BALLARAT.

Grey River Argus, Volume VIII, Issue 542, 8 July 1869, Page 4

BALLARAT.

THE CHEAT " QQL.n-STE.AL.INQ" CASE. The case of the Bonsha Company v, Philip Davis, late mining manager of the Prince of Wales Company, forstealing 1000 ounces of gold, the property of the Queen, was concluded on Wednesday, 23rd ult., at the Ballarat Police Court, when the prisoner, Mr Davis, was committed for trial at the next Circuit Court, bail being his own security for LSOO, and two others of L 250 each. The defence was all reserved for the Circuit Court proceedings. Some notable features of the case are thus commented upon by the Star :— " The charge against Mr Philip Davis, of the Prince of Wales Company, of stealing gold, the property of the Queen, may possibly lead to pome curious complications. If the Prince of Wales Company is guilty of robbing her Majesty because the gold was. on private property, it is to be presumed that the Bonshaw Company is. guilty also, and we understand tlul this is to be tried in due time. But another complication has occurred in the case. We are informed that the two justices of the peace, Messrs Budden and Lee, who sat on the bench with the police magistrate, Mr Gaunt, were of opinion thai there was no case against Mr Davis, but notwithstanding this Mr Gaunt committed him for trial. Mr Gaunt seema to us to have acted improperly in the matter, as he did not state that he was opposed to the other magistrates, and he overruled their decision. They should not, on the other hand, have allowed the matter to be passed over in silence, for it would have been certainly better to have the scene in court which they feared, than to let a man be committed for trial whom they held not to be guilty. We understand that Borne further steps are to be taken to test the validity of the committal, but it seems a great pity that such a complication should ever have been allowed to occur. Perhaps, however, jf both members of the Bonshaw and the Prince of Wales companies are sent to gaol for stealing gold from the Queen, the state of the law may become so absurd as to cause some legislation in regard to mining on private property. Another version of the affair is that the justices of the peace were not consulted at all by Mr Gaunt, which only makes his conduct jstill more extraordinary,"