SUPREME COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 3168, 16 April 1873, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSION. This Day. (Before his Honor Mr Justice Chapman.) LARCENY. Peter Fotheringham was indicted for having, on the Ist inst., stolen a cash-bo* containing 18s 6d in coin and forty onepenny postage stamps, the property of Henry Dench, hotel proprietor of Port Chalmers. He was undefended.

The facts of the case were reported by us the other day. For the defence, Mr Robertson, shipping reporter of the Daily Times, and a waterman called Harland, were called, but did not appear. The prisoner said he could have proved that he was innocent, had the waterman and Robertson, in whose company he was, and with whom ho had been drinking on the night in question, been present. The jury returned a verdict of guilty. BURGLARY AND LARCENY,

Peter Fotheringham was further charged with stealing one telescope, one suit of clothes, 241 postage stamps, and a like number of revenue stamps from the Harbor Company’s counting, house, and with having burglariously entered the said premises on the night of the 27th ult. The facts of the case, briefly stated, arc as follows : —On the night of the 27th March, Mr Mills, clerk to the Company, left .the premises about 8 o’clock, locking them up as usual, and on returning about 6.30 next morning discovered that one of the panels had been unloosed. He at once made a search, and found that a parcel and a number of postage and revenue stamps were missing. On a subsequent search being instituted, a telescope was also found to be missing. On the 31st ult., the prisoner took a parcel containing everything but the stamps to Mr Jas. Smith, storekeeper at Port Chalmers, and asked him to keep.it for him. The parcel was wrapped in an Jn/us dated 17th June, 1»71, the counterpart of that paper being found made use of as a window-blind in tho prisoner’s premises. The parcel, on being opened on tho 4th inst,, in the presence of Constable Erridgo, was found to contain 241 revenue stamps, one suit of clothes, a necktie, and one telescope. Mr Elder bought 54 stamps from the prisoner on the 31st ult., giving him the full value for them, 4s Gd ; Mr Voysey bought 96 for 7s Gd ; and Mr Dench 40, which were afterwards stolen by tho prisoner ; he representing in each case that the authorities at the local Post Office refused to take them. Nine postage stamps were also found on him when arrested.

The defence set up was that a young man, an old chum of the prisoner’s, on going down to the Port, left the clothes with him (the prisoner), sold him 7s worth of stamps, and he promised to sell the stamps for his friend. He was not in Dunedin at the time of the robbery, nor was he seen about town ; and had he been, he would not have committed a burglary on the Harbor Company’s premises. He had given Sergeant Watson, of the Dunedin Gaol, a description of the maa

from whom he bad got the clothes, but he did not know whether the police had heard of him.

After a short retirement, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. Sentence deferred till to-morrow.