RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 999, 2 July 1879, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

THIS DAY. (Before W. K, S. Roberts and J. W. Humphrey, Esqrs., J.P.s.) PIILW'X AXD DTSOItPERLY. Mary Sullivan, alias Polly Sullivan, was charged with being drunk and disorderly yesterday in Severn-street, and was fined 5s and cab hire, 3s, or to suffer -18 hoars' imprisonment. ALLEGED P.OBBEEY .FROM TIIE PEESOK. John Nimon was charged with stealing L 8 from John Ward at the Northern Hotel, on the 2C-tli ult. Inspector Thompson prosecuted, ana Mr. (3'Mergher appeared for the accused and pleaded Not guilty. John Ward, a cook, deposed that he knew the accused. lie had worked with him for a few weeks. Witness left the Maerewhenua on Wednesday, anS received two cheques—one for LIG and the oilier for LI lis. Ho went to Duntroon and cashed the LIG cheque, receiving one cheque on the Union Bank for LB, a L5-note, a Ll-note, and some odd silver. He came into Oamaru on Wednesday night by train, and slept at the Northern Hotel that night. Next day he met accused in Tync-street about mid-day. Witness was not perfectly sober at the time, but the accused appeared to be sober. He told witness he was hard up, and could get no work. They went to the Northern Hotel, and went into the parlor together. Witness saidj " Sp.onor than see you hard lip, here is s note for you," which he took. Witness cashed the L 8 cheque at the Union Bank. After giving the accused the Li, witness went to have a sleep. When ho went into the bedroom he looked to seswh.it money he had, and put his trousers under his head. He was awakened at about 4 o'clock by the boots at the hotel, and when he got up he found his trousers lying across the bed, and the money gone. He found his purse and a cheque for LI lis in his trousers, and two half-sovereigns in Jiia waistcoat pocket. Ho never authorised any person to take the money. After he got up he received L 3 9s from Mr. Amos. Mr. Amos sent for the police, and had accused arrested. Cross-examined by Mr. O'Mcagher : He did not see any person in his bedroom. It was not possible for the accused to have taken anything out of his pocket while they were in the sitting-room. He had about Ll2 in his pocket when he wont to bed. He had had a good few nobbicrs that day, and could not toll how much money lie had spent. The boots awakened witness beeaused lie found accused in the bedroom. When the detective brought the aocised to his bedroom he did not say T'liat is not the man." Witness had been twice in the lock-up for drunkenness. He would not bo positive that he did not toll the accused to come back to the hotel in about an hour, and see him. By the Bench : I am quite positive that the money was in my pocket when I went to bed. I asked the teller at the Union Bank for gold for the L 8 cheque, but he only gave me one sovereign, two halfsovereigns, and the rest in notes. Evan Jones, boots at the Northern Hotel, deposed : He recollected the 2'otli ult., and had seen the prosecutor at the hotel. Ho also saw accused there on that day, at between three and four o'clock, in the yard. Prosecutor was in bed at the time. He (witness) followed accused into the house, and saw him at the head of prosecutor's bed. He had the trousers in his hands, and prosecutor was asleep. Witness went into the room and asked accused if prosecutor was asleep, and he replied that he was. Accused then went away and witness did not see him again. Witness went for Sir. Amos, and they returned together in about ten minutes. At the suggestion of Mr. Amos, witness searched the waistcoat, and found a sovereign, two half-sovereigns, and nine shillings in silver. He also searched the trousers, and found a purse containing a piece of paper, but he could not tell what it was as he did not open it. Cross-examined by Sir. O'Meagher : Witness put prosecutor to bod, and had to pull off his boots, and also help him to take his trousers off. He asked witness to put his pants under hia head, which he did. When witness went away he left the door open, and anyone might have walked in. Oil Wednesday night prosecutor shouted for witness, and changed a L 5 note.

By the Bench : The housemaid was sitting in the front room reading, and accused would have had to pass her before he could get to prosecutor's room. Ivate Halloran, servant in the employment of Mr. Amos, deposed that she recollected the 2Gth ult. She knew prosecutor by sight, and had seen him that day. He was in bed about 4 o'clock. She was in the cottage reading a newspaper, and there was only a partition between the room she was in and the one prosecutor occupied. There is a door loading from one room to the other. While she was sitting . there she saw a man passing into the room in which the prosecutor was sleeping, but she would not know the man. She had not seen more than one man pass into the room. She heard no one in the room or near it say anything with reference to the prosecutor. She had not been there long when the man passed in. Cross-examined by Mr. O'Meagher : The man that passed into the room must have seen her. She looked at him, but did not take particular notice of him. By the Bench : The last witness told her that he caught accused taking the money out of prosecutor's pocket. She had not seen the last witness go into the room, but had seen him leave it. George H. Amos, landlord of the Northern Hotel, deposed that ho knew the prosecutor, and recollected him coming to the hotel on the 25th. He had supper and a drink, for which he paid with a Lo-note. He went to bed, and witness,.did not see him till about 8 or 4 o'clock next day. On Thursday aocused came in and said he wanted to see the cook, and witness told him to go to the kitchen. Shortly afterwards Jones, the waiter, came in, and they went to the cottage. The prosecutor was in bed, and witness saw the pa,nts lying over the head of the bed. The waiter took out of the pockets two half-sovereigns, one sovereign, 9s in silver, and a purse, which he handed over to witness. Witness gave information to the police, and accused was arrested.

John Main, a cab-dr vcr, deposed that he recollected the 26tli ult. He knew the accused, and saw him first on the cab rank in Thames-street. He drove away v.'ith a man named Hassell, and returned in a quarter of an hour, and got into witness' cab, and they drove to the Royal Hotel, and had a drink. They then went to the Commercial Hotel, and had a drink, after which witness drove him to Boyland's boarding-house. The Empire Hotel was the next place visited, and then the Northern Hotel. It was about 3 o'clock when they readied the latter place, and they went into the bar and had drinks. Accused left witness, and in about twenty minutes returned, and witness told him he v,'anted his pay as he could not drive him about for nothing. He gave him a pound. Witness asked him where he got the money from, as he appeared to have about L 5, hold loosely in his hand, and lie said he had got it given to him. ITe got into witness's cnb again, and fchev vrent. to the north end of the town to Polly Sullivan's house, where thev stayed for some time. itness received 25s altogether for driving him about.

Cross-examined by Jlr. 0 Meagher : Accused had given Polly Sullivan L 3. lie told witness "before he left the cab-stand that lie had had had money given him bj a man for whom he was going to work. Accused was partly intoxicated when he got into witness' cab, and got worse when thev reached the Northern Hotel. Accused left witness in the Northern Hotel, and said he was going to get money that was left for him, but was absent- only about twenty minutes. He paid for the drinks they had before leaving the bar. He said he had made an appointment to meet the man he was going to work for at the Northern Hotel, and that in all probability he would bo leaving for Maerewhenua that evening. Detective Livingstone deposed that he know the accused. He recollected the 20th inst. In consequence of information received, he went to the house of accused at 11.45 ]>, m, Ho told the accused to get up and come to the Northern Hotel, and witness told him that he was bringing him on suspicion of having robbed a man. He asked liim where ne 2ot the money to spend on cab hire during the day, and he said,Wiiat money I Witness told, him that he was suspected of robbing a man at the IS or thorn Hotel of LB. He admitted spending a lot of money, which a man he had been working for had given him to keep. Witness took liim to the Northern Hotel to where prosecutor was sleeping, and awakened him. Prosecutor first said that accused was not the man, afterwards said he was, and gave him in charge. This was all the evidence, and prisoner reserved his defence,

The Bench considered a pi'una facie case made uut, and. committed the prisoner to hike his trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court in Dunedin, to bo held on Monday next, bail being allowed, himself in LSO and two sureties of L 25 each.