LAW INTELLIGENCE.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 81, 9 May 1843, Page 2

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

SUPREME COURT. APRIL SITTINGS. Wellington, Friday, April 7, (CROWN SItfa.—BEFORE CHIEF JUSTICE I&A’RTIN.) This morning Joseph Root, William Root, Patrick Mullens,' and Dennis Macarthy, were indicted for that they did between the hours of nine at night, on the 2nd of December, and six o’clock of the morning of the 3d of December last, feloniously anil burglariously break and enter the store of William Lyon of Lumbton Quay, in the borough of Wellington, storekeeper, and did therefrom steal, take, and carry away, certain boxes, containing ribbon, one writing-desk, and other articles, the property, or in the lawful possession, of the said W. Lyon, against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown, and dignity. The prisoners pleaded not guilty . Mr. Rqss. appeared for the prisoner Joseph Roots.

The Crown Prosecutor having stated very briefly the facts which he should prove in evidence, and observed that the nature of the charge was sufficiently explained by,the indictment, called the following witnesses ' William Lyon sworn. —ls a storekeeper residing upon Lambton Quay; remembers leaving his house on the night of the 2nd December last; left it as near as he can recollect at half-past eight o'cloek and returned at half-; past eleven; when he left the -house i he locked'the door; when he returned he; found the front door opened and the bolt shot. •

Mr. Ross ‘here objected to the indictment as not stating the hour when the offence was committed. The Court did not consider the objection important, but to remove all question ordered the indictment to be amended. . .-—-•.••- . • a .

’ William Lyon's examination continued:-^- When witness returned he found that the bolt of the front,'door had been forced ; 'he immediately got a light, and found several things had been taken away; 'he missed three boxes of ribbons of about the value of 40A; eight or nine pieces of print,’ value about SI.; several pieces of woollen stuff which witness thought at a rough'Vstimate were worth 301. ; several packages of stockings; a porta-, blc writing desk ; a box of tea ; a small box of sugar ; all the drawers were apparently rumaged and were, lying open; has since seen several df the articles; (a quantity of woollen Stuff and various Other goods were' brought into court and laid, before the witness) he can swear to all the articles produced; he can swear to - the piece of tartan; the blue print; the blue saxon; the printed saxon; the coloured de laine ; is positive all these articles were in his shop on the night of the robbery. Cross-examined by Mr. Ross. —Witness'was residing at that time in his store ; the store which was broken open ; he was living in the house acthe'time; is a tenant of the land; the house is his own ; at that time his servant lived and and also slept in the house; 'he left the door locked when he went‘out that evening.; lie locked it himself; there is a back entrance ; his servant was not in the house, he left at sunset; does not know what hour he usually returns ; he returned half an hour after witness on the night in question; he Went Out almost every evening: he had a key if he returned before witness ; witness found the door, open when he returned; his servant had been with him about eight months; the back entrance is by side of'the house; there are four doors before .you can come into the store ; is certain he has seen many, of these articles -before; this tartan, for instance, was rolled up that morning; there may be other tartans in other stores, but witness thinks he may safely say there were at that time no tartans like this in any other store; he had sold other tartans but none of this piece; is not positive, but to the best of his belief; the door had been freshly pushed open and the lock had given way ; • it required great ..force to break the lock Open ; is sure hejtpeked the door when he left. Cross-examined; by the prisoner Mullens. —Never saw you about the beach; He takes no notice of idle characters. .'

By the Court.—Die robbery may have taken place at any time between half past eight and eleven; he shut and fastened the batik entrance when he went out; found it so when he returned; there are two keys to the front door; his servant always returns through the front door, having a key*to the front door only ; has no reason to suppose his servant was in theliouse during the absence of witness on the night in question.- (The witness here described to the. Court the . position of the doors at the back of his premises, from which it appeared that they did not give access to the store.)

William-Abbott sworn;- —ls a butcher.; and lives at Jenkins’s; in December last lived in, Murphy-street; knows all the prisoners by sight; does not remember any Offer to sell goods by the prisoners at the bar; Kho&knd offered to sell witness some goods 3 he did not say what goods in particular; he said he had got some to sell affd wanted to know if witness would buy any. George Webb sworn. — Knows the prisoners at the bar.; -he -knows three of them ; does not know Macarthy; does not remember the third of- December last; remembers the robbery at. Mr. Lyon’s store; ~ saw .three of the prisoners the before he heard of the robbery in the momin'g; they were not they were in company with many/otherS.; a person ofthe name ofKnowiand was wjth w them ( ;. does nbt remember the time he saw them; it was in-the evening; they went out about ten

o’clock, when the house was cleared .thinks they were siiting there; saw Joseph Roots, Mullens, and Knowland together at eight next morning. Cross-examined by Mr, Russ.-—Joseph Roots was in the. habit ~ of being < very often at Mr. Garrod’s; not unusual for him to be there as early as eight in the mornlng or when the house was (jlosed at. night. By the Court.—Believes he saw one or more of the prisoners before nine in the evening ; : does not know which; cannot say if they went out of the house any part of the time they were there. Henry Garrod sworn. —Is proprietor of the Suffolk Hotel, Thorndon-Quay; knows prisoners at the bar ; knows them all; they used to use his house; he cannot say he remembers their being there that particular night, there are so many going out and in; remembers the•robbery at Lyon's store. This witness who had been very ill during the morning, at this stage of the proceedings suddenly fell down in a •fit, and continued too unwell during the day to give evidence. A lengthened discussion arose with regard to the admissibility of his deposition before the magistrate. The Court decided that it will not be admitted as evidence, the witness not having been submitted, on that occasion,, to cross-examination. Burgess Sayer sworn. —ls chief constable; knows the prisoners; remembers the robbery at Mr. Lyon’s store; he went to the house of Joseph Roots in consequence of,infQrmatipn;hje(h%dl’ eGe i va d; jtwas;a;drizzling~ rain on the night of the robbery; it rained all the next day; he took the prisoner Mullens on the Sunday, and l Roots on the Monday after the robbery. John Lingard sworn. —ls a labourer living on Thorndon flat; knows all the prisoners, except Macarthy, by •sight; remembers seeing Mullens and Roots on Saturday morning; he was told the robbery at Mr. Lyon’s store took plaee the night before; saw them just by Major Hornbrook’s, in a street which runs between Major Hornb rook’s and Mr. Macbeth’s ; saw Mullins pulling something out of his pocket; they appeared in close conversation; it was about nine o’clock; witness thought there was something between them; it appeared like a round ball; he was forty yards off. John Wilkins sworn. —ls a constable; remembers the time of the robbery at Mr. Lyon’s store; remembers searching for some goods; he searched down behind that store upon the beach which was occupied by a shoemaker ; it was between five and six on Sunday evening ; the store is about a quarter of a mile from the gaol; hardly so much; found some stockings and some gown pieces like those produced ; can’t swear to them positively as he never marked them; he took them up and carried them up to the gaol; there were planks over them •and large poles ; any one would see them; they were dry; it did not appear to witness as though there were a drop of wet upon them; if it had rained while they were there they must have got wet; they were in some baskets and some Were in a-boat.

Gross-examined by Mr. Ross.—The things were near the beach at the back of the store; how they came there witness must leave; there were five or six planks..or more over them ; anybody must see them; the store was •forced in and it was not handy to go round to the place where the things lay ; at the time he found the things there were as many as twenty persons present; does not know whether the people moved them ; if it had rained the things must have got wet; the planks would not have kept them dry. ~ Thomas Knowland sworn. —ls a mason; knows all the prisoners; remembers being in their employ in Mr. Garrod’s public house; cannot-say what month"; •Hhfrbht into Mr. Garrod’s pnblic house about nine o’clock at night; went in alone ;it was on a Friday night; saw Joseph Roots first; got drinking with Roots first; after this witness and all the prisoners got together ; thinks it was at the time they were turning them out of the house; they all five went out together; they went along the beach;. they went to the shop of. Mr. Lyon; they put their hands to the door and shoved it open ; this was about ten or eleven o’clock ; they all five went inside and fetched out a lot of property ; they each took as much as they could carry ; they went along the front of the shop and went up a hill at the back ; they sat down and tied the things up in bundles ; they left a box of sugar on the hill; they went afterwards to the hpuse of Joseph Roots; his wife was in bed; they put the things on the middle of the floor and got a light and looked at the things; they were’prints and ribbons ; stockings, and some team packets ; Joseph Roots went and got three large Maori baskets and put the things in ; there were some tied up in a handkerchief which belonged to Billy (the prisoner William, Roots); Roots put the things under the bed; they all went away then excepting the two Roots; he saw Joseph Roots and Mullens in the morning ; he went to their house; does not know whether he had had breakfast or not; they went to Garrod’s; Roots asked him to go in and have a glass of gin ; they . went to Garrod’s about nine o’clock; all five were there; they were not in the house; they wanted him to drink; he was not well and would not; they. said .the things must be shifted ; he told them to come to the house where he was living and put their hand through the wall •and touch him and he would go; they came; it was near morning; he got up ; the property was near the door in the same way as it was on Friday night; he went into the house again; they made it up to put the property behind Tod’s fence ;he was in his shirt; he could see Tod’s store from his door; saw them place it behind Tod’s fence; they covered it over with sticks and planks; this was on Sunday morning about three o’clock ; he came out of his house a second time and said he was bad in his belly; Macarthy. has told him : that.they-had-sold ; two or three buncUes of stockings and some parcels of • tea; they did not give him any part of the money they produced.— (To he continued.)