SUPREME COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 5, 6 January 1873, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

[Before His Honor Mr Justice Eichmond] ' The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court commenced' this morning. The fol- - lowing gentlemen were sworn in on the Grand Jury : — J. W. Barnicoat (foreman), E. Lyne, A. Greenfield, J. Holloway, T. Mackay, M. Davis, 11. G- Gouland, J. N. Coleridge, S. H. Pike, E. Gapper, W. Oldharo, W. R. Mortimer, H. Davis, F. H. Blundell, C. Kelling, H. Curtie, W Wells* J. C. Richmond, J. Oldhnro, J. T. Lowe, T. Brunner, and F. Kelling. His Honor, in charging; the Grand Jury, eaid that the business of the present session was not such as to require special comment. There were five cases, none of them involving charges ot preat magnitude, but probably they would only have four bills laid before them as one of (he prisoners was committed by the coroner on the verdict of a coroner's jury on &' charge of alleged arson, and persons charged with an offence might be arraigned on the verdict of a coroner's inquest without the finding of a Grand Jury. On none of tho cases was it expedient to say anything as no technical difficulty was presented by any of them. He had not yet studied minutely the legislation of last session, but no material charges of the criminal lav had been made. Various projects of law reform bad been introduced but noue of them had pi'oduced any fruit. Some of these he regretted had miscarried. One or two of them dealt with matters bearing upon the "fundamental principles of the law, in which the colony might fairly show the way to the mother country. The simpler social state of young colonies made it easier for such alterations to be adonted by them in advance of older countries. That, for instance, which provided for private executions, in which Australia had followed in the footsteps of America, had since been adopted by the mother country. With reference to the barbarous punishment of treason too, England had followed the example of New Zealand, and amended that law. So far as the groundwork of our criminal law was concerned, ifc was of consequence that the whole laws of the Empire should be uniform, and the judges bad already become aware of slight differences in the laws of neighboring colonies. He must, however, remark on one proposition which had been made, namely, to amend the wording of the Larceny Act. This he looked upon as a great mistake. This was purely a technical matter, or he should be silent upon it, but he thought it convenient just now to give some explanations in regard to the Act it was proposed to amend and some others. It had probably been the fate of many of those he was addressing (o wade through the Criminal Acts, of 1867, and if so, they would agree with him that anything more provocative of the erasing pea it was difficult to imagine, and in reading over the numerous distinctions of different kinds of larceny one was apt to exclaim, why should there be all these ridiculous distinctions in what is essentially and radically the same, all this, wonderful hammering and elaboration to express theft. His Honor then referred at some length to the Acts of 1867, and while finding fault, with their verbiage, he thought that mere tinkering with them was calculated to raise a crop of questions to the great profit of lawyers and thieves. Such attempts at amendments he viewed with the same kind of feeling be should experience in seeing a vigorous axeman at work in a bush cutting away at some unsightly excrescence when he should properly be employed in felling the tree itself, instead of endeavoring to beautify that which ehould be destroyed root and branch. He should always oppose any attempt to alter the mere wording of these consolidated statutes. If a»y one in the colony felt competent to fprm an entirely new penal code, he would be doing a real benefit, but he believed that this was a case in which it was far better to wait ,for the action of the mother country. It was possible that in this session of the Court they might be met with some of those little verbal difficulties, that dis? graced our code, and in finding such be always felt regret that we were still living under a state of the law such as that to which he bad referred. He might dilate at considerable length on *Jus but would not now go any further -frtpjt. The Grand" : '&!»HTlhen retired, aad in a short time returned' wit £ a true bill against William, Murmy y iov Kichard, Thomas Vaughan, on board the ateamCr Tararua. ; . .'.;.'; •- ;'■ ■■' :'[ ;'. : " '/'.•.. ._' . • ;/'.;. ;;.;,-, ■ Mr, ; ; :H. ''Adams appeared ; v jfpr- the fToae^ !cation ; a;hd'^rrFeli ? foF';tHe^''prißpQer.:' ; The • evidence in" this case: baa akeady;

-Prisoner was found guilty, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. James- Henrie King was charged with stealing a mare, the property of Benjamin Fairhall. Mr H. Adams appeared for the prosecution. Prisoner was undefended. Benjamin Fairhall : I am a farmer residing in Pigeon Valley. There id a bridle track from there to Stanley Brook. On the 30lh of November last I bad a bay mare which had been, my property for seven or eight years. I rode tier home from. Wukefiold on the evening of Saturday, November 30, aod put her id my paddock, wbi'ch is well fenced, the gate being fastened with a. flax loop. On the following morning, at seven o'clock, I got up and looked out, and saw the gate open and the mare gone. After breakfast I had a conversation with my brother, in consequence of which I went in search of the v mare towards Wakefield. I then searched toward Stanley Brook, and tracked her for about a mile. I then went back and started on horseback by Foxhill to Stanley Brook, where I met my brother William at Mr. Creighton's. I stayed there a few minutes, and then went on with Griffiths to "Ribei's place, where prisoner was staying. When we got there we saw my mare's tracks right up to Kibet's gate and inside it. Prisoner came across from the other side of the stream, and met us before we got to the house. I went into prisoner's house with him, and Griffith* went lower dowa on the pretence of looking for some cattle, but really to look for my mare. He rfturned after a short time, and I went back with him to tea. 1 then went an<i got a constable, and next morn-ng- %ye went to Mr 6 tan ley's for a warrant. He did not know how to write one out, and advised me to go and get the mare. I said I wouM, but I wanted the mare as we'l. We then went and took the prisoner, and on our way back we found the mare feeding by the road side, and apparently on her way home. When I gave prisoner in charge, he said he had no horse about his place and never had one. Cross-examined by prisoner : I am eyre I fastened the gate when I rode the mare home. It was possible, but not at all probable, that she should rub the loop off. Thomai fries : I am a laborer, residing in Pipeon Valley. I saw prisoner on the evening of the 30th November, going towards FairhalPs. I know the whole district of Waimea South. There is no one living there of the name of James Bromley. James Creighton : I live at Stanley Brook. Prisoner has been residing there for some time at Mr. Bibet's place. I saw him about 4 o'clock on Sunday morning riding home on the Pigeon VaUey road, on a horse without a saddle. 1 did not know the horse at the time, but -when the description was afterwards given me of a mare that Fairhall had lost, I recognised it as that of the one prisoner was. riding. 1 recogn'se prisoner as the man who was riding her, and also a dog that was with him. Thomas Griffiths : I live at Stanley Brook. I know Mr Fairhall and also his bay mare, which I have seen a few minutes ago. I saw her in prisoner's paddock at Stanley Brook on the evening of Sunday, Ist December. Early on Monday morning I went down again in company with William Fairhall .to King's paddock, and saw the mare there. We concealed ourselves in the bush to see if he would do anything with her. About 4 o'clock he came down and caught the mare, and got on her back. He rode her within two or. three chains of where we were lying. We saw him ride her out of the paddocksin the direction of the Buller. When about 200 yards from us he turned off the road at a right angle and rode her into a dense bush. In about 20 minutes lie came out without her. We wenc up to the spot where he had turned off and traced her foot tracks up a wooded spur, and there we found her tied up to a tree by her bridle,. I. have known prisoner for some two or three months. He said a week or two before this happened that he meant soon to go to the Buller. 1 ■ William Fairhall : I started' to look for my mare on Sunday morning the Ist of and tracked her out of the paddock towards btanley Brook. I followed thu tracks all the way to Stanley Brook to close to Griffiths' house. ■ The remainder of this witness' evidence corroborated that given by Griffiths. On the Monday afternoon he went up into-the bush to look for the mare where she bad been tied up, and found she was gone. He asked the prisoner whether he had (removed her and he said he had not feenany here. Eric Orr : On Sunday morning the Ist December abont 10 o'clock prisoner came to my house and told me he had been to Wakefield and bought - a horse from a man named John Bromley. He said he gave .£lB for it but that the man asked i>2B. I went in the afternoon and be showed me mare, which was the same as that now in the stable. I .know the mare to be Fairhall' s. I saw him again in the evening, and he said he was afraid there was something wrong about the mare, that the man wbo sold her had stolen her, or had a mortgage or something on her, because he 'was so anxious to sell. He asked me what Griffiths and Fairhall were about in the valley, and asked me to take my black mare down, while he planted his, so that they- might ' believe teat was the on'y one in . the paddopk. I declined to do this, and told him he had better give up the mare if t there was anything wrong about her, but he, said if he did that he should lose his £18. He said .he meant io start for the Jßuller next morning:' This closed ibe case for the prosecution," and for the defence prisoner called\ „ George Fairhali, who said tbat early on the morning of Saturday, the 30th Wbveraber, he sawprisoner passing his house who asked him the ! road to Foxhill. . • ;..•;•, \ !,. O, j The prisoner, on being called, upon to, address the qury,-Baid that he had come over from Stanley Brook on Friday, night and been in town 1 all" Saturday, and that "on returning at night he i sat down and "fell asleep on the. ; rangels ..until /'lie wa< awakened "by the sound' oi^ a horse's feet. He jumped Tip and a«sked^'wh6 ; was' there, when a voice; replied ' "A : friend." ■ • , A. conversation ensued between the riders and' Himself, and he was offered a lift. iHe <was <riding the horse passed; Creightpn's.4 after they passed' ''there* /.the'^m^, who' jsaid he was James • Bromley, of Eighty-eig'h't F Valley, offered (-to mare.v ',{He' Jsaul he had. given- , fpr.fjher, : but '- would, sell her- for-' J518, ; XJltimateljri/he'r agreed to leayo r

the mire with him until the following day, in order to allow him to try her, and ccc how he liked her. That was the way he came in possession of the mare, and he trusted that in summing iip.his Honor would dwell upon all the points in -his favor.* The Judge having summed up, the jury after a few minutes retirement returned a verdict of Guilty, and prisoner was sentenced to two years' imprisonment with hard labor.