SUPREME COURT.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2565, 10 June 1881, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

TIMARU—THIS DAY. (Before His Honor Judge Johnston.) The half-yearly sitting of the Supreme Court opened to-day before His Honor Judge Johnston. GRAND JURY. The following gentlemen were sworn in as the Grant fury:—H. Be (field (foreman), W. Do Renzy, K. F. Gray, W. J. Upton, A. AV. Ensor, A. Mee, E. Acton, H. J. Lewis, T. T. Brownell, H. J, Sealey, J. Bradshaw, W. Bush. W. Davidson, J. C. McKerrow, W..W, McKenzie, F. Rutter, 18, Stewart, 11.-A, Chisholm, G. Buchanan, A. Christopher, T. Roberts, T. Archdall, J., Mee, and W_. Stericker. HIS honor’s CHARGE. In his charge to the Grand Jury His Honor referred to several of the canes being of an unimportant nature, which he would not waste their time and his his own by dwelling on. There were two cases of arson however deserving, of attention, and there was a case iht which a man was charged with selfinflicted injuries with intent to murder himself. This was rather a curious case, and if they thought that this mani had deliberately attempted to take his own life, they would find a true bill against him, but if on the contrary they thought that there was no reason to suppose that he had really had. a design upon his life—that he had not contemplated self murder or was of unsound mind at the time of the occurrence—they would arrive at a different decision. After briefly referring to the cases of C. J. Farrell (embezzlement), and to that of Martin Thyne (perjury), His Honor informed the jury they might retire. stealing from the person. George Robson was charged whh stealing a silver watch and chain, the property of James Meiler, on March 15 last. The accused was undefended and pleaded not guilty. The facts of the case will be fresh in the recollection; of our readers, and it will be unnecessary to repeat the evidence which lias already been published in full.

Briefly, the case was that on March 15 the prosecutor and the accused visited the Club Hotel and drank there together, and that subsequently the prosecutor missed his watch. The watch, it afterwards transpired, was pledged with Mr Fruhauf, pawnbroker, and on its being offered to him in pledge he recognised it as one which he had sold in the January previous to the prosecutor. The accused admitted taking the watch to Fruhauf, but he pleaded that he had done so merely to put it in safe keeping for the prosecutor, whom he represented to have been drinking at the time, and not in a lit state to look after his own propertjv His Honor having summed up the jnry, returned an almost immediate verdict of guilty. His Honor enquired about the accused’s antecedents. Inspector Pender said that this was his first offence. He had been out here about four years, but had lately given way to drinking habits. His Honor characterised the robbery as an impudent one-, and sentenced the accused to nine calender months imprisonment, with hard labour. FORGERY. Benjamin Bradford,was charged with forging a bank wder for £l4, and pleaded guilty. Taking into consideration that the accused had been in goal since January His Honor sentenced the accused to imprisonment with hard labor for three calendar months.. ANOTHER FORGERY.,CASE. John Quinn was charged with forging a cheque on the bank of New Zealand for £44. • , The accused said he was guilty of getting the cheque, but was not guilty of any intention to obtain money by it. His Honor said that this was tantamount to a plea of not guilty. The short facts of this case were that on the May' 12 or 13 the accused called at the Old Bank Hotel and enquired where Mr Orhell, of the Levels was staying. Reid, the barman, said he usually put up at the Club. Accused said he wanted to get some money from him’ and left. He presently returned ; said he hud seen Mr Orbell, and that he not got his cheque book with him. He then asked witness to give him a blank cheque and witness gave him one on the Bank of New Zealand. He then went away, Subsequently the accused endeavored to raise money on a cheque purporting to he signed by G: N. Orbell, from W. E. Wilson, boarding-house keeper. This was on a Sunday and accused asked Wilson for an advance of Os on the cheque until he could get it cashed on the morrow. The 5s was given and the accused presently returned and wanted a further advance of £2, but this Wilson refused. On the Monday evening accused asked Wilson to return the cheque to him, and the, latter told him to wait until the bank opened. Subsequently, Wilson handed the cheque to Detective Kirby. 0. N. Orbell deposed that he bad no account at the Bank of New Zealand, and that, so far as ho knew, there was no other person in Canterbury of hia name.

The accused denied that he had any intention of forging Mr Orbell’a name. His Honor having summed up, the jury returned an immediate verdict of guilty. Inspector Pender, in reply to His Honor, described accused as a man of. a very low stamp, and who bad only just come out of gaol on a charge of obtaining money under false pretences*

His Honor told the accused that he was one of those pests of society, a public-house loafer. He would make an example of him, and he : would; tell him that he had some.reason to believe that there was some probability of prison discipline being carried out in future with proper strictness and severity. Penal servitude would in future be really penal servitude. He could not sentence him to less than two years penal servitude; ■ LARCENt. _ , -, ’ Edhvard Ford was charged .with stealing £3, tlie inonies of Michael Shea, on Deor2B,lßßo. ■ The accused pleaded guilty, merely appealing to His Honor to take into consideration the five months he had already been In gaol. . Nothing been, known against the accused, he w£is sentenced to six months’, imprisonment with hard labor. -LARCENY' FROM <&'■ DWELLING. Winiaip Gardiner Was charged with stealing wearing apparel, and ,other property from Stewart Hamilton'in the month of May 1877. : . . The accused pleaded not guilty. It transpired thar in May 1877 the accused Was employed by the prosecutor, a Timaru boarding-house-keeper, as cook. He left bis situation in the same month. Shortly afterwards the propertj 7 found in his possession," was missed. The . accused cross-examined Mrs Hamilton, the wife of the prosecutor, at some'length, and endeavored to shake--her evidence. Isabella Lindsay, a washerwoman em ; ployed by the accused, deposed to getting a bag of the ! accused’s clothes to wash, and to finding some of the things produced’in it; These things were returned lo'Mrs* HaraiUbh, who. got back her pfdpbrty before the accused left’ the town. r . : , The jury could not agree, and were locked up when we went to press. PERJURY. - The case against' Martin Tbyne was proceeding when we went to press. >■ ■; NO BILLS. ’ •' The Grand Jury found no bill in the case of Michael' 1 Quinn, charged with stabbing himself, with intent to committ buicide, and no bill m the case of J, J.' Farrell, charged with embezzler ment. . , ■.