Police Court.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 51, 28 August 1895, Page 2

Police Court.

I Before H. L. Shenvill and C. Bull, Esqs., J.P's.J The following is the conclusion of the evidence taken in the case, heard yesterday, against Harry Belin, charged with burglariously entering the Cheltenham Hotel : — Geo. Crichton deposed to coming to Feilding on the morning of August 17th aad seeing accused between 11 and 12 o'clock ; accused told witness ho left Coal Creek at 7 o'clock on Friday morning, stopped at Birmingham till 11 o'clock on Friday night, and reached Feilding at 5 o'clock on Saturday morning ; was present when accused was arrested and he denied to Constable Tuohy that the bag or lantern (produced) were his, although he previously told witness they were his ; suspected accused of the robbery from what he told witness and had the police communicated with. Ike Moore deposed to giving accused an empty sugar bag on the night of Friday, August 16th ; the bag produced was similar to it ; saw accused " shout " for three or four men at the Birmingham Hotel, and after paying for the drinks accused said he had another shilling for Feilding ; accused left Birmingham Hotel betweeu 9.30 and 10 on Friday night with the expressed intention of coming to Cheltenham. * Wra. Howie deposed to having been engaged by accused to look after the men working for him at a bushfelling contract in the Coal Creek Block ; knew accused had no money, because (three or four day's after witness went to work for birn) he went to Apiti to get some tools and said that he had no money, but a countryman would supply the tools ; on the night before ho (accused) left the camp he said he had only 4d, and one of the men gave him 4s. Constable Tuohy deposed to hearing of the robbery on the morning of August 17th and to arresting accused in the Empire Hotel; amongst the articles found in accused's possession was a door key and 15s ; saw in the corner of the commercial room the bag and lantern produced ; accused denied that these, articles belonged to him ; at the "lockup" accused asked witness for a pair of socks which were in the bag ; subsequently accused told witness he bought the lantern in Feilding ; accusad told witness he had £2 4s when he left the camp; accused said lie bought whisky and brandy at hotels in Feiiding, but the proprietors of the hotels pointed out as where the liquor was purchased from, denied supplying accused ; visited the Cheltenham Hotel on Monday niorn- ! iug (August 26th) and tried the key he found in accused's possession in the bar doors, aud found that it would unlock and lock a door leading from the passage to the bar. Accused having expressed the desire to call Thos. Tasker, porter at the Empire Hotel as a witness, the latter was examined and deposed to seeing accused in the hotel on Saturday morning, at about 6 o'clock, in the passage ; he had a parcel and a small sugar bag in hia possession. Accused was committed for trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court at Wanganui on September 24th.