Police Court.

Manawatu Herald, 30 March 1893, Page 2

Police Court.

Wednesday, 29th March. (Before Messrs E. S. Thynne and J. R. McMillan, J.'sP.) Edward Cole and Robert Stanley were charged that on or about the 16th of March they did steal one case of three star brandy and one case of <Jld Tom gin, of the value of £6 lls, the property of John 3J. Stausell. Constable Gillespie prosecuted, and the accused were not represented by counsel. John Bainbow Stansell deposed — I am a hotelkeeper at Foxton and proprietor ot Whyte's Hotel; I missed a case of Hennessy's three star brandy and a case of Sir Eobert Burnett's Old Tom Gin on Monday, the 20fch of this month ; I had received them from Wellington by the s.s. Queen of the South on the 10th or 11th of the month ; 1 tallied the invoice with the goods and found these two cases short ; Hennessy's brandy is valued at £4 4s a case and the Old Tom at 47s a case, in Wellington ; I had not given any one authority to remove any cases or bottles' of any kind at any time ; I 1 know the ncensefli have Oeett them

Abdrls tile h'olel at times ; have never - given them any permission to remove any boxes or bottles off my premises ; I produce the invoice mark A received for these goods from T. & W. Young, also shipping . note., marked U : titie tilted stiU 1 lir&ridy- is a sjiecial brand ; I do not open it at the bar ; I have opened one of the cases of Old Tom and handed it to Constable Gillespie ; the case is branded J- 820 marked C ; an empty bottle labelled thrje star I identify as similar to what liii contents of the^ case; should lie j tliree star brandy has a separate label on the neak of the bottle and the cork has three stars on it ; tlie accused ( aKfe customers of mine j since I misseel tJAe fekisß Cble liiis iiot been about so often, but Stanley has been about as usual ; I have no other boxes of Old Tom with the same brand in my possession ; during the last month I have sold three bottles of three Star j I do Hot sell ft cafle in six Months j I liaVe not Sold any bottles of tjhe, three star or did Toiti fed fitfier (if t.ljie Rc'eusedi , , John Sullivan deposed— l have been employed by Mr Spelman as carter ; on the 11th. of this month I took seven cases being brandy, gin and sars&p'arilla from' tile railway goods shed to Whyte's hotel ; they had come by the s.s. Queen of the South ; I saw Harry the barman at the hotel ; I put the cases into the passage by the billiard room ; I put them there as 1 understood the barman to toll nic to do so ; these were tile six tJaseS) tlie other" cdae t brought afterwards? and handed it to Mr StansellV sriri iit tlie door; I know there were Old Tom and b'ratidy eases t)iit did iiot notice any of the brands ; the place I put the case 3in the hotel is about two yards inside the door from Hall street ; I know the two accused ; there was no one about when t Was ttlscllargiilg tlie cases'; By the Bench" —The Cftse handed to Mr S'tatiseli's foil was ft ease of sarsaparillfl ; John Robert George Statisell deposed— I aril a 1 coach driver in the employ of my father 1 • 1 klloW both accused ; they have been residing in the Tram sheds 200 or 300 yards from my father's hotel ; I went there oil Saturday with Constable Gillespie to see if anything could be found ; the constable showed the warrant to Cole to search for Old Tom and brandy missed from my father's hotel [ the constable and myself saw at the back of the building where Cole previously resided some empty three star Hennessey's brandy bottles and Old! Tom Gin bottles ; inside, the constable produced his warrant and called the accused Cole whom he told he desired, to search his place ; Cole said he would not find anything there , in the bedroom a box, Old Tom gin box was found, tho constable asked Cob how king he had had it, and Cole said be had had his tools in it for the last twelve months ; the constable remarked that the box looked fresh, wh.m Cole said " I have had my tools in it for two or three months "; I too 1 ? possession of the case ; the case was marked D, is the case ; my father told me he had received two cases of Old Tom ; the brand on the case found in Cole's residence is J — 32o ; 1 found that the other case of Old Tom in my father's possession was also branded j — 320 ; the case found at Coles does not bear the appearance of having baen used as a tool box for the last twelve months ; the exhibit is marked D ; in a corner the. constable found an Old Tom gin bottle under a sack and empty ; Cole said he did not know how he came by it as bottles would be found all over the place, he having been in the habit of getting beer in bottles; another bottle of Old Tom, empty was found under the mattrass near the door by the kitchen ; I saw the constable pulling out some Old Tom gin bottles from under a tank at the right hand side of the door ; the tank was not a yard from the door ; seven bottles were found there ; three Old Tom gin bottles were found in the same heap were the three star bottles were found ; this made 12 bottles found and there are 12 bottles in a case ; we could find no more empty Old Tom bottles about the premises though a good search was made ; the bottles appear a3 though they were not very long out of the case ; ten Hennessey's three star brandy bottles were picked up, nine were in a heap and one at the back of Cole's house ; I have not seen any three star Hennessey's brandy bottles laying about my father's premises ; the accused Cole said he was in the habit of gathering up bottles and selling them to Murray and Spelman ; he did not say where he got any particular bottle ; the Old Tom bottles produced and found on the premises of Cole have been examined by me and I can say that nine of them have had nothing but gin in them. Harry James deposed — I am barman for Mr Stansell ; I know the accused ; I have never sold a bottle of Hennessy's three star brandy or Old Tom Gin to the accused ; I have been in the bar over four months ; I am sure I have never sold the accused Stanley a bottle of Old Tom Gin or a bottle of brandy ; I was in the bar when the constable brought the accused Stanley and asked the same question on Monday last, and I replied then that I had never given Wm any ; I have noticed both ac«

cased in the hotel, but Cole not so much lately ; Stanley did not appear ' flush ' of money ; about a week or so ago he asked me to shout for him and I did so ; I have never sold to the,, accused Ople ft ( bottle, of :s«s M,i Hetiriessy's lirfiddy tfi' ftnjrbeifcite of Old Tom Gin; I remember the boy, Spelman's carter, the boy Sullivan, telling me he had brought some cases on Friday, the 10th, and one cass on the morning of Saturday, the 1 1 th i on the fojlowing Saturday I took . diie case plit. o'| tlie heap; ill tlto jpassdge , opening 3 oil to tHe mi street ; I cod Id Hot ,say wliat cases; were left; when Mr Starisell ttfl"d iiiyself wetft to tlie cases ; oil the Mbricky following we found that a case of three star Hennessey's brandy and a case of Old Tom Gin was missing ; Mr Stansell checked the cases off his invoice. By accused Stanley — I did not sell'you a bottle of Old Tom Gin oil or about the 20th of this nip-nth 1 . •«..,.-.■■ , . . Thoriias Redniond deposed— l alii IjarhiJin for Mr Border { been ao for over two years ; I know the accused; I have never sold the RBcuse : cl an| tfiree felar fieh#ess.e|'B brandy or Old Tom Gin in bottles ; Mr.Border has not had any three star Hennessey's brandy since he has been in Foxton ; I have never sold either accused any brandy or gin in bottles ; I first saw Stanley about two months ago. By accused Stanley — I do not remember selling you a bottle^ of pale brandy on Saturday a fortnight ago* I By the Constable— l do not remember seeing the accused Stanley on that day ; I do not sell much liquor in bottles; I should remember if I sold Hennessey 'a brandy. John Giilespie deposed— l am a constable stationed at Fbxton ; on the 20th inst Mr Stansell reported that he had lost a case of three star Hennessey's brandy and a case of Old Tom Grifl ; on Saturday last I obtained a search warrant and suspected the accused Cole of stealing tlie 1 tWo flases j went to the premises and saw Cole tliei'e, told him that I suspected him of stealing a case of three star Hennessey's brandy and a case of Old Tom Gin from Mr Stansell ; told him I was going to search his premises and he told me that I would find nothing ; I entered the front bedroom and saw the Old Tom Gin case, the one marked I) ; I asked Cole,- where; he got it from and he replied.; that he had had his tools iii it for' tho past twelvemonths; I. remarked that it looked A'cry fresh and new and he - remarked that he had had., his tools in it for the last,- -two 'months; or more ; I emptied the tools -out' and took possession of the bsx ; , I then found an empty bottle of Old Tom Gin in a corner of the room under an empty bag, found another bottle under one of the inattrasses of the bed in the same room ; L asked Cole where he had got the bottles and he replied that he could not say where he had got them ; I tookliiui to the back and asked him if the bottles outside were his and he said yes ; I asked him if he could explain the three star Hennessey's bottles came from, but he could -give- no explanation beyond the fabt -that he was in the habit of gathering bottles and selling them ; the same .remark applied to the Old Tom- • fco|jile ; there were a number *6f J *H>lieV 4>lack bottles there, also some Hennessey's brandy bottles but not three? star.J I arrested the accused upon the suspicion of having stolen the two cases ; on my way to the station I got an old Tom Gin case from Mr Stansell, the one that ha,s been produced here to-day marked 1 0";' at the back of Cole's residence I, picked up ten other Old Tom gin oottles empty, seven were under a, £ank which stands close By the door; >and three on a heap ; this }nalies twelve bottles in all ; Robert Stan" sell and • myself picked 'vp 1 ten' three star Hennessey's brandy bottles, empty ; I have searched all round the town, the hotels, to find other ..threje star Hennessey's brandy bottles,'^aud could find none ; one was handed io me by Mr Jonas ; I ? could . fintl~ no others at the hotels-; Mr Stansell jis the only hotelkeeper here who sells it ; on Monday I saw the accused Stanley and told him that Mrs Cole had informed me that he was .the - only man who had brought any grog into their house recently ; that he had brought in a bottle of Old Tom Gin and also a bottle of brandy ; he said he had taken in a bottle of gin and a bottle of brandy ; I asked him where he had purchased the gin and he told me from the barman at Mr Stansell's J this conversation took place at Mr Stanse)}'s door ; I took the accused into tho barman Harry James and asked him in front of the accused if he had sold the accused any Old Tom gin in bottles ; Jamefe at. once said he had not done so, he was quite of it ; Stanley remarked you mustf be 'either drunk or mad to say sq ; I went to.iMr Border's andfrom what I ascertained there I arrested the accused on suspicion of being an accomplice of; Cole's; when. I ' arrested him he told me, he had been lining at Cole's for about six weeks ; on Saturday when I was searching; Cole's premises Stanley came iv and Tasked him if he knew. „ anything of this matter, and I told hinv >, what I was loouing for, and he replied that ' he had not seen any liquor on the premises except that which he brought \ in himself and that was a little beer hi. a j bottle ; when I obtained Jtbe battle .6! brandy from Mr Jonas he gave a'! satlsfaetory explanation of how he became podsessedofit. . •/'.>•. „r , . , This closed the case of the prosecution. The prisoners were asked if they desired to give evidence oh oath and they said they flid tipt desire to do «oi • *

On the caution being read they stated they had nothing to say. The prisoners were then committed lo take their trial at the next silting* of the Palmerston District Court.