The Evening Post. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1865. SUPREME COURT. THIS DAY. (Before Judge Johnson.)

Evening Post, Issue 177, 1 September 1865, Page 2

The Evening Post. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1865. SUPREME COURT. THIS DAY. (Before Judge Johnson.)

Tho Criminal Sittings commenced to-day His Honor Judge Johnson took his so.it on the bench at ten o'clock, when the Grand Jury p.tnel was immediately called over, and the following gentle nen sworn : — Win. M'Lcod Bannatync, Esq , foreman. Edward Battershy, Esq. C. D. Barttud, Ksq. John Bridges, Esq. William Bishop, Esq. James Carter, Esq. William Dors-tt, Esq. George Hart, Esq. J. 11. Holdsworth, Esq, J. Kobblo, Esq. W. Lev i en, Esq. W. Lyon, Esq. George Moore, Esq. A. Hay ward, Esq. A. Owen, Esq. D. lliddiford, Esq. C. Schultze, E?q. A. IJ.1 J . Stutirt, Esq. G. H. Vennell, Esq John F. E. Wright, Esq. Jonas Woodward, Esq. Judge Johnston charged the Grand Jury, and said he was sorry to observe the calender was unusually heavy, and contained a list of offences pome of which werj of a most serious nature, yet crime had not made any great head in the colony. /Hia Honor deprecated t the want of caution on the part of shopkeepers giving money for cheques, and atciibuted the great number of casea of uttering forged cheques which were daily occuring, throughout tho New Zealand to laxity in this respect on tho part of the public.*Jlliß Honor carefully reviewed the list of cases set down for trial, and in any particular instance where it became necessary explained the law affecting it. The Grand Jury retired, and shortly afterward sent down a true bill against John Lindsay for forgery, who was placed in the dock and indicted for forging a cheque on the Bank of New South Wales, in Wangani. Nicholas Shorthill deposed that on the 2lst of April he was at Waitotara Kedoubt, and saw the prisoner there, who said he wanted butter, cheese, &c, for the Gumlagai ; weighed the goods for him ; prisoner gave n cheque, signed J. D. Carfe, for £5 7a ; asked him where he got the chpqu«\ and he replied from thu steward of the Gundagai steamer ; asked him what was the signature ; and lie said Cart, or Cars— did not. know which ; gave him the goods and the balance in cash ; went to the steamer a few days after, and <nuv the "toward, who knew nothing about the cheque ; when he next saw the pi honor told lr.m the cheque was a forgery ; ho sai 1

| it \ is iill liijht. iinrl gave me his namo and regimental number, stating he belonged to ll. e Mi'li Jiegiment. 1 Ik: Judge observed there was a rreat Wiint ot common prudence on tin 1 part of witness in cashing a. olu'iue for a sold.er lie did not know. Walter Louis Millar, clerk in the B.ink of New S uMi Wales, "Wanpmui, was examined —He did not know the signature on the cheque produced ; it was presented some time in April ; a person named 3% K. C.irle kfcpt an account in thu Dank, but. the .signature to the cheque produced was not in his handwriting. Join Elliott Carte, surgeon-mejor of tha 14 h Regiment, denied the segnature was written by him ; he never authorised any one to «igu a cheque tor him. KvMencu was then given by the production of oti er cheques uttered by prisoner, to show lie had a truilty knowledge. John bLcphenson saw prisoner on the Gth of April last ; received a document from him on that occasion ; it was for £15 10s, signed •' John Hall," and endorsed with the name of ' Kennedy " it was given fo*f*oods and money ; did not know who wrote the name " Kennedy ' on the back. Prisoner asked witness if he did not say at Wanganui that he could not identify him ? Witness.— l did not care about going io Wellington at the time. Captain Edward Hall, 2nd Battalion 18th Kcgiment, deposed there was no other officer of his name in the regiment ; he did not sign the name on the cheque handed to him. Piihoner being failed on for his defence, said, with reference to the first charge, he never bought goods at any time while at Wiiitotar.i 5 and of the sccotid charge ho was perfectly inndeent. George Allardyce, Lieutenant 50th "Regt., was called — lie said prisoner belonged to the same regiment, and bore a bad, character ; in fact he had just left prison, where he had boen confined for forging a cheque on a Koman Catholic priest. His Honor, in sentencing the prisoner, said ho was a determined forger, and he bad no doubt whatever that these cheques were fabricated hy him. He would sentence him to four years penal rervitude.

Iti the House of Ilopresent'itivms j'oitoivlay, tlv<; lion, tlio Colonial Treasurer was taken to task for Inuring stated in his speech of the previous dny that Auckland was hanging as ;i mill-stone round the neck of the colony. Mr. J. O'Neill said the assertion was untrue, whereupon he was called to order, first hy tlie Premier, then by Hie Acting Speaker. The Hon. the Treasurer explained. lie would not condescend to use any expression as an attack on Auckland. Let him see whether they were so meant. lie had used the words, " the Province of Auckland being like a mill-stone round the neck of the colony." He did not intend to defend Auck-land--he was not going to do that • but he would say that perhaps the misapprehension of hou. members of his meaning was a natural sequence of the sentence. lie, however, as that was not the case, could only lay it to the badness of the sentence that hon. members had mistaken his meaning ; perhaps the sentence was like many more of his, bad. He however thought that if n research into the question had been made, it woud show that he evidently meant that the expenditure in the Province of Auckland hung like a mill-stone round the neck of the colony. He must, however, apologise for being so careless as to use the term ho had, though perhaps he would be dealt with very leniently, considering the length) and difficult statement he had to make. Of course he would not say that the hon, members from Auckland snarlingly (laughter) picked up such expressions in a long and difficult speech, though he believed they would snatch them up with that avidity (laughter"), not, he thought, to be induced by a long sojourn in a Northern clime, Mr. John Williamson asked how was it the Colonial Treasurer stated that Auckland was " hanging like a millstone round the financial neck of the colony ?" If she was, as reprusonted, a " millstone round the neck," why, the best thing to be done would be to remove that " millstone." If Auckland were left to herself, and had the management of her own affairs aad her own, natives, she would be answerable to the Queen of England that she would do better for ameliorating her condition ;iml Managing her affairs than any theorists could.