SUPREME COURT. Auckland, Wednesday, December 1, 1852. Before his Honor Chief Justice Martin.

New Zealander, Volume 8, Issue 693, 4 December 1852, Page 3

SUPREME COURT. Auckland, Wednesday, December 1, 1852. Before his Honor Chief Justice Martin.

The Quarterly Criminal Session of the Supreme Court was opened t'hjs morning. Ilis Honor took his seat shortly after ten o'clock, when the following Grand Jury were sworn :—: — W. S. Grahame, Esq., foreman ; John Woodhouse, Win. Mason, Alex. Kennedy, Jas. O'Neill, Samson Kempthorne, Joseph llargreaves, Win. Innes Taylor, Patrick Dignan, Wm. Brown. John Watson Bain, Wm. Connell, Arch. Clark, John Gray, John C. Blackett, John Logan Campbell, John Salmon, and Henry Matson, Esqrs. His Honor stated to the Grand Jmy that there was but one ease for trial, and that was of huch. a nature as not to require any remarks from 3)im to guide them in the performance of their duty in respect to it. The Jury retired, and after a short time returned to court with a true bill against Daniel £>heeran for highway robbery and as&ault.

•On the Petit Jury RjII being called over, Timothy Hays, of Hi»h-sti'eet, labourer, John Home, oi 1 Parnell, bricklayer, ami Thomas Henry, of Remuera, farmer, were not in attendance, and a fine of 51. was recorded against each. Daniel Sheeran, labourer, of Auckland, was then placed at the bar, and charged with having, on the night of the 30th October last, waylaid and robbed Isaac Paradise of a kit, containing a quantity of pork, suet, a sheet, and a shirt, and also of a cap, and two shillings in money, and of having assaulted and beaten the said Isaac Paradise. The prisoner pleaded " not guilty." The Attorney-General opened the case for the Crown, and called, Isaac Paradise, who stated that he was in the employ of Mr. Hallamore, and lived in Freeman's Bay ; he was on his way home on Saturday night, the 30th October last, when between ten and eleven o'clock he was met by the prisoner at the bar (of whose identity he had no doubt), in West Queen-street, who asked witness to treat him, and offered to carry his kit for him, — the kit contained 12lhs. of salt pork, a sheet, a shirt, .and 21bs. of | sugar ; he had two shillings of money in his hand, and a new cap on his head ; witness refused to treat the prisoner, and went on his way towards home, but prisoner followed him until he reached the ropewalk beyond the Catholic Chapel, when prisoner laid hold of the kit, cursed witness, and knocked him clown, and said he Avould keep the kit ; witness had a stick in Ins hand, and got up and took hold of the kit ; prisoner laid hold of the stick and tried to wrest it out of his hand, and said if witness would give him the stick he would give up the kit , prisoner then broke off a piece of the stick and knocked witness on the arm with it ; witness then made away from him, and went on his way again till he got near Armson's fence, when prisoner came quietly behind him and knocked him down stunned, cursed him, kicked him violently, and went away with his kit ; witness was not able to rise and follow him, and did not see anything of the articles he had mentioned since that time ; the 2s. he had in his hand were to buy four loaves with ; prisoner knocked the money out of his hand with a blow of the stick, and witness had not seen it since ; prisoner had a white handled razor in his hand, and swore he would cut the witness's head off ; his hands were cut a little, the middle finger of the right hand especially ; he was hardly able to make his way home he was so much hurt ; he was kicked on the knee and could scarcely walk, and could hardly raise his left arm. On Monday he came into town, saw the prisoner, called one of the police and complained to him of what had happened. The prisoner cross-examined the witness with a view to shake his evidence as to being able to know him in the darkness of the night ; witness said he never saw the prisoner before that night, at Levy's, before he left town, but he had not the least doubt of him being the man who robbed him ; he saw the prisoner at Levy's, but had no drink with him there ; witness observed the pri- 1 soner was dressed in a blue shirt and cap when at I Levy's, and he had the same dress on when he stopped him on the road. j Corporal Trafford, of the Armed Police, on the j information of the. witness, apprehended the prisoner at Hardington's tap on the Monday following the robbery. The prisoner called no witnesses ; he denied having seen Paradise after they were at Levy's ; and urged that he could not be charged with stealing two shillings from him, which he (Paradise) himself said were knocked out of his hand with a blow of a stick. The Jury without leaving the box found the prisoner guilty. The Court was adjourned till next morning.

Thursday, December 2. Daniel Sheeran was placed at the bar, and was sentenced to be transported beyond the seas for fifteen years.