SUPREME COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 274, 21 November 1870, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

Criminal Sittings. [Before his Honor Mr. Justice Richmond.] The Court was opened this morning at 10 o'clock, when the following gentlemen were sworn in upon the grand jury : — Alfred Greenfield, foreman, S. H. Pike, W. S. Mortimer, J.H. Levien, J. Symons, J. Watkins, N. Edwards, R. P. Bain, W. M. Stanton, W. Stavert, C. Hodgson, Woolley, C. H. Brown, Otterson, Hodder, Burnett, Saxton, Scotland, Kelling, Turner. His Honor delivered the following charge : — Your duties on the present occasion will, I am glad to say, be exceedingly light, aud the cases are such as will not lead you to require any assistance from me. The calendar contains only five names, hut the number of indictments is much larger. One grave charge is brought against a public officer of the Provincial Government, namely, that of embezzlement. But not only is he charged with embezzlement, but also with having committed a number of forgeries, with a view to concealing the defalcations. A great many cases of this kind occur in the colony, but this, I hope, is owing to the very large number of cash officers employed. I trust that this colony is no worse than others in this respect, and lam inclined to think that a statistical statement would show that there is an unusually large proportion of officers entrusted with cash as compared with the population. There is also oue charge of violence, which, however, is not a very grave one, and it is a matter of congratulation that there is such a paucity of charges of this

. kind in the district. Gentlemen, I now t dismiss you to your duties. 1 On the petty jury being sworn in, his Honor said that he was glad to say that f since tho last sittings of the Court, an Act had been passed, not for the payment ; of jurors — that, he considered, would be very bad — but simply making provisions for indemnifying them against actual loss. forging and uttering. Mary Needham was placed iu the dock ; charged with forging the signature of ■ Nathauiel Edwards to a cheque for £18 18s. Prisoner, who was greatly affected, and ■ crying bitterly, pleaded guilty. Seutence was deferred until to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock. assault. Michael Burke was charged with assaulting James Robinson. Mr. H. Adams appeared for the prosecutiou, aud Mr. Conolly for the prisoner. James Robinson, sworn : I am a laborer residing at the Kuituna. I was sleeping in my whore on the night of 3rd September. Prisoner came ia before I was up in the morning, struck me in the face 1 with his fist, laid hold of me by the throat and sung out "Jack, Jack, I have got him." He then pulled me out of bed and 1 kicked me about the face. He said he was a thorough Fenian and it would be • sudden death to me if no one came in. J Some Maoris then came. About 11 o'clock ' the night before, prisoner said something ■ to me about the bush work he and I had been doing for Mr. Campbell. I said I • should not obey his orders, and he theu ; took me out of bed, and put me aud my bedding out of the door. My- foot was hurt so much in the assault that I could , not put on my boot for a fortnight. Cross-examined by Mr. Conolly : After Burke struck me, he asked me why I had pulled down the chimney and part ot the hut. When the Maoris came, they also accused me of damaging the hut, and said I ought to go to Havelock to answer a charge for damages. It came out in evidence that certain provocation had been given by the prosecutor in injuring the house of the prisoner. The counsel for the prosecution and the defence having addressed the jury, his Honor summed up, and in doing so remarked that it was to be regretted that so trivial a case had been sent up for trial. However the jury were not, as was sometimes the case with a Nelson jury, to acquit a prisoner because they were of opinion that the committing magistrate should have dealt with the case. The magistrate, in the present case, might perhaps have been influenced in committing the prisoner for trial, by the declaration on his part of sympathising with the doctrines of Fenianism, but he (the judge) hardly thought that the pulling a man out of bed was one of the characteristics of that organisation. The jury, having retired for a few minutes, found the prisoner guilty of a common assault. His Honor, in passing sentence, said that the prisoner had no doubt, committed an unjustifiable act in pulling the prosecutor out of bed and chastising him as he had done, however great the provocation had been. The passion that actuated hira might have led to serious results, and it was to be hoped tbat this might serve as a warning for the future. Looking at the time that the prisoner had already been in confinement he should only seutence him to one week's imprisonment in the gaol at Picton. The grand jury returned true bills against Alfred Lynde for embezzlement, against Francis Harris for larceny, and on five separate indictments for forgery, and no bill against Ursula Carroll for attempting to commit suicide. EMBEZZLEMENT. Arthur John Lynde, late a waiter at Tonks and Hugh's Hotel, Westport, was brought up on two seperate charges of embezzling money from his employers, pleaded guilty to both, and, was sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment. The Court then adjourned until 10 o'clock to-morrow morning, tbe only castto be disposed of being the charges against Francis Harris.