Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, MARCH 27, 1871.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 17, Issue 978, 27 March 1871, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, MARCH 27, 1871.

We are informed thai the Hon Mr Fo& is likely to be in Napier in about a fortnight. The Luna, with the Southern representatives at the late Colonial prize firing, left Tauranga at 5 am. yesterday, and may therefore be expected about 10 a.m. to-morrow. Colonel Harrington remains at Tauranga, and will not arrive here for about a month. The various volunteer companies will parade at 10 a.m. to-morrow, to meet the Southern representatives. As the day is to be observed as a general holiday, and as some of our hands will be necessarily absent in consequence ot the parade, there will be no issue of the Hawke's Bay Times to-morrow.

Resident Magistrate's Court.— Tliis morning, before E Stuart, Esq., J.P., Charles Newmann was brought up on remand, charged with stealing £6 5a and a pocket handkerchief fiom Thomas Hay. From the statement of the prosecutor, who was severely crossexamined by Mr Lee, it appeared that he left Waipukurau on Wednesday last, with £\s 16s, that he had come to town with the money, and except a few trifling purchases, had spent it all except c£6 5s in drink by Thursday night. On that night, being drunk, lie went to Mr Nott's for a night's lodging, but found the place closed. He went to sleep on the door-step, and prisoner, a lodger in the house, coming home, awoke him and took him in at the back-door, and allowed him to sleep on the floor in his room. His money was in his pocket when he lay down, but was not there when he awoke. He informed the police, and shortly afterwards heard that the prisoner was spoiling notes at public-houses.—Con-stable lAvrmer deposed that he arrested the prisoner, who was drunk, on Mr Swan's ] »remises. Prisoner gave him four coppers, as being all the money in his possession, but on a search being made, three £1 notes were found in his pocket. A handkerchief belonging to the prosecutor was also found in a pocket of one of Newmaim's coats, in the bed in which lie had slept in hi* room at Nott's.—Several other witnesses were examined, and Mr Lee having addressed the Bench on behalf of the prisoner, contending that there was no proof of his having committed the otfence with which he was charged, judgment was reserved till 2 p.m.

District Court.—The Court sat in bankruptcy at 11 a.in, on Saturday Re Frederick Harrison. —Mr Lee, on behall of opposing creditors addressed the Court at considerable length. The duty he had now to perform was a painful one, for up to the time of this case coming before the Court he had always considered the bankrupt a respectable man; but it devolved upon him now to apply that under section 120 of the Bankruptcy Act, the bankrupt's order of discharge should be suspended for three years, and that the order of protection should also be taken away. The bankrupt was liable to punishment, in the first place for vanous breaches of clause 12'.). He bad trans greased sub-section 4 of that clause in having delayed or neglected to tile a declaration of insolvency, knowing that he could not meet his engagements. Contrary to sub-section 5, lie, Lving a trader had, with the intention of concealing from his creditors the state of his affairs, neglected to keep proper books. Contrary to sub section 6, he had, within three months before his declaration of insolvency, contracted debts without any prospect of paying the same. Under section 302, which contained the misdemeanor clauses, he would apply for the committal of the

bankrupt on various grounds In the first place, contrary to subsection 2, be did not on examination fully and truly di-elose the state of his ajffaire, and lay before the Court an account of all his property, both real and personal Subsection 7 provided that it should be a misdemeanor, if, within three months previous to adjudication, the bankrupt should conceal, alter, destroy, or falsify his books or any portion of them. The clause had been transgressed, the bankrupt having admitted burning one of his books; and no information had been elicited respecting certain red books, in which the native witnesses stated their accounts had been kept. Subsection 8 constituted it a misdemeanor for a bankrupt to enter fictitious losses and expenses in his accounts. ' The large amounts put down as losses in trade weie unsubstantiated by any proof, and, he contended, came under this description. The misdemeanor set forth in sub-section 9 had also been committed, the bankrupt having, within three months of filing his declation, obtained money or property on credit with intent to defraud his creditors. The £IOO borrowed from Paramena was obtained on false pretences, and clearly can * under the operation of this clause. Unuer these circumstances he would apply that the Court should commit the bankrupt for trial for these misdemeanors, issuing a certificate as provided by clause 302, that, under examination, he had not disclosed the state of his affairs; and that it should also direct the trustee to prosecute. — Mr Maddock coincided entirely with his learned friend Mr Lee —Mr Sledman, before addressing the Court for the defence, called his Honor's attention to a paragraph in the Daily Telegraph of the previous evening, which stated that evidence was being elicited very unfavorable to the bankrupt. He considered that such a statement relative to a case then pending was very reprehensible.—Mr Lee would explain that the paragraph in question was inserted by the reporter, and only appeared in a portion of the issue. -As soon as it was detected by the editor he saw its impropriety, and had it taken , out. —His Honor said it was very important that newspapers should abstain from expressions of opinion on cases pending in Courts. Where a case, like the present, was tried by a single Judge, it was not so serious a m vtter as injury cases, where a statement of this kind might make an impression that would influence the verdict. In England editors had been committed for contempt of Court for publishing ex parte statements like the one to which his attention had been directed. Mr Stedman said that while the bank rupt was far from blameless, he had not been guilty of the serious misdemeanors just laid to his charge. He maintained that not one of the-e charges had been proved, and that the burden of proof rested with the opposing creditors. M r Harrison had been subjected to a long and searching examination, and his statement was to some extent unsatisfactory ; but it afforded no ground for the imputation of fraud. He had kept his accounts in a very loose manner, and had altogether acted in an utterly unbusiness like way ; but this was all. The destruction of one of his books, after the accounts had been transferred to a ledger, v as merely a proof of the bankrupt's ignorance of business. Finding his business was not •mcee-.sful, he made attempts to retrieve his position, by which he only became more deeply involved. He now came before the Court penniless, and had described his position to the best of his knowledge, and his statement had not been contradicted by the other evidence.—Mr Stedman then proceeded Lo answer the charges of misdemeanor seriatim, and concluded by recommending the case to the leniency of the Court, The bankrupt had been driven there by misfortune, and had a wife and family dependent upon him. His Honor reserved judgment to 1 o'clock p.m.— On the Court resuming, his Honor said that having carefully considered the observations of Mr Stedman, he regreited that he could not concur in them. It was better, in the interests of justice, that he should refrain from ! commenting on the evidence; he would , therefore con.'ine himself to the simple i question whether or not he would

grant the bankrupt a certificate. The decision of the. Court was, that in consequence of offences against section 120 the order of discharge should not take effect for a period of three years. The Court would alxo grant a certificate under section 302, that the bankrupt did not on examination fully and truly disclose the state of his affairs. Tlie regular order of committal for trial to the Supieme Court on account of niindemeanors committed under section 302, would also be issued, and the trustee would be instructed to prosecute. Bail would be allowed to the extent already mentioned which the Court would allow to be distributed among six sureties, of <£3oo each.—Mr Lee applied that the costs of opposition might be paid from the estate. He would aek for £lO 10s, as four days of his time had now been, occupied by this business —His Honor admitted the principle of the claim, but said the amount of covts must be settled in Chambers on Monday —Mr Maddoek made a similar application to that of Mr Lee, and received the *ame answer. —The Court then adjourned.