SUPREME COURT.

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 92, 6 March 1847, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

Auckland, Monday, Ist March, 1847. Before His Honor Chief Justice Martin. The Court opened for Criminal business on Monday last, and shortly after His Honor the Chief Justice took his seat, and the following gentlemen were sworn in as Grand Jury : ft. A. Fitzgerald Esq., Foreman. J. A. Buttery, R. C. Barstow, J. Hargreaves, F. Fisher, J. B. Hutton, G. 0. Ormsby, H. Weekes, D. Pollen, R. Wood, W. Lewis, J. L. Campbell, J, I. Montefiore, W. S. Grahame, Thos. Paton, W. Powditch, D. Smale, L. McLaughlin, and H. Lawlor, Esquires. His Honor very briefly addressed the Grand Inquest, remarking upon the satisfactory itate of the Calendar, which only presented one case for their consideration. The Grand Jury then retired, and shortly after returned to Court with a true bill against William Johnson, for stealing certain money, amounting to upwards of Five Pounds, from the dwelling house of G. E. Read, on the 11th Feb. last. William Johnson was placed at the bar, and the indictment being read over, he pleaded "Not Guilty," and he was placed upon his trial. The Attorney General opened the case for the prosecution ; and having briefly detailed the circumstances under which the money was lost, and the manner in which it was traced to the prisoner, he proceeded to call evidence to sustain the indictment. George Edward Read being sworn, stated he was a Master Mariner, lived near the Catholic Chapel, in the next house to Mr. Dignan's newly fenced allotment ; remembered the prisoner and a man called Baker coming to his house on Monday or Tuesday the Bth or 9th of Feb. last ; Baker came to bring tome mats ; witness had no business with the prisoner ; had never spoke to him in his life ; when in the house Baker and witness were in the bedroom, prisoner was in the front room walking about, and went and stood by the front window ; after the prisoner and Baker were gone about 10 minutes, witness discovered that two nails which had fastened the window were broken off; on the Thursday morning after, witness had 27 sovereigns, and £13 in silver ; the silver consisted as near as he could remember of three crown pieces, about jgl in dollars, £2 in half crowns, £1 in shillings, £2 in sixpences, and 15 or 20 threepences ; this money was in his trunk which was in his bedroom ; he had it in his hand about ten minutes or quarter berore 11 o'clock, just before leaving his house; he had observed two of the sovereigns and thought they were light, he had therefore marked them wfch a file ; there were three of the sovereigns marked, one with two marks on the edge, another with a mark on the George and. Dragon side of the edge, and the other with a scratch

across the head ; did not mark the latter ; he noticed the marked sovereigns in his hand, he was going to take them to have them weighed, but forgot aud left them in the box ; he left his house about 11 o'clock ; after he left the house two native girls came out,locked the door and walked away 5 witness went into the town, and just as he got into Queen Street, he saw the prisoner walk off along the street by Goodfellow's bakehouse towards the hill next the Catholic Chapel ; about an hour after, the maori girl that lives with witness came and told him his house was robbed ; he went directly to the house, and found his box broken open, and all his money and bills had been taken away ; witness noticed some marks like scratches of shoes in the front window ; every part ofthehoust appeared secure but that; witness then went and informed a magistrate ; had seen some of his money afterwards in the Police Office ; knew the sovereigns by the marks put upon them. The sovereigns were then produced in Court, by the keeper of the lock up, in whose custody the money had been since it was taken from the prisoner, and the witness identified the marked sovereigns as his own. Cross examined by Mr. Bartley:— -Witness had no partner ; he rented the house and paid the rent, the only person living in it with him was a maori girl ; on the night prisoner came to witness' house with Baker, prisoner remained in the front while witness and Baker were in the Ivck room ; the prisoner brought a mat or two in hit- 1. nul , witness had no money transaction that time with h iker. (The depositions of the witness, taken before the Resident Magistrate, were here handed him) witness had a money transaction with Baker in the afternoon of the same day, but none while the prisoner was present ; had stated the came to the magistrates : the nails were broken off during the time the prisoner Was there ; did not remonstrate with the prisoner for breaking the nails; believed that one of the sovereigns was marked on the George and Dragon side ; had always said the nails were broken off or taken away at that time; his deposition before the magistrate was the same meaning that he then intended to convey ; the window was closed when he went out on the morning of the robbery, and to the best of his knowledge it had not been fastened since the nails were removed ; Ihere were houses nearly opposite his ; the window was not entirely closed when he returned with the maori girl ; had never beaten the girl on account of her evidence. By the Attorney General: — The sovereigns produced in Court were witness' sovereigns ; the George and Dragon side is on the '" tail" side of a sovereign 5 never had said that the sovereign he marked had a George and Dragon on it. Enoka (a native woman) was then examined through the interpretation of Mr. Charles Davis, and, not understanding the nature of an oath, her testimony was taken upon affirmation, under the provision of the " Unsworn Testimony Ordinance." She stated that she lived in Read's house ; and remembered the day that it was robbed ; she went out that day after breakfast, and left no one in the house, the door being locked by her as she went out ; Mr. Read had left the house that morning after breakfast ; she went into town, and shortly after saw the prisoner standing by the shop of Edward Crowe the butcher in Queen Street ; after that she saw him go up the hill, past tha shop of Goodfellow the baker ; there was somebody with prisoner ; cannot tell who the person was ; she returned shortly after to Read's house, and upon going she found the box had been broken open with a. hatchet which was lying beside it ; she knew the box had contained money ; witness then went in search of Mr. Read. Cross examined by Mr. Bartley :— Witness did not know whether Baker was with the prisoner when she saw him go up the street ; the tomahawk was Mr. Read's, her own father, whose name is Geordy, was the only native that visits the house ; on her return to the house she found the window open a little way ; supposed the nails were broken off by the opening of the window ; there had been no dispute between her and Read arising from the evidence she had given in the Police Office ; she had not been struck by Read in consequence of that evidence. Robert Schultz being sworn stated he was a sergeant in the Armed Police ; apprehended the prisoner at the bar about 2 o'clock on the 11th Feb. last, in the Victoria Hotel, kept by Henry Hardington ; took him to the lock-up ; the prisoner was searched by the lock-up keeper and witness ; they found upon the prisoner 14 soys. and £9 19s, 4d., in other money; witness took particular notice of one of the sovereigns being marked ; did not particularly notice of what coins the silver money consisted ; the lock-up keeper kept possession of the inonay since it was taken from the prisoner. Cross examined by Mr; Bartley :— The marked sovereigns now produced appear to be the same. Edward Leary, lock-up keeper, upon his oath stated he remembered the 11th of the last month ; he received the prisoner into his custody on that day about 2 o'clock ; he had searched the prisoner and found 14 sovereigns and £9 19s. 4d., in other money (witness here produced the whole of the money taken from prisoner, which was counted in Court, and consisted of 14 sors*, 5 dollars, 136 shillings, 65 sixpences, 3 half crowns, 9 three pences, 1 quarter dollar, and 1 penny piece.) By Mr. Bartley '.—Witness saw Read several times since he had prisoner in custody ; said nothing to Read about the money ; Read came to the lock-up, with a crowd, but witness ordered them out of the yard ; when witness took the money from prisoner, the Sergeant said something about marked sovereigns. This closed the case for the prosecution. For the defence Mr. Bartley called Thomas Smith, who, being sworn, stated thst he was a Master Shoemaker ; knew the prisoner Johnson ; remembered teeing him on the day of the robbery ; he left witness'house about 10 o'clock that morning; witness went to Williams' honse about 11 o'clock, when be found the prisoner in company with Williams ; witness left him there standing with » native boy at the step of the door; about a quarter of an hour afterwards, prisoner and the boy came to witness* house, with a kit of pork each ; witness then saw the prisoner go away towards Queen Street ; it was by the relief of the guard at the Gaol that witness judged the time ; the Way to witness' house from Queen Street, was by Goodfellow 's bakery. By the Attorney-General.— Witness took in acquaintances as lodgers j the prisoner often slept at his house ; supposed the prisoner had been there eight or nine days before the robbery ; he came direct to witness' house when he came to town, and lodged there every day till lie was apprehended : witness received 30s. from prisoner, not exactly for lodging, but to pay expenses incurred by him ; prisoner gave witness this money on Monday, Bth February ; he might then have been four sr five days at witness' house ; on the morning of the robbery, prisoner first left the house of witness between six and seven o'clock ; he returned 'about eight, and vent out the second time about ten o'clock ; witness did aot go with him ; he returned again about eleven o'clock ; :ould not say that it was a quarter before eleven, it might be a quarter after ; was at work from the time prisoner went at ten o'clock, till he returned the third time, or, should say, till he, witness, went down to Williams' ; saw the prisoner and Williams at the house of the latter ; Williams had money in his hand, some of which was sovereigns, and some silver ; did not count the money, and could not say how much there was in Williams' hand ; (the deposition of this witness at the Resident Magistrate's Court, was referred to and read) ;

witness denied having stated what appeared on the deposition, but did not deny that it was his signature which was attached to it ; the money was being paid just as he Went in ; Williams said, " Here's 9 sovereigns and £1 in silver;" the money was for the prisoner ( Williams said the prisoner was his interpreter ; witness was therefrom 4to 5 minutes ; was never tried himself, nor nevei transported. John White, being examined, said, he was cook atMaguire's, in Auckland ; he knew the prisoner, who came to Maguire's a little before 12 o'clock on the diy of the robbery, and ordered something to eat. The evidence being gone through, the Attorney-Ge-neral addressed the jury for the prosecution, followed W Mr. Bartley, for the prisoner. When, after remarking upon the form of the indictment, HisJHonor the Chief Justice said : "So much is cle»i> that on Thursday, the 1 lth February, certain monies described in the indictment, were stolen in the dwellinghouse of the prosecutor. The question for the Jury is, can the crime be brought home to the prisoner, or may it have been committed by some other person T The facts stand thus. Within a short time*-not more than three hours— after the taking of the property, the prisoner is apprehended ; certain sovereigns are found on Ins person, with other money; two sovereigns, in par. ticular, are observed to be marked. The prosecutor swears that he had marked two of the sovereigns which were stolen, in consequence of his suspecting them to be light, and ho positively iwears that these are the identical sovereigns. This is the main question, whether they be really the same, or only others similarly marked ? I will hand you these sovereigns, that you may judge how far coins may be safely identified by these marks. If this really is the prosecutor's money* the prisoner is bound to give some account of the way in which he came by it honestly. A man who is fonnd in possession of what is certainly known to be his neighbour's property, and to have been recently stolen from his neighbour, is bound to give an account of the way in which it came into his possession : and if he declines to do so, the law justifies you in concluding tliat he has no good account to give, and that he is the thief. " But you will see, Gentlemen,that though this rule i* a very reasonable rule when you are sure that the property found on the prisoner is the very piece of property which was stolen, yet it cannot be applied until you are satisfied that such is the case. If the sovereigns in question be the prisoner's own money, we have no right to call him to any account at all. " This, then, is the first and main question— ls the money identified to your satisfaction ? " But the case does not rest entirely on this point,for there is a very remarkable piece of evidence as to what passed on the Monday night last preceding the Thursday on which the oft'enee was committed. If upon that evidence you believe that the nails were taken out or broken oil; on that night, and that the prisoner was the man who took them out, or br,oke them off, that will add much to the strength of the inference against the prisoner." The Chief J\i3l ice then read the evidence, and commented particularly on the discrepancies or variations which had been pointed out and insisted on, as render • ing the evidence of the prosecutor unworthy of credit ; leaving it to the Jury to say whether they were *such as to be consistent, or not, with honesty in the witness, and substantial truth in his statements. The Jury retired, and after about an hour's absence they returned to Court, with a verdict of " Guilty." The prisoner was then remanded for sentence till the following morning. The Grand Jury, before they were dismissed by His Honor, made the following presentment to the Court, which the Chief Justice promised to forward to the Executive Government : County of Eden, l Be it remembered that at a Sessions to wit, 3 of the Supreme Court of our Lady the Queen, holden at Auckland for the said County, on the Ist day of March, in the year of Our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, it is preiented by the oath of the Grand Jury assembled : That an intolerable nuisance exists in the fact that a number of savage dogs are allowed by their owners to roam at large, in consequence of which, both cattle, horses, and sheep hare been seriously injured and destroyed, and that r.o suitable remedy appears to be provided for its removal. E. A. FitzGerald, Foreman.

Tuesday, 2nd March. > The prisoner, William Johnson, was brought before the Court, and, being asked whether he had anything to nay why sentence should not be passed upon him, the prisoner said that he was entirely innocent of the crime of which he was found guilty,and, had he thought it necessary, he could hay« brought forward evidence sufficient to have proved his innocence. He hoped His Honor would deal with him as lightly as possible. The Chief Justice said : A jury of your countrymen have found you guilty, and to their verdict I assent. You, William Johnson, have been found guilty of stealing in the dwelling-house of George Edward Read. Not many years have passed since the offence of which you are convicted was punishable with death : and that, even in cases where the value of property taken was far less than in this case. I rejoice, as much as any man , that suoh is no longer the Law. That life is spared, and that, with life, there is left to the evil-doer the possibility of amendment. Yet, however your crime is regarded, it appears to me deserving of severe visitation. Not only was the property taken by you considerable in amount, but that property was under the protection of a dwelling-house : and, still further, it had been deposited and secured by its own owner under his own roof, and under lock and key. It needed a combination of guile and of force to get possession of it. No circumstance of palliation appears in the evid&nce. The sentence of the Court is, that you, William Johnson, be transported beyond the seas, to such plaoe as His Excellency the Governor shall appoint, for the term of Ten years. This terminated the Criminal business of the session, and the Court was adjourned to Monday next, Bth inst., for the trial of Civil Cases.