LAW REPORTS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2375, 3 February 1915, Page 9

LAW REPORTS

SUPREME COURT

. CRIMINAL SESSIONS CONTINUED INDETERMINATE SENTENCE His Honour Mr. Justice Chapman was again on the Bench yesterday when the criminal sessions of the Supreme Court were continued, Mr. H. H. Ostler, of tho Crown Law Office, represented the Crown. A young man, named Frederick Jackson, alias Murray, who had been released by the Prisons Board after having been declared an habitual criminal, was found guilty yesterday on , three charges of thefts from city hotels, and once again received an indeterminate sentence. On December 30 last Jackson was surprised in a bedroom in the Britannia Hotel, and, after a chase, ho was run to earth in a building in Farish_ Street. Subsequently, property, which had been stolen from the Empire and tho New Commercial Hotels, was discovered in a lift well in this building. Jackson was then charged with those thefts, and with attempted theft at the Britannia Hotel, while there was •further charge of assault, arising out of his dash for liberty when discovered in the Britannia Hotel. When the charges were called'against him in the Supreme Court • yesterday,' Jackson. pleaded not guilty, and conducted his own defence. The jury, after hearing the evidence and retiring for three-quarters of an hour, returned a verdict of guilty on the charges of theft and attempted theft, but not guilty on the charge of assault. His Honour, in passing sentence, on the prisoner, saidt "You had a chance given to you by the Prisons Board after you had. been declared an habitual criminal. .You abused your chance by agarn committing crimes. The only thing that I can do is to return you to the custody you were in before." A sentence of two years' imprisonment with hard labour was imposed, and Jackson was again declared an habitual criminal.

NOT GUILTY. V J°®E Fah, a Chinese fhiiterer, of Manners Street, ■ pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecently assaulting a girl seven years of age. The offence was alwged to have taken place in a shop near the New Theatre one day last week. _ Mr. V. R. Meredith defended the prisoner. The case was heard behind closed doors. The jury, after a brief retire ment, returned a verdict of not guilty, and the prisoner was discharged.

ALLEGED THEFT. ■ . When the Court adjourned last evening Albert William Footo was on trial, charged with the theft of £9 from A. R. Durrant, the proprietor of the New Commercial Hotel. The money represented the amount by which the cash in the office safe was short on the morning of December 16, as compared with the amount known to have been there when the takings were checked at halfpast ten o'clock the previous night. The _accused was night porter at the hotel, and on the night in question he had fqrund the key of the safe lying in the office, and had later on handed it to tho proprietor's wife. As a result of inquiries made by the police, he was arrested some days after the theft. The case for the prosecution had not closed last evening.

CIVIL,BUSINESS. 'A RESERVED JUDGMENT. . Reserved judgment was' delivered by His Honour Mr. Justice Hosking in the Supreme Court yesterday, morning in t " a «ivil action in which William Edward. Timmings proceeded against Bol» ton and Organ, solicitors, of Wellington, to. recover the sum of £500, as damages for alleged negligenoe. At the hearing in December last, the plaintiff appeared in person, while Mr. A. W. Blair appeared for the defendants. In the statement of claim; Timmings alleged that Bolton and Organ had negligently carried out his instructions m the year 1908 in connection with an exchange of land in Constable Street for a leasehold owned by one Lawson at the Hutt, the sum of £350 being payable to Timmings on the deal. Defendants stated that the agreement of exchange referred to was dated June 10, 1908. They denied that they were in any respect guilty of negligence m connection therewith. In the course of his judgment yesterday, His Honour held that the evidence was quite inadequate to establish fraud 0r negligence- The only conclusion he could come to was that the defendants had carried out the instructions of the plaintiff (Timmings). Judgment would therefore be given for the defendants. His Honour commented on the fact that although the action was practically statute barred, the defendants had given the plaintiff every opportunity of ventilating t his grievance.

AUCKLAND SESSIONS. (Br W«rraph.-FK»s AwocUMoo.) . Auokland. February 2. At the Supreme Court. Walter Gray, charged with pocket-picking. at the Avondals races, was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment and two years' reformative treatment. John Taupoki, a Maori, for forgery, was sentenced to one year's hard labour. '

SITTINGS AT TIMARU. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Timaru, February 2. At the Snprome Court; to-day the criminal cases were heard, except the Guthrie sheepstealing case. John Dainty Campbell Burch, a youth of 16 or 17 years, now pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his employer, J. O'Cowiell, at Clandeboye, on November 7. Counsel appeared for him and explained that accused had a bad fall when five years old, which may have affected his head. _ He is not insane, but not right at times. Sentence was deferred till the next day, also sentences on several charges of forgery of his employer's name to cheqiies after the murderouß assault. M. O'Brien was sentenced to three months for indccent assault on a young .girl. Denis O'Rourke was sentenced to four months for assault causing bodily harm to E. Ward, licensee of the Club Hotel. A. Nicholls was found not guilty of breaking and entering at Morven. Waltor Gray, for picking pockets, was 6entonced to one year's imprisonment and two years' reformative treatment, and John Taupoke, alias Walker, for forgory and false pretends, two years' imprisonment, Martin Gorstad, charged with gouging out the eye of a Swedish 6ailor v.hom he found in his house with Ins wife, was found not guilty.