SUPREME COURT

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8348, 7 February 1913, Page 11

SUPREME COURT

CRIMINAL SESSIONS

TWO MEN GET THREE YEARS FUR ROBBERY. The criminal (session* of the Supremo Court were continued before his H° u< ’ r Mr Justice Chapman yesterday. Mr 1. Ij. K. Macasscy appeared for the CrownA PLEA FOR LENIENCY. Albert John Udy, who was found guilty on Tuesday of wilfully destroying a dwelling-house, the property of Maiy Ann Udy, was brought torward tor sen Ta. T. Maginnaty, of Nelson, appeared for the prisoner, and said he ha been requested at this fctago to niako representations to Honor on behalf ot Udy. In JBOO th name of Udy stood in the VVafiuiapa for all that was synonymous wit what was honourable and good, and h ® , tu lured to say that the same the blood of this y° u “« “i n ; h .^ r ime «t would have gathered Guilty uiiifli tho jury had iound hiin guilty eommit?ed y at a time whoa h» eonii ft sttrt the effect of making him not on y • pectablo member of society but ot . , jug him from the failing which nccouuiut (Ji his being in his present position. The conditions would bo somewhat severe, 1.,,s tkev would have a more bouohual be was 1 he St wif not'” h-eady Pelted he should bo made tho subject ot an <* der In the second placer he ■.hoMd be required to report trequent y to tho Pio Hr “'uhu- could be sentenced for °this offence. If ho ccmphed with these conditions they a v.v-,ndmg him as a criminal, make Him a rrancctablo member ot society. He was «t the present time undergoing treatment for th« P curo of intemperance. 1 risonei h mot tier and wife asked that ho shoul ,10 His B Honor^fwRI give the matter due consideration and consider in what way the ends of public Justice can bo met. THREE YEARS. The hearing of the charge of assault si s.'r.vir-iSi YsSfiAS; Condon, and Mr Heredity tor Adams. The foreman eaid that the jury would like to offer Donovan mo more opportunity of stripping and showing them the marks on. his back to see if they coincided with tho police report. His Honor (to Donovan) : Ihe jury otfer you the opportunity of going with them into tho jury room and there stripping in order that they may see tho numerous marks on your body. ■ Donovan: I refuse. Hundreds of men i*ro tad too ed in the same way that X am. It wo Slid bo no use to this court. Is the Crcfwn Prosecutor prepared to go into the bos and swear those bouth African .convictions are mine. His Honor: Other witnesses have al- - ready sworn to them. I don't think the Crown Prosecutor can - swear to them, and it is no business of his to go into the witness,'box in any case. However, you understand the offer is made to you. Donovan: YcVi, I do. ' . _ After an hour’s retirement the jury re--turned a verdict of guilty against Donovan and Condon and not guHty in the ease of Adams. Donovan eaid that ho had to thank Jiis Honor for his kindness in connection with his case, but he wished to protest against the methods adopted by Detective Cassells in obtaining evidence from persons ’’arrested• Ibr'"crimes atfd vtSitfe «< against them. He referred to the matter Bf getting statements front prisoners. His action was not that of an honourable man and a man holding the position he did. It was peculiar that Adams, who was alleged to bo drunk, knew what had , been done by both Condon and himself on the night of the robbery. The action of Adams’s solicitor in acting tho part of Crown Solicitor and putting-: everything he could against his (Donovan’s) and Condon’s characters was not fair. He did not know if it was his Honor’s intention to pass a long sentence, but before ho did he wanted to know whether his Honor believed the Bouth African convictions were his. He did not want to be made an habitual criminal, for he thought sentences for reformative treatment were only a farce. If he was just sentenced to an ordinary term at tho conclusion of the sentence he Would have a little money and also some of the sentence would be remitted. With the reformatory sentence they get no remission of sentence. lie did not think that if a sentence making him an habitual criminal was passed it would tend to mako him an honest man when he came out. He asked his Honor not to take the Bouth African convictions into consideration. These were brought before the Jury through the instrumentality of Detective Cassells, and had turned threequarters of them against him. Mr Coulter, on behalf of Condon, asked his Honor to treat him leniently. Hia Honor said that he did not consider the South African convictions were sufficiently clearly made out for him to act on them. As to the conviction at Hobart ho was satisfied, and so were the jury about it. Mr ilacasaey: It is only right that I should say in regard to Donovan's statement regarding Detective Cassells that ho is a very experienced and honourable officer, and has always given his evidence fairly in court. His Honor: 'The jury have dealt with that, for they have believed his evidence. I entirely endorse the verdict myself. Continuing, his Honor said that ho did not as a rule inflict a very heavy sentence whore a drunken man placed temptation in the shape of valuables under tho eyes of other men. Ho had to consider the character of both, men, and neither man had a good character. He did rot take into consideration tho convictions in South Africa because they were not distinctly proved. Each man had some previous convictions against him, but in the circumstances he did not intend to deal with them as habitual criminals, but merely to inflict a substantial sentence. He saw no reason to mako any difference between the two men. and they would each be sentenced to throe years’ imprisonment with hard labour. Mr Meredith drew his Honor’s attention to what Donovan had said about him. His Honor: I treat that as sheer nonsense. ' INJURED WITH A BROKEN GLASS. William James Hogan was charged with assaulting George Marvin at Wellington on January 27th and causing actual bodily harm. Dr Pollen said that Marvin was taken to his .surgery on January 27th, suffering from wounds to his face. An artery’ Was partially severed, and after attending to him witness ordered his removal to the hospital. George Marvin said that on January 27th about 3 pan. he met accused in M illis street, and they went to tho Britannia Hotel for a drink. Accused paid for the drinks, but while they were having them accused became very quarrelsome and threw beer over him. Witness then struck accused, and tho hitter, after they got outside, retaliated by striking him in tho face with a glass. Witness was taken to Dr Pollen’s and then to the hospital, where ho remained six days. No permanent injury had resulted from accused striking him with the glass. James Jones, employed by. tho Wellington Harbour Board, said that on January 27th ho was in Willis street and on approaching the Britannia Hole! lie saw that Marvin and accused hud been lighting. Prisoner apparently did not want to fight- Marvin was walking away when

tho accused rushed up behind him and hit him in the face with a glass, ihe accused then ran away. Witness later went after him and got him entering a motor car. Later tho police came along and arrested him. Accused had a good deal of liquor in him at that time. Henry Harding said that he was with Jones on the night of the occurrence and gave evidence similar to tho previous witness, though ho could not identity the man who struck the blow. Servant Fitzgerald said that on Jb-Tiu-ary 27th ho was on duty in Willis street, lio saw, Jones hurrying along the street, and in consequence of a remark he made witness • followed hint. At tho corner of Hunter and Featherston streets he saw Jones struggling with accused. Witness asked him if ho had assaulted Mar* vin, and ho replied that he did not. Accused had a freshly-mado abrasion on his face. Witness then sent him to tho police station in charge of a constable and returned to tho scene of the occurrence, where he got the broken glass. Ho noticed a quantity of blood on the footpath, and later saw Marvin m Dr Pollen's surgery. Constable Forsyth said that he saw a man walk across Willis street and strike Marvin, but ho could not identify the man who struck tbo blow. Mr Goulter did not call evidence for the defence. He pointed out that the fact that Marvin was struck and injured was not disputed, but there was no evidence to prove conclusively that accused was the man. Tho jury, after a retirement of thirty-five minutes, brought in a verdict of guilty. Mr Goulter asked if his Honor would grant probation. His Honor: I always inflict a term of imprisonment in a case of this sort, and 1 think magistrates should do the same in similar cases that come before them. Air Goulter: He caused no serious harm. His Honor: But he might have caused serious harm. Mr Goulter said the prisoner was formerly a drover in Queensland, and came to Wellington with a large cheque. He had no recollection of what took place that night. It also camo ont in evidence that Marvin had struck him. His Honor: The man who hits another man with a bottle must be punished for it. Addressing the prisoner his Honor eaid ho had been found guilty of a violent assault and if ho had struck the man with his fist ho would not have thought so much of it. For this kind of offence ho always inflicted a sentence of imprisonment. Ho would be sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment. His Honor also said that tho grand jury had called his attention to Air Jones’s vigilance in this case, and he wished to thank him publicly for tho part he took. His action certainly led to the conviction of the man who committed the assaultA MEDICAL EXAMINATION. George Waters pleaded guilty to a charge of breaking and entering tho house of W. J. Davis aud stealing clothing and a lady’s rolled gold watch or a total value of £6. Mr Macassey eaid that the gaoler had some doubts about this man's sanity, and thought that he had better be medically examined. Mr Goulter explained that the accused went to the house in order to inquire the address of a friend he was looking tor. He found no one at home and the glass in the back window easily allowed nim to slip his hand in and remove the catch. He then went inside and changed his clothes for some of those in the house, as he intended to see his father, who was at the hospital- He later returned to give back the clothes. He did not think lie had any criminal intent. Accused then held up his boot, which had a largo hole in the sole, and informed his Honor that he could not get work in Wellington and he had been forced to walk about the city in boots iike tho one he produced. His Honor romanded accused for medical examination. THEFT FROM A SHIP. Herbert Wallace, alias Woman (Mr Goulter) pleaded not guilty to a charge of, at Wellington on January 15th, stealing from the se. Mangapapa, one pair of boots valued at 10s and £7 in money, the property of Patrick Landy, and also with stealing from the same vessel 9s in money the property of James Uvx. Patrick Landy said that he was a fireman on the Mangapapa. and on January 15th he went to bed about XI p.m.. hanging up his trousers near his bunk. Ho had about £7 in money in a pocket of tho trousers, and when he woke up the next morning ho found them on the floor and the money was missing. The following day he missed the boots ((produced), which were his property. On the pay day previous to the robbery ho received jell. James Cox, another fireman employed with the previous witness, said that he had some silver in one pocket aud a JBo note in the other when he went to bed on January 15th. A sailor called him the next day and told him to feel his pockets to see if his money was stiu there. All the silver, with the exception of Od, was taken, tnough the £5 note was still in his pocket. Alfred Horne, a trimmer on the Star of India, said that the accused was also a trimmer- on the same steamer, (Jn January 15th he saw accused in th© forecastle of the Star of India. Ho brought another young man with him, and later accused shoivtd him a £5 note and a sovereign, and ©aid he would buy him a pair of boots. Witness replied he did not want the boots or accused's money. Accused told him he had gone out with 3d, played poker, and made X 7. The next day he saw the boots produced in Adams’s bunk. Detective Mason said that on January 17th he interviewed tho accused on the Star of India. Accused agreed to accompany him to the police station, but wanted to change his boots and put on the pair produced. Later witness found the boots produced in accused’s bunk. Detective Dempsey olso gave evidence. The accused said that on January 15th ho had been drinking In. the Club Hotel and later walked into the police station, thinking it was a hotel, and asked for a pint of beer. Ho then went to his ship, and to the best of his recollection he showed Homo £2. The boots produced were found in his bunk, but he bought them from a man named Johnston about 6.30 a.m. on January 16th for ss. and his (accused’s) old boots. The jury retired at 3.50 p.m. and returned at 4.10 p.m. with a verdict of guilty of the theft of the boots. His Honor imposed a sentence of six months' imprisonment. The court theu adjourned till 10 a.m. to-day.