SUPREME COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 3934, 4 October 1875, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SITTINGS, Monday, October 4. (Before his Honor Mr Justice Williams and a - Common Jury.) | _ THE GRAND JURY. Hie following gentlemen were summoned as grand jutors -Albert Larnaoh, George Matthews, James M'Leod Nicholson, W. B. Ogdvic, William Sinclair, juu., Edmond Smith (foreman), J, T, Telfer, J. B, Thomson, A. J Towsey, James Wilson, J. T. Wright J P Armstrong, C. F. Black, Charles Calder! Ambrose Chiaroni, F. M. Coxhead, William Eld r, Charles Eva, Robert Fenwick, John Gillies, John Hislop, G. B. Smith, and J. W, J ago. Messis Albert Larnach, J. M. Nicholson, Kobert hemvick. J. T. Wright, and Ambro-v Chiaroni, not appearing, were each lined L 5. Mr Chiaroni afterwaids appealed and apologist for being detained till after the roll had been cal'ed. His Honor accepted the explanation, and remitted the fine. HIS HONOR’S CHARGE. The Grand Jury having been sworn, His Honor sain Gentlemen of the rand .fury ; Ihe calendar is fortunately light and the offences charged aie not of a serious character You will, I apprehend, haVe little difficulty wuh the cases that come before you. You aiv doubtless aware that to constitute the offences of larceny it is necessary that there should have been a removal of the goods alleged to fce stolen. The least removal, however, of the thing taken from where it was before, with intent to steal it, is a sufficient removal to constitute the offence, and you wou;d be justified in finding a true bill on very slight evidence of removal. 1 call your attention to this because there are two cases—one of ateaung money from a till and another of stealing .roods on board a vessel in harbor- in both of winch a doubt might arise in vour minds as to whether the evidence ot removal is suffi oient. if tint bills should bo iouud in these cases, snd it should appear on the trial that the removal was insufficient to constitute the offence charged, it would still bo open to the jury to convict of an attempt to commit the offence, whereas if the bills were thrown out

this oouM not happen, ami the end* of justice bo defeated* There is a case ot ais.-i where the accused is charged with setting fin to a dwelling-house. A hut, if inhabited, ii included in the term dwelling-liduse, and tin go.uluess orhadpesfi of the title of the occupant ii quite beside thoquestion. The other cases dc not 1 uquire any comment. V ou will, I think agree with me in hoping that ere long stepi ma.v be t.ken topsecure a suitable building fo; the purposes of this Conn. It is surely uol unreasonable to expect that in the first ('ity ol the 1 olouy the structure const-crated to tbi ai rmni-aration of justice should oe weather' prout, decent, and commo iinus. Gentlemen, if you will retire to your room the bills will be laid beiore you. TRUE BILLS. Due bills were found in ail the cases. On being arraigned, Ailred Coodall, charged with frolu an hotel at Liuuedin, and Andrew .'aidwell, aga nst whom there were two charges of emuezziemeut, plea led guilty, and senlOtioo wm defeixed, J'he other prisoners pleaded not guilty. PRESENTMENT TO HIS HONOR. ’! lie following presentment w: s made by ths Grand Jury through their foreman:-Ihe Crand Jury desire to congratulate your Bonor on your appointment to this important Judicial district, and also on the comparative lightness

of the epJaniu preeeated 'or their con aider*' t’or. at the present easeio#, The_' also ay;.car T.ith your Honor ou the desirability o ( providing more suitable aocominedtition for Ike administration of jus ice, and express the hope that this matter, which has oiten been eom* mended on by your Honor’s predecessers, will receive the immediate attention of -he autho* ritice.

His Honor, in reply ; Mr Foreman and gentlemen of the Gra .d Jury, I feel deeply your courtes -in rendering me your congratulations ou my appointment t.o this district. lam happy that you agree with me in the remarks which I iiiad- on the insufficient accommodation off -red by the prevent Supremo Court. I have to thank y u lor yum- attendance ; you are discharged. DEFAULTING COMMON JUK®«h, MS'S-rs U, P. Ooic, Adc-v. Fi-.iiunjr. Wi dinm and Bedo Bnyes, common jurors, not s-.'pe.wmif, wo* ea- hj fined L2 2s, THEFT. ••uno Hanlie was charged with stealing on September 25 three and a-half yards of cloth, thu goods and chattels of William M’Laren, tailor. Prisoner pleaded guilty. Nir t 'aid well, governor of the gaol, produced fifty-one previous convictions for various offences against the prisoner. Prisoner was remanded for sentence, ASSAULT V.IT ; A KNIFE John M‘Carthy was iud.u ted with having on August 23 assaulted one John Dwyer, Prisoner, on a second count, was charged with inflicting bodily harm on the prosecutor. He was defended by Mr Mount, and pleaded not Guilty.

The Crown Prosecutor (Mr Haggitt) briefly stated the facts. Prisoner, he explained, was arraigned on two charges, both of which were identical and the same. Prosecutor, a fireman, and prisoner were in company together on the night in question in a house in Filleul etreet. They had been drinking together iu the course of the evening. Prisoner left the house first, and prosecutor followed shortly afterwards, and came up with the i risouer, who was thou in the, act of cutting tobacco, or had been Him tly before, and had the knife—an oi dinary i-headi knife mill open iu hi* hand. Home words took place between them. The prosecutor says that the prisoner was very abusive to him, but does not recollect the words used. Prisoner then wounded prosecutor over the head with the knife and inflicted a wound behind the ear. Prosecutor threw him dovv and a' tempted to wrest the knife from him Directly he was thrown down prisoner screamed out murder, and attracted some people to the place, who, on arrival, found prosecutor and prisoner both on the groemd—prison- r underneath. The first witness to come up a man named Craig, and prosecutorasked him to lake the, kuiie out of prisoner's hand ; but before Craig could do so prosecutor himself succeeded iu getting the knife and ham-led it to Craig, who afterwards gave it to ■-ergeant Hr.nl> u. Other witnesses would prove that prosecutor used thr -ats to prisoner, [>nth before the assault and after he was a ken into cm tody. This would be an important tact to the jury in considering the probability °f prisoner's account that the affair wais merely nu accident; that, prosecutor aasaulted bim in Hie first in.-itunc-, and that he full on the knife and injured In ms. if.

lu cwb -examination prosecutor admitted that he joined the police force shortly After his arrival here some fifteen mouth- ago, and was dismissed two mo ths afterwards for breach of duty in stopping in the old Immigration Barracks longer than he should have di-one. He was there watching some mates of a woman n imed M'Namara, who had committed a theft. The complaint made was that he had assaulted a woman in the house. He bad lived in New ork, but denied having kept a brothel there. He had never boasted that he was u fighting man.

Mr idouat having called witnesses to character, submitted that the jury must corns to the conclusion that prisoner was the innocent man and prosecutor the aggressor. His Honor, in summing up, said tbit the 1000101 count could not be sustained. With regard to the first, the , had to consider whether prisoner hud inflicted the wound intentional ly f and also whether it was done in self-defence. . The ju y returned a verdict of “ Not guilty,” and prisoner was discharged. BURGLARY. Thomas White was indicted with having, cm September 6, unlawfully entered the cabin of ihe ketch Anne, then lying iu Huuedm Bay, an i stolen therefrom four pairs of blankets, a pair of browsers, a singlet, and two pairs’ of drawers. Prisoner admitted being on die craft without lawful excuse, but denied any nttem pt to steal. He had been drinking with some “chums,” and, when walking along the jetty, turned into the cabin to sleep. Lhe evidence for the prosecution was to the eff-ct that the ketch was lying alongside the • •etty street wharf, and the captain’s dour was locked. When Captain Has-all came on. board he found the door bunt open anti pri-son-r inside. The jury found prisoner guilty of breaking into the craft. There were sixteen previous convictions against prisoner, who was remanded for sentence. ROBBERY FROM A TILL. Thomas Dobson was indicted with having, on August 10. stolen J. 4, and a cheque fur L 4 16s, the property of Anno Diamond, from the Globe Hotel, Princes street. The prisoner who was defended by Mr Denniston, pleaded not guilty. Prisoner went to prosecutor’s hotel on the night m question, and was served with drink Prosecutor afterwards left the bar, and, while m an adjoining room, heard silver dropping. Ou igturuing to the b&t she found prisoner i -.aning over the counter, and noticed that he had drtwn out the ti.l to its fullest extent. 1 riKoner i hen ran away and was captures by a man named Valentine, hj lodger in the house. i he jury found prisoner guilty of simnle larceny, and he was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, with hard labor, STEALING A BWAO. Mjchael[(Toldiug was charged with having, ou July 10, 1875, stolen from the Universal Hotel, Mactog ;au street, a swag containing o IU mone >’’ of the value of L2 3s, and Various articles of clothing, the property of Hemy Hove. Prosecutor left bis swag containiag ths property before mentioned in his room in the hotel. if © weat out, and on returning found the swag missing, and then gave information to the police, by whom the swag was subsequently found in Hutchinson s hotel. King ctreet, where it had been left by the pris -nor. The money, however, had been abstracted from it, alio part of the cloth.ug. Prisoner asked the barman to go on he ‘spree” on leaving the swag, and on the tatter declining he handed LlB to him. Piißcmer’s story was that a man asked him the swag, and not finding an owner he *T‘ l lt hotel. He never opened it, and •dd not know the ennuents. The money he 1 ft vyuh Hutchison was his own. Prisoner was fount! guilty, and sentence was aofeired till a second charge was disposed cf. [Left sitting.]