ordor Office. ■ - Detectivo Rawle, of';.Gishorne, said, that -;Pris6ner,'.riiado : a statement ,to liim 'to the !,;effect' February 9, he sent a wire to. L a:friend,Jack.;', Grahara,' ' ' at. Turabina: :. "Please ;Sendi"mo.,pounds." 'When ho found that ,tho reply come :to hand tho clerk 'Mjdi: H J''What' - iriitialln ; reply prisoner ■said;ji''A.v";y, ! Th'&' clerk next asked: "Where waaufe':frori( ?";V;T6; .this question he replied : i"Tnrabiiui("'v When tho';clerk handed him the wire'.prisoiier'jipinted; out that it had come from; Wanganui.;Tho clesrk then said: "It. is aU^righfc: .Thbro is no' office at TurakLna." iAcwrdiig prisoner, he then .said that there should bo an -'i". in tho surnanio .m place of*. ( "u." he iclerk ■to sign, the jeceipt, ih the wajriri' Which the signature wad ipelt. T.hen, ; he continued, ho had mentioned to ,tho : clerk that, there w;as;a;mistake„iri regard to tho amount." In ' reply - .(so: he /said); the • clerk told' him that :it would .be for him. all right. ;It: was further mmtidned.'in- the-iStatement that the' clerk. . toldyhiiri that, as he wanted to,'get away arid the Money, Order Office was closed, ho could get.the.'.U.S.S. .Co. to cash.'the order,.' his. arrival at. Napier, he wired to Graham -asking him how much he had. sent.' Witness also deposed that, when ho remarked to prisoner that he had, gone through'tho'moneyrpretty 'quickly, the reply : came that '■ he. had: been at the ' races on the previous day.. . . . ■ ;< Mr.Williams;: prisoner had no reason bielievo*, that the money order in .question did not como ;from the friend', to: 'whom he.had;wired. .There was no evidence .that prisoner 'knew that he'signed for' a telegram sent', to another person' until, at any rate, : ;h6. got ,no : reply .to, the: second wire, which/he: sent':.to his friend., This was :not a .case in which it was suggested that prissuccumbed to :vtemptation; ■ '.Any .doubtv'iri.''prisoner?s:mind 'as 'to •'whether ?the telegram., was for him was : relieved; by the statement? ' made -, to ■ him •by , the telegraph' clerk. There was nothing more against prisoner, than mere suspicion. V i The .jury, which retired at returned at 4.55 with a verdict-of ''notguilty.", ■ •

ALLEGED THEFT ON RACECOURSE. > John Woulfo, a young man, was set for-ward-on'; a charge .of having, on April i atTrentham,-:: stolen' 2s. in money/ from "title person of James Thomson. '. . : The accused, who > was defended by .- Mr'. Toogood,-' pleaded not guilty. ' y.< :. Prosecutor stated, that ho'was a. labourer residing.. at ' .On the ."date, in question; lie went ifo ; the .races: at Trentham. .'During-the day. lie-got; very-' drunk. Ho remembered prisoner/coming up to' him' for '2s. 6d;;to put on a L Witness gave 'him, in all,. 3s. 6d.,' which-.he did nob' expect back Hedid " hot recollect - anybody putting, his hand., in/his ; pocket .When 'the. detective spoke .to him later , in the day lie was. "pretty well, gone." .•'■Ho.'knew prisoner slightly before the date'.in': Question.To Mr. Toogooa: He, may . have asked prisoner- to put ss. on; a horse in another race, but he had no recollection of the fact. Prisoner- may hot • have taken 'out' of his. pocket.-' He. did not think'.that;he had moro than, two or throe sixpences on him at tho timo. . i ; . : ■ At this stage the Court adjourned until 10.30 this morning. SUBTERRANEAN TELEPHONE SYSTEM, n -—- I (nt TEI/EOEiPH— SPECIAL. COKREBroNDENT.) Hastings, May 12. Mr. G. J. Rule, who was in chargo of the workmen engaged in laying the.pipes for the subterranean telephone system, left Hastings to-day • on . his'returri to Wellington ' after the completion 'of the work. -This will bo one of the first towns to liavo the underground system installed, and the action of tils Department in doing tho work so soon seems to point to the fact that'they recognise, that Hastings is'rapidly developing into an important coniraorcial contro.