PENALTY OF CRIME

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3063, 26 April 1917, Page 9

PENALTY OF CRIME

0 . . PRISONERS . SENTENCED SILSBY GAOLED FOR SIX YEARS. The Chief Justice, Sir Eobert Stout, gentonced a number of prisoners in the Supremo Court yesterday morning. • Pofcy Ericksoii had pleaded guilty to sbien ohargea of theft^—five charges of theft from a dwelling, and one charge of breaking, entering, and theft. .-■' His Honour sentenced the prisoner, who is twenty-one years of age, to a term of four months' hard labour on each of the thirteen charges (the sentences to bo cumulative), and, further, declared him to be an habitual criminal. Publio. Servant's Offence. . ■ Thomas Silsby, for whom Mr. H. ¥. O'Leary appeared,- had pleaded guilty to six charges of forging and uttering Government voucher?. Prisoner, it will be remembered, was until recently an employee in the Mental Hospitals Department, where ho committed the offonoes in question. ■ Alexander L. Wilson, auctioneer and land agent, and George Henry Dixon, manager.of tie "New Zealand Times," gavo evidence as to prisoner's previous good character. Mr. O'Leary said prisoner quite realiaed .that he "must be. punished by a • term of'imprisonment for his crime. Certain facts might; howovor, bo advanced, in his favour. Though tho amount received by prisoner was large, the amount recovered was also'large. Out of a sum of £2870, £2500 had been recovered'and. returned to its rightful owners, the Government. The fact that prisoner did not spend the money showed, counsel submitted, that he was not a man subject to the common vices such as drinking and gambling. After his arrest he made a ; denial of his guilt, but a little later he made a full disclosure,' and gave the anthorities every assistance in the recovery of the money. Prisoner came, to New Zealand with his wife and family njno years agoj' and' was then in possession of a considerable sum, -which he liter lost in land transactions. Some time ago his wife and family went back to England, and the greater part of < the deficiency shown between the amountreceived by prisoner and tho amount recovered by the Government had Rene to prisoner's family in England. Prisoner had .lived an honest life in the past, and intended to live such a life in the future. Counsel therefore asked His Honour to impose such- a sentence as would not crush out of prisoner any bopqv of reinstating himself. : His Honour said he would[not prss upon prisoner; anything like the- sentence that the law allowed,-, or prisoner would never get out of gaol again. He would pass such a sentence as would warn those in such positions as prisoner had 1 eld in the Civil Service that that sort of offence was'not to go unpunished. The taking- of Government money was worso than tho taking of a private person's; as the Government had'to .trust its officers. If it was unable to do so, the .whole structure of Government fell down. , Silsby ivas sentenced to six years' hard labour. ' Theft from the Wharf. John Joseph Drew-had pleaded guilty to a chargo of theft from the wharf. Mr. H. i< , . O'Leary,. on prisoner's behalf; called tho -evidence"'''of George Churchill (coal foreman in tho omploy of the--Union Steam Ship Co.), who stated that Drew had always borne a good character and been a. good worker. Counsel said lie understood that the police and probation officer's report indicated that prisoner was a man of past good, oharaoter. ..The, case was apparently one in which the theft was not actuated by a'desire on tho part of the accused to make any monetary gain.. The. property stolen was an article; of, _fopd which .might beused by the defendant and his wife and family. Counsel,:,in ■appearing for prisoners, usually■ desired to avoid ■urging'a. man's dombsti6;,;affairs. as ..a'pleafor leniency. Prisoner's/case was, however, so-piti-ablethat counsel could not refrain from making referenoe to it. Drew was" a married man with six children, tho eldest oight years of age and the youngest fourteen days. One' could thus'well sympathise with a family placed in such a position as Drew's was. , Counsel strongly urged His Honour to grant probation. The Chief , Justice said he was very sorry to.see prisoner in such! a position, because prisoner not only had oast a slur on nis' own, name, but on the name of the wharf workers. Many of the lattor, His Honour knew, were exceedingly decent, men, and ho believed that as a whole they were men of good character. Such , wharf" robberies as this committed by prisoner' tended to make people believe that there was nothing on the wharf but a set of scamps. "I see no reason, however," concluded Hia Honour, "why I should not grant you probation. You will be placed upon probation for twelve months, and will bo ordered to pay ss. per month towanJs tho expenses of the prosecution." Concealment of Birth. Hilda' Koberstein, who was represented by Mr. H. F. O'Leary, was ordered to come up for sentence when called upon on a charje of concealment of birth. She was ordered to be placed in the charge of the Salvation Army authorities.- ■,■"■:■. Breaking, Entering, and Theft. William Albert D. Dudley, aged twenty years, was sontenced to three months' hard, labour on a charge of breaking, entering, and theft.