PRISONERS FOE SENTENCE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2009, 17 March 1914, Page 3

PRISONERS FOE SENTENCE.

STRANGE NAWEB CASE. Five prisoners came before tho Chief Justice for sentence in tho afternoon. _ Sixteen charges of breaking and -entering and theft stood against Richard Carpenter, quite a young man, who handed in an axeeedimrly lengthy manuscript whan asked if "ho had anything to say. David Conway Burn was arraigned for having -participated in two of tho offences. Mi\ H. F. Q'Learr, who appeared for Burn, said that prisoner had been led by Carpenter into tho first two offences, but.had afterwards told Carpenter that he would have no more to do with the business, and tho last fourteen offences had been committed by Carpenter alone, Bum had gone away and worked honestly on a farm for six months before being arrested. Ho was a married man. Counsel produced, a letter indicating that. Burn had been thoroaghly honest when he could easily nave been dishonest had ho chosen. His Honour remarked that Bum had made' some progress towards his own reclamation, and he would give him a chance. He ordered him to appear for sentence when called on. , The story of Carpenter as told in documents and letters put in was that lie had suffered an attack of rheumatic lever which had left hhn with so weak a heart that lie could not work. He had thou stolen "to save his wife and family from starvation.'' . His Honour said that it was no use .imprisoning a man wno was in Carpenters condition. The prisoner was serving a sentence of two years jn Auckland, and lis would be sentenced to two years without hard labour on tho fourteen charges on which he alone was oiiavgwl. The sentence would he made to ron concurrently with the one which was already in iorco against him. On tiie two charges in which ho and Burn' were both implicated, Carpenter would be ordered to appear for sentence when called on. His Honour thought it advisable to keep something in reserve, in case Carpenter recovered and misbehaved. Other Offenders.' Fu.Uura Maraaia, whoso offence was breaking and entering and theft from a dwelling at l'aretuata, was sentenced to two years.' reformative treatment. Samuel Ford, who had pleaded guilty to tivo charges of forgery and uttering (one at Alarton and the other at-Auck-land), was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment.

Leslie M'Kee, who had been-out oti probation, appeared to answer for having broken tho term* of his license: He was granted another chance on proha* tkm. .