OTAGO.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume IV, Issue 205, 16 December 1864, Page 2 (Supplement)

OTAGO.

IMPORTANT BANK TRIALS. CHARGE OP THEFT BY AN AGENT OF THE BANK OP NEW ZEALAND. [ACQUITTAL OF THE PRISONER. [From a correspondent of jthe Nelson Colonist.'] John Gibson Skinner, some time clerk of the Bank of New Zealand, and agent at the Teviot in 1863, was tried at Dunedin on 2nd December, before Mr. Justice Richmond and a Jury on a charge of stealing certain moneys on Ist September, 1863, the property of the Bank of New Zealand. Prisoner pleaded not guilty and conducted his own defence. The case was a long one and the evidence was much involved. It appeared that there were two John M’Allisters, one a trader at the Teviot and the other a gold miner. They were partners. On Ist September, 1863, one of these men, the trader, deposited £3OO in the Teviot branch of the bank, and the other, the miner, about the same month deposited £2OO in the same branch. The £3OO had been paid out, according to the books, and a deposit receipt, bearing the name of John M’Allister, was produced, as being the voucher for the money, but from the evidence of one of the clerks the receipts, when entered in his book from a file] of vouchers, was altered from number 2 - 3 to 3’4, he thinking the number was a mistake!. There was no direct evidence of the money having been paid but there were signs of a remarkable laxness in the management of the branch. There was nothing to prove that the money in this receipt was paid away by the prisoner, beyond certain entries in the book in his hand writing, and it was denied that he had paid it, and both the M’Allisters still hold their original receipts, so that a duplicate receipt must have been made out, and the money it represented paid or appropriated. Such a receipt was produced, bearing John M’Ailister’s name, and the prosecution contended that this name was written by Skinner, but proof of this failed, and even also of his having made the payment. There was an attempt, on the part of the Bank, to prove a general deficiency against the prisoner, but the Judge ’.would not allow such shifting of ground from the original direct charge of stealing this £3OO. The evidence was exceedingly intricate, and the cross-examination of witnesses by the prisoner was very cleverly managed. The case was ultimately stopped by the Judge, who, after a long argument with the agent for the prosecution, stated it to be his opinion that there was no case to go to the Jury with, an announcement which was received with repeated rounds of applause in the Court. The Jurors conferred for a few seconds, and then the Foreman said:—We find the prisoner Not Guilty; and I am instructed to say that we quite concur in the opinion expressed by your Honor, that there was no case for the jury at all.

There is another charge against Skinner, one for forgery, which was to be tried at a subsequent sitting.

CONVICTION OF AN AGENT OF THE UNION BANK FOR THEFT.

On Monday last (sth December) Evan Henry lewis , some time agent for the Union Bank of Australia at Tuapeka, was tried before Judge Richmond and a jury on a charge of stealing £633, the property of the Bank. Prisoner, it appeared from the evidence, was employed as agent at Tuapeka, at a salary of £375 per annum, besides a house rent free, and fire and light supplied. The evidence of the Assistant Inspector, (Mr. Cowie,) showed that having heard something he went to Tuapeka on 6th of June, and discovered a deficiency of £633 in the prisoners cash in June last, and on asking how he had lost it prisoner replied that he had lost it on his way down Miller’s Flat on the Ist May. His returns to the Bank, however, tri-weekly and weekly, showed nothing of such a loss, neither had ho ever reported that loss, as he was bound to do any loss, immediately it occurred. A letter, dated Tuapeka, 7th June, 1864, written and signed by prisoner, and addressed to Mr. Cowie, was produced in evidence. In that letter prisoner said ho had inadvertently lost upwards of £2OO between 16th and 23rd February, which was the commencement of his deficits, and that on Ist May he lost £IOO carelessly on Miller’s Flat. The other amounts he confessed in his letter he had taken at various times to pay debts he owed in Victoria. Thejetter concluded by an appeal to Mr. Cowie not "to be hard with him for the sake of his wife and children, and on account of his long services, but to retain him in the Bank and give him time to pay the money. Mr. Cowie, thinking some of the money was planted, allowed him till four o’clock to go to Waitahuna, as he said he could get £3OO. Prisoner went, and for four months the Bank saw nothing more of him until he was taken into custody. In the course of his cross-examination Mr. Cowie said, “It is not the fact that banking on the gold-fields is more difficult than in town. They have nest to nothing to do, and if they would only do their simple duty there would bo no difficulty. There is gold to be bought—that is about all. Two clerks are kept at each place, for protection—but there is not work enough for one.” Prisoner’s agent and his Honor the Judge both stated that but for prisoner’s letter of confession there would not have been sufficient evidence to prove larceny. It should be stated that prisoner had drawn a cheque on his own account to cover the £633 deficiency, but he had no funds in the bank. The Judge stated the question for the jury to be "Do you or do you not think that the money was taken with a felonious intent.” That is, was the money taken for his own purposes ;if so, the prisoner is guilty of felony. The jury found a verdict of " Guilty of Embezzlement,” and recommended the prisoner to mercy on account of this being his first offence, and because of his long services to the Bank. The agent asked delay of sentence in order to produce evidence as to prisoner’s character. Sentence deferred.

The Naval and Military Forces in these Colonies. —The Australian and New Zealand Gazette gives the following as the ships of war on the Australian station at the date of the last advices The Harrier, (17), Capt. Sullivan, at New Zealand; the Miranda, (14), Capt. Jenkins, at New Zealand ; the Eclipse, (1), Captain Mayne, at Sydney; the man, at Sydney; the Esk, (21), Capt. Hamilton, at New Zealand ; the Falcon, (17), Capt. Parkin, at Sydney; and the Salamander, (4), Capt. Carnegie, at Sydney. The Salamander is on her way to the new settlement at Cape York, for which station she has been specially commissioned. The Salamander left England on January 24. The regiments now employed in New Zealand went on foreign service as follows : —The 65th in May, 1864; the 70th in January, 1849; the 43rd Light Infantry in October, 1851; the 68th Light Infantry in December, 1857 ; the 40th in July, 1852; the 57th in February, 1863 ; the Ist battalion 12th in July, 1854; the 50th in June, 1857; the 2nd battalion 12th in Sept. 1860 ; and the 2nd battalion 18th Royal Irish in April, 1863. The period at which these battalions may be relieved depends upon the progress of the war. Should it bo brought to a termination all will be at once brought home, except the 50th, and 2nd battalion 14th and 2nd battalion 18th. Although the 68th has only been abroad since 1857, it is well entitled to relief from the fact that it was sent to India after being at home but a few months from foreign service. In fact it was, like the 43rd, under orders for England when the increased demands of the New Zealand war compelled the authorities to divert it from Rangoon on that service.

To Those Who Write for the Press. —lt would be a great favor to editors and printers, should those who write for the press observe the following rules. They are reasonable, and our correspondents will regard them as such:—l. Write with black ink, on white paper, wide ruled. 1. Make the pages small, one-fourth that of a foolscap sheet. 3. Leave the second page of each leaf blank. Give to the written page an ample margin all round. 5. Humber the pages in the order of their succession. 6. Write in a plain, bold hand, with less respect to beauty. 7. Use no abbreviations which are not to appear in print. 8. Punctuate the manuscript as it should be printed. 9. For italics underscore one lino, for small capitals, two ; capitals, three. 10. Never interline without the caret to show its place. 11. Take special pains with every letter in proper names. 12. Review every word, to be sure that none is illegible, 13. Put directions to the printer at the head of the first page. 14. Never write a private letter to the editor on the printer’s copy, but always on a separate sheet. —Enquire Within. ODE TEW SKIDDER. Stupenjus mounting. My! I never seed anything harf so hi. Ime most doggone mazed Tew guess how yew was razed. [emigrait Do yew belong tew these parts, or did yew Tew this lobashun from another state ? Was yer contracted for, or did yer grow F Or, was yer busted-up by a volcane O P Yew air a kawshun, sartainly, for snaix, Jeerusalum, how my legs aix! [blime Trcmcnjus altitewd, adew! I guess the suWill wait a few, afor agen I klime. Conn. U.S.