Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, MAY 20, 1872.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1328, 20 May 1872, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, MAY 20, 1872.

In the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, Richard Wright, an elderly man, was charged with a rape upon a little girl, aged fi\e years and font months, named Margaret Mary Cameron. The evidence of Mrs Came ion, the mother, and of Dr. Hitching*, was taken. The offence was committed at Port Ahuriri, between 1 and 2 p.m. yesterday. —The prisoner, in defence, denied the charge, but admitted having committed an indecent assault.— Committed for trial at the next criminal sittings of the Supreme Court at Napier. We give below a summary of the evidence again-1 Bradshaw and Firth in the Resident Magistrate's Court on Friday last, 17th inst.,on the charges respectively of stealing a gold watch, chain, and waistcoat, and of receiving the chain and waistcoat, well knowing them to be stolen. A briel mention of the case we have already given D. Troan, the prosecutor, deposed that on the 9th February last he left his waistcoat, containing the watch and chain in question, hanging behind his room door at Ellingham's, Te Ante. In ihe e\ening they were gone, and he immediately went to Filth's store and asked if any one had been there with them. Firth replied in the negative, lie received

the watch on 3rd April, from a person named Green, who told him the chain was- in Firth's possession. Prosecutor wont to Firth and demanded the chain ; but he denied any knowledge of it. Firth then wont to the cow-shed, and returned in a few minutes with the chain, wrapped in brovn paper. He gave it to Troan, saying " JSIow you've got your own ; let there be no more about it. Your waistcoat is down there."—T. Green was then charged with receiving the watch, knowing it to be stolen ; but as there was no appearance of any felonious action or intent, the case fell through.—James Bradshaw was charged with the theft. Suspicion attached to him through his having plenty of money to get chunk with on the evening of the robbery. Green deposed that he was Bradshaw's mate; on the day after the robbery he told him he had got himself into another mess, to which. Bradshaw replied " ] can't help it. I've been to Firth ; but I can't get the watch back " On the 9th March Bradshaw said he had recovered J he watch from Fir+h, and gave it to the to keep till he got the chain back al<o Not being able to set the chain, he said he would break the watch ; upon which ihc witness returned it to the owner, telling him Firth had the chain. —Bradshaw, in Court, said he had never seen either watch or chain before, and that Green was the thief.—These cases came up for the first time on the 11th, and were remanded to Friday, the 17th, for further evidence. They came on at a very late hour on Friday afternoon, after our reporter left, and we quote the leport of that day's proceedings from our morning contemporary : JEtegina v. Bradshaw. —The hearing of this case was resumed from Saturday, IHh inst., when the plaintiff and another witness named Green had been examined. A native named Hikara Rangi, otherwise known as Johnnie Hapuk.i, was put into the box ; from his evidence it appeared that on the day when the waistcoat was stolen Bradshaw v as seen going into Firth's store with a waistcoat which he could identify as the one produced, and coming out without it. Michael Maloney, turnkey in the Napier Jail, deposed that about three weeks ago, while 1 e was on guard over the men in the Shakespeare-road, the prisoner came up to him, and said that he expected short I v to be up at the jail along with Firth on account of a watch robbery committed at Te Ante. He immediately reported the circumstances to Mr Miller. The prisoner called a bushman at To Ante named Dean as a witness for the defence. Nothing, however, was elicited. He was committed for trial. The case Regina v. Firth, for receiving the stolen watch guard, was likewise reamed from the lilh inst. Hikara Rangi was sworn, and gave evidence to the same effect as in the former case. Green was put into the box, and, under crossexamination by the counsel for the defence, Mr Lee, denied having said to one John Smith that it David Troan gave him something he would get the watch and guard for him, and also denied having asked Bradshaw to go to town with him that they might put Firth on the hill for seven years. He denied having had a quarrel with Firth, but admitted that he had been recently dismissed from his employment. Mr Firth, after having been duly cautioned by the Court, made a statement in his defence to the effect that on or about the 9th February, Bradshaw had come to him with something dark tinder his arm, which he asked him to purchase. He (Firth) refused, Bradshaw went away, and shortly afterwards returned without it On his asking him whether " he had got rid of his prize," he said yes, he had pitched it to blazes. On Tuesday, March 12, BnuUiaw had come prowling about his garden, and had been ordered off. A few days afterwards, when working in the garden, lie found the waistcoat containing the guard under the store. As soon as he saw Bradshaw he informed him of the circumstance, and told him to take it away, otherwise he would inform the police. Bradshaw said he knew nothing about it. Nothing further transpired till the 3rd April, when Troan came to hbn and charged him with having the guard unlawfully in his possession, saying that Green had- told him it was

under his store. He (Firth) said that if it was there he could have it, then he went and fetched it to him. Dean, a bush man, who lived along with Green and Bradshaw, was called, and deposed that Green always spoke with great bitterness about Firth since he had been dismissed from his employment, and had more than once stated that if it were not for fear of implicating another poor devil, he would give him seven years on the hill. Mrs M'Dermott, who kept the house where the bushmen boarded, gave evidence to a similar effect. Elizabeth Taylor, a single woman resident at Mr Filth's house at To Ante, gave evidence intended to corroborate Mr Firth's statement that I>radsha«- had hid the waistcoat under his store. She stated that Bradshaw had been prowling about Mr Fifth's premises at Te Ai.te early on the morning of the 12th March, and also larei in the driy, and had been twice ordered off. The Magistrate remarked that the material evidence for the prosecution had been that of the plaintiff himself and that had not been at all shaken by the evidence for the defence. He would therefore commit the accused for trial before the District Court at its next sittings on the Ist June Bail was accepted, Mr Firth himself in £IOO, and two -ureties, Messrs Holt and Renouf, in £SO each. Some of the witnesses were then bound over, and the Court adjourned at a late hour.