RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 34, 6 February 1878, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT

KOKJHT.

i • • ■'■'.-. ■ ■ . " TttORSDATTj 3181- JPANUAJEHTj 1878. ' (Before V". MoNKAP.anji'Gk it Susisok,. : E?qs«, JiPs.X ' constable grtllbspie v; benjjlmin Pepper. , Mp Qash>. splifcijbqiv ■ c^riMcted the. oase for the- accused insteayd of Mr* Warburton^ho was absent v Mr Dalryraple , ,a»ologised} to the. 3encVforr nen-attendance. as a witness on, the previous Tuesday.. Mr JDalrymple,. being sTßoni,. said -ri lama settler residing at Palmprstori^ and a Justice of thp'Peac* if rememberihe 18th ; i»st. On that mprning I visited* the •'•Manawatu Times"; offipe. I sawthe accused there.. I" called' on. Mr Leary at Woffltee, and TRhile there X. saw 1 the accused m one of the rooms. I asked to see Mr Leary privately, arid* we retired, 'i^to> the private office.. [Witness- here explained) the position* of the- several persons who were m they office]. When we had finished our c6n-_ Yersatioa we re-entered the KK»m m« which we had left the accused. % afikeA Mr Leary if there was any freshc news. He was engaged looking forso uething-on the table, and did not ap-_ paar to hear me. I repeated tho question. He thea asked- me if" I had? noticed any money on the table.. I»said t . ■ M Yes ; I saw what appeafjsdi to be £i. m silver on the tablet \wiien I camo. through the- room. He remarked •"•"- It. is gone." I said "Who could haretaken it?" He said "I think Peppe^ must have taken it.' ' I suggested send*. . ing for him. He ca&edi the boy telling; ■him that lie wished to see his father^. The boy went away and returned say-^ ing his father would be here presently^ Mr Leary again asked the boy to ga and tell his father that he was wanted? at once. Accused then made his ap-c pearance m company with the boy. Mr Leary. asked him if he had takeiv the money from the table. He denied having done Soj and turned out hia : pockets producing about Bs, at the sametime using strong language and oaths. He remarked '*'He had no need to steal money." He was not abusive. I re^. marked to accused, that tli^ money wast; on the table when J c^me into the room, and that- when I came out of the private room, both he and the s money weregone. He then used very strong paths affirmtng that he had never seen tl^e money on the table at all, and expressed a wish that he had never entered the place. Messrs Jensen and Ljnton then oame- iftto the office. Tlie boy was standing there when Jensen inquired, did anyone ask- the boy about the money. ; Accused said," John, did you take the. money? *' He replied, " I did not take any mpney ." The boy . may- have been : m the room, when J first enitered, but.T; did not notice him. Aecusedsthen de-.. scribed the money he had paid t<a MrLjnton, an.d. TCUkdueTSx '

By the Constable : lam quite certain the money was on the table when I parsed through the room. I can't say when we came out of the private office. Mr J^eary could hot have taken the money without my seeing him. He did pot take it. I could not have taken it vithout his seeing me. I did not hear Anyone leaving the office while. I was talking to Mr Leary ; nor did I hear Anyone come into the office. I visited Palmerston on the 22nd. I saw you and conversed with you. I enquired if there was any more news about Pepper. You said you proposed; arresting him. J remarked, " Yqu oannot possibly do wrong mso doing.'* .T^his was the first time I saw you since the money was itolen, otherwise I would have suggested your taking the' same course. You told nic the place was getting notorious for robberies- I was not surprised when I heard of the arrest. By Corinsel %I was m the room with Mr Leary a few minutes. It may have been five or ton minutes. Our conver r •ation was oarrjed on m a low tone.. I did, not hear anyone leaving the room, nor entering it. Accused turned out his pockets, He seemed quite prepared for the question/ My previous eon veiv sation would not Was me against Pepper. JSiifce then Z had a conversation with Ua Constable, and thought he did quite m making thjs arrest, * - William MajbXi sworn, said $ I am a compositoj^in the y Times " office, and reside at-Palmeraitpn, I was wo|king m the office w the l:Bth. inst. j saw \\\e accused m the office .on that dato. I can't say as to the hour, A friend of Jxiß came m with him, Pepper went into the office with Mr- Leary, His friend did not go into the office, liut ■walked towards where I was employed ; afterwards he went to the, office door, and leaned again&t itv No ; one else urent into the private office except Ihe "boy Oho- was called m by Mr Leary. I was at yrork. ftt tlve end of the room and conidl see any one onier- the office. Callaghan was waiting at one of the Iranjes close to the o®ce door, J could have seeihjbim if he had gone m. I did not see .anyone lea^e the office, except Pepper and'his friend. J did not see any one else 'enter- or leave the room, until I say? Mr'^eary,^ I did not say I saw- everybody who went into thie office.. I saw Mr Leary^ Pepper/ and^ the boy go into t\\& office.. % co^id. see a^ go into ;Q,r come s : : o.ixt* of the office if I was looking that way. I could see past the frame,: -or over it. I don't think I could see a yery short roan oy«rth,e frame. I did not see Sugg go into tb,e office, He TO leaning against tUe office dpor. ; By fte I can swear that no one entered the room while Mr Dalxymple was.- there. . Callaghan did not enter- thenfoomtftnxy, kiiovviedge^ I saw P-epper- and friend leaving. I did sot observe . any one else leaving the room . Ko one left the office between the time Pepper left and came ba,ck agaittv : Mr Cash, m adressiog tbe Bench ex-, plained; the great disadvantage under which he was pHa^ed owing to his absence _ during the first examination ofwitaesses. He held, that there wa,a not siifficieut evidence to prove that his client had taken, tb.e losjt money, and after going into a leag-fchy- explanation which occupied about half an hour, he asked the Bench to dismiss the case,, /which was done, and the accused wa-s liberated.