RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, FOXTON.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 47, 6 February 1880, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, FOXTON.

• ♦ Wednesday, February 4. (Before R. Ward, Esq., R.M., and J. TStewart, Esq., J.e.) FORGERY. Francis William Stevens, a man evidently of good education, apparently about 32 years of age, and very neatly dressed, was charged •with having forged nn order on tbe Bank of New Zealand, for the sum of £4, purporting to be signed by Robert Ac. «s. Hannah Wallbutton, deposed — T am 'he wife of Robert Wallbutton, residing on the Avenue, Foxton ; I remember the 29th January ; I saw the defendant on that day at Futter's Hotel ; I had some conversation with him at the hotel, and he went with me to my house ; when there he told me he knew my husband quite well, some years ago: he said to me he had £2 to give my husband from a Mr Sinclair, as it was lent some years

ago ; he was at my house some time ; after a tim-i ho said he was very sorry he had no cash, but he would give me an order on the Wellington Bapk, .08 he had money bJth at Wellington and Foxfcon in the Bank; he wrote put the drder i&my hoo»e (produced), also a letter (produced) accompanying the order ; he told me • that any resident in Foxton would cash the order; I brought il down td Mr tfulterjarid he told me ho could not see to ifc that evening, but would next morning ; Arthur Reove was pre 3 jut when defendant gave me the documents ; when he gave mo the order he said he would give me £2 out of it if I could get it cashed ; he told me his name was Robert Acres — (Prisoner—l said Sinclair). He told me the Banks would bB closed when I Came down, but any resident of tfoxtpn would cash it : he said he must hive known my husband since he was a hoy, at Mungaron, Upper Hutr, and those part<> he being a relative of the Sinclair family ; he said he had a message For him, and would like to have a conversation with him j I lent him a penny to get the stamp to put on the order ; I saw him write the order. By the Court— l do not kuow any one named Robert Aires, except that young man there (p >iuting to prisoner). By prisoner — I recolleot you saying you had money in the bank at Foxton ; you told me you knew Mr Wallbutton since you were a boy ; you told me several times over you had £'i to pay Mr Wallbutton, else you would not have gone to my house. Robert Wallbutton, husband of last witness, deposed— l know the accused ; I saw him on the 29th January, at my house ; he came there about noon ; when my wife came in she said she had brought a friend who was well acquainted with me ; I looked at him and could not recollect ever seeing the man before in my life j I asked him what his name was, and he said, Robert Acres. He did not appear to me to be drunk ; he said that he was authorised to pay me £2 that I had lent to a friend of his ; I asked h'm the person's name, and he said Sinclair ; I s lid I only knew one family of th* t name, who lived in Ohariu valley, and that I had not seen them for sixteen years ; he said that he Was Borry he had not got his cheque-book with him, but he would write out an order on the Wellington bank that would be equ n lly as good, and that any person in Foxton would cash it ; he wrote an order out for the amount of £&, and said if I cashed it I was to give him half and kept the remainder ; he wio.te a letter also; he wanted me to write my name across the back of the order, but I refused ; he said wherever I cashed the order I would be bound to write my name or 1 would not get it enshed ; he a«ked me if my wife could write, and 1 said she could just write her naire and that was hII she could do, but as for readiug or writing she could not ; he wonted me to read the letter, but I told him my glasses were away from homo, and that I would have nothiug to do with it ; I knew it was not a light thing ; he took the order away with him to get the stamp ; ho did not give it to me ; I believe he gave the order to my wife ; he stopped all the afternoon at my house, and weat out with my wife and Reeve, about six o'clock ; I knew nothing of the order afterwards uii! il Mr Futter told me he had it. By the Court — Prisoner said there was a letter for me in the Post Office, which Sinclair had written, but he would write me out a copy of it. By prisoner— You said you had lost the the letter which was in the Post Office, ar.d that this was instead of itJohn Futte; 1 , proprietor of the Manawatu Hotel, Foxton, deposed — Aocused came tr my hotel on the morning of the 29th January, in company with another gentleman; by their conversation 1 understood they had just arrived; this was about 10 a.m.; I do not know who the other gentleman was ; I missed them for a few minutes, and shortly after I saw accused with Mrs Wallbutton in the next room ; I saw no more of the other gentleman ; I have not se-ea him since ; shortly afterwards accused and Mrs Wallbulton went away ; about six o'clock the latter came to me and wanted me to cash the ovdav produced ; I did not cash it, nor did I recognise the signature ; had it been drawn out on Foxton I might have cashed it; the letter was handed to me to induce me to cash the order; Mrs Wallbutton said her husband was to receive £2 out of the order for mo .tey lent to aMr Sinclair ; I thought there was something suspicious about it, so I detained it, and reported tho matter to the constable, giving him also the documents ; while Mrs Wallbutton was in conversation with me about the order, aocused was in another room ; I never spoke to him about it ; I concluded from what Mrs Wallbutton said that ho was the man who had signed himself as Robert Acres; accused met with a Mr Edwards, and told him he had a lette" for him from his mother at tho Upper Hutt, but could not find it that evening ; Mr Edwards became responsible for In 9 accomodation, and witness took him in for^he night. Prisoner— l do not wish to cross-examine : tho evidence is very perfect. Constable Draper deposed — I arrested prisoner on January 30, owing to information received the previous evening from Mr Futter; after I arrested him, he said — "Can't you get Mr Futter to withdraw the charge ?" I Baid, " It is nothing to do with Sir Futter ; it is me ;" he then Baid, " O take no notice of it." I said, •' I mu-t ;" one morning sines the arrest, while prisoner was eating his breakfast, he said the nainu of Robert Acres was a fictitious one ; that he knew no such person ; that he did not know what made him do it ;: that he was half mad when he did it ; that, his relations with his wife were not hsppy ; I learned his name was Stevens from letters I found on him, and from what he told me ; he 'old me lie had been working at Castlepoint recently, and that he walked from Wellington. Prisoner said the constable had made a true statement. This concluded the case for the proaecu < tion. Prisoner having been duly cautioned, said — I wish to state I was suffering, and had been for some time before suffimn g, from dtilirittM tremeus ; I had moreover walked up from Wellington, and slept out two or three nightd, and was weak in body as well ; my mind was distressed by domestic calamity. I had no thought whatever of what I was about, or the enormity ot the offence I was committing, or I should never have lent my hand to such a proceeding. The whole subjeot of my conversation with Wallbuttnn was as if I was talking at random, my mind being thoroughly elsewhere at the time. I had no thought that the case would have assumed such dimensions ; I plead guilty to affixing tho fictitious name, and also to writing that letter ; I may state Mrs Wallbutton presented that order in the course of the morning unstamped to some people ; I never thought she would actually get it cashed ; tbe whole thing was done thoughtlessly ; I beg to throw mysolf on the mercy of the Court, hoping you won't commit me for trial, but would ask you to sentence me ; it is the first time in my life I have ever done such a thing, of course. I may add I am in the habit of getting money out from home, and had tho order beeu cashed. I would have made it up." The Bench said— We find the prosecution has made out a pri ma facie case against you. Wo cannot take upon oursslves to Bentenoe you. You are committed for trial at the

next criminal fittings of the Supreme Courjkjfeo bo held^ VVangmui. Prisoner waa/ihen removed. Assault Avd THBEi^^iNa ianguge. . Franoiß.j||. Oook'^yas. c%rged with using j threatening^language towards H. L. M'Fa-j ; Ay an on January 22, by saying— " I wil^ throw you" over the wharf irito the water ; " i *' I will wait for you, and take ifc oafc of Jou;" " I will remember you;" "If you on't go off the wharf in ten minutes, I will throw you over," at the &&nte,vtime followirg after plaintiff, as though Be would carry the words into effect. There were also two charges of assault. lv one case the charge was of defendant "striking plaintiff on the back with his fist, and of shoving him off a fieat-.AlLJhe* Public Hall." TKe i offier charge was that Cook " did unlawfully assault and beat the plaintiff, by shoviui? him with his hand at the door of the Public Hal). The Court determined to bear all tfrecSSes simultaneously. : '■■•■' Hugh Lichlan M'Fadyen deposed— l am a saddler j I know defendant, and- saw Jiimj at Foxjon on the regatta day; lisaw on the wharf ; he came up to me and referred to a civil case I had ag »inst him ; he said if I would go off the wharf, he would take it out of me ; he followed me up on two occasions, and said he would throw me off the wharf unless I left it in ten minutes j at night there was an entertainment at the Public Hall ; when he came in he sat in one part of the hall ; during the reoess, he moved on to the form behind mo ; then he got immediately behind me, and pushed me with his feet ; he also struck m 9 on the back ; when the entertainment was over he followed me, and jo9tled me, and pushed me, and wanted me to fight him. Constable Draper deposed to having been on the wharf on the day in question, and heard Cook call prosecutor a " mean little skunk," and say it would servo him right to throw him off. H. Ward corroborated the evidence of prosecutor regarding the squabble on the wharf. S. Tanaley deposed to seeing Cook push M'Fadyen with his foot in the L 3 ublio Hall, but thought he was not hurt. Amos Howe corroboiated the ovidenee of plaintiff regarding the annoyance in the Public Hall. W. 8. Moss deposed to seeing Cook rush at M'Fadyen on the wharf ; also saw Cook push him all the way out of the hall ; saw Cook at the door, and saw him strike M' tfadyen on the step. Defendant said he had no statement to make. The Bench aaid — The Court iV quite determined to put this kind of thing down. To inflict a light penalty would bo to give a premium to lairikinisrn. You will be fined 10s in each case, and costs. The fines in the case amounted to £1 10s, and the costs to ±'2 11s Gd. BUEAl'lt OF IMPOUNDING ACT. R. G-. Knight was charged with a breach of the Impounding Act, by rescttmg-jaame, sheep off land hell by F. H. Cook. The case was one of title. . " ' On the application of defendant, the case was adjour ned until next Court day. UIVIL CASES. Thomas Rawlinson v. H odder, Mason &Co. — Clnim £12 11s l?.d, being wages as engineman at I'aiaka mill from December 20 to Junuary 29. Defendant pleaded a set off, but not having filed it, judgment was given for plaintiff. His Worship ordered £7 to be paid at once, the remainder to be held by the Court until the set-off was dcci led. This concluded the business.