SUPREME COURT.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 29, 13 January 1864, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL gITT NGS Monday, Janoaky 12th, 1864. j .(Before 1 His" Honor Mr, Justice Gresson,) " i Mr MacJbnald prosecuted on behalf of the v Crown. v v j The Grand Jury. ' The following were impanelled .as* a Grand , Jury, viz.: — Messrs John F. Dundas (Fore- , man), Samuel Beayen,, John .Blacklock, [ Thomas M. Clarke, J ' Francis C >llins', Peter Dalrymple, Robert Dalrymple, George Hatley. Alexander Jamieson, Duncan M' Arthur, ] .James M'Clure,* James-Henry Men'zies, David , Mitchell, George Perry, Francis Twemlow, Arthur E. Vivian, Thomas J. White, Henry William Whitton. His Honour then' delivered the following charge to the Grand Jury . — M& FOBBMAX, AND GENTIKMEN OF THE GttASD.JIJBY — i I am happy to be able to congratulate you on the lightness of the calendar, which contains but four charges' — two' of forgery and uttering, one of obtaining goods under false pretences, and one of larceny;'- '" ' : "'' : " ■■•■•'■ •> •-■-■'■■-■-■■> •-■■- - ••■■- >- Forgery, Gentlemen, is the false making, or altering in a material part, a mitten instrument, with intent to defraud. It is immaterial whether the name forgedvbel that of a merely fictitious person, or of a person actually existing, provided •: the name be assumed .. for the purpose of fraud. In one of the cases to come before you, in order to find a. trap bill you must" be~satisfied that there is prima facie evidence pt the cheque baying'been drawn, or at least signed by the prisoner, and of the name of the drawer having been assumed with intent to defraud. ■..■■ ■. „; , ; V .., ; In the other case, you will probably. think that there is not sufficient evidence of the forgery, by the prisoner, and that the question for your consideration will be whether there has been, within the meaning of the statute, a -"disposing of" or .." putting of" of the' forged instrument, .knowing it to be forged. It has been held that the giving of a forged note to an innocent agent that he may attor it, is a " disposing of " and putting away of the note. If therefore you think that there is evidence of .the prisoner having known that the instrument was forged when she gave it for the. purpose of being passed, you will probably have no difficulty in fii ding a truo bill. ; ' Taere is one case in which lam t-ild tint the insanity of the prisoner .vill probably be set upas a defence, but you cannot ignore a bill upon the , ground ot insanity. IP therefore you' shall be' satisfied by the evidence on bohalf of the Crown thnt there is prima facie evidence Of the wrongful act having boon committed by the prisoner, y;ou will be bou'id to find a true bill. The other cases are so simple that it is unnecessary to trouble you with any observations upon-' tkem. Gentlemen, I hctrf noticed wifih pleasure the great, progress which this Province has made since my last visit. The extent and variety of your public works, and the energy and rapidity with which they are : pushed forward in so young a settlement,, cannot, fail to excite botli surprise and admiration. I have visited the gaol, and" perceive that it is clean and well ordered, and that the prisoners appear to have no cause of complaint. lam not surprised to fin i, however, that it forms no exception to the other gaols of New Zealand, being, us they are, wholly without provision for the classi-; fication or industrial training of the prisoners. I 1 may perhaps be doubted whether any pro- . vinee of Now Z *alan I. however promising may be its prospects, could afford the cost of erecting and/ maintaining a cmplete model prison,' but I suppose that no thinking person can doubt that the time has To ig since arrived for the commencement of such n work at the cost of the colony. Gentlemen, I confess that when I come to reflect upon the v. ry large and increasing income and expenditure of this c nintry, the amount and rapid increase of its population, the unanimity with which thousands of pounds are voted year after year for any object promising pecuniary gain or even personal accommodation, and when I * remember that nothing, absolutely nothing, has been done or even attempted fur improving our criminal population — nay, that so far as in us lies, we are impelling them forward in their downward course, by forcing the young and comparatively untainted, to associate with the most hardened offend rs. I feel that if we have cause for satisfaction at what has been done, we have also cause fir humiliation at what has been left undone. I allude to the subject in'hope that y<m (agree with me, an i th-ifc you will use your influence to promote a wt-r't, fche want of which is felt mire and more and in each sueceedyear, a3 the population o 1 the colony increases. Gentlemen, I congratulate you on the vote that hns been passed during the lat« session of the General Assembly fjr the appointment of an addi- | tional judge of the Supreme Cjurt. 1 don't know whether it- is intended that he should reside here or at Dunedin ; but the judges are unanimously of opinion that much greater good wouldxesult to the Colony from their si; tmg together in banco, and changing their circuit ro-pectively from time to ( tirap, than from being localised so much as they \ are at present. I will not detain you longer from your duties than to remind you that, in order to find a true bill, twelve of you at the least must be agreed that there has been aprima facie case ot guilt made out against the prisoner. If you will now be so good as to retire to your room, the bills will be sent to you without delay. The Grand Jury, after having retired for the consideration of the informations sent in i by the Crown Prosecutor, came into Court at intervals during the day, -when the Foreman informed his Honor that they had found true bills against the following prisoners, viz. — Marcus Somerville, stealing from a j dwelling ; Fullarton Sim Coulthard, obtain- j goods under false pretences ; C. S. Herbert, forgery ; and Elizabeth Adams, uttering a forged cheque. Before the Grand Jury was discharged, the Foreman, in reply to His Honor's address, read the following : — It is with much satisfaction the Grand Jury beg to welcome your Honor upon the occasion of your second visit to the Province of Southland. It is a source of satisfaction to the Grand Jury, as it is to your Honor, that both in point of number and in the nature of the bills brought under their notice, the calendar is of so light a character. The Grand Jury, and, they have no doubt, the people at large of Southland, duly appreciate the interest taken by your Honor in the progress of the Province. The state of the Gaol and the subject of the proper classification of the prisoners, so as to diminish, as far as possible, the deteriorating influence of contact, are matters of much importance, and the Grand Jury trust that at no very distant date, it may be within the power of the Province to mitigate if not altogether to remove, the evils at present existing. Sensible as the Grand Jury are of the advantages the Province of Southland has already derived from the visits of your Honor j it will be always a satisfaction *to them to welcome your Honor on the occasion of your future visits — which by an arrangement in the apportionment of the jurisdiction of the Judges, of the nature referred to by your Honor — they trust it may be frequently their good fortune ( to offer. His Honor, in reply, said he was glad the Grand Jury concurred with him in the remarks he had made. He believed that the visit of a Judge was of great importance to - the welfare of the community, by the prop er administration of the proceedings of the Supreme Court. There could be no doubt but that the Province would greatly benefit by the appointment of an .additional Judge, With regard to the proper- classification., of ; , prisoners in the Gaol, he was happy to find that the Jury concurred with' the views hfe had referred to in his opening address to them, and hoped that each of the Jurors, in his respective spUere— some, ; as \he understood, being in the House ot Representatives-^; would use his utmost endeivbrs in promoting such a desirable object as the proper classification of the prisoueraxonfiued in the \ Gaol.He would have great .pleasure lii ■making known their views: on. s thisj matter _ in 'the; proper quarter. Thanking^ them .fqrllheir services, ; he discharged rthem -frbnl further attendance. ' . ,■■ ■- ; In the order in which they were brought in by the Grand Jury, the cases- against'the prisoners were proceeded: .with,: a .jury of twelve -having been impanelled. , STEALING FROM ADWKLL.ING HOUSE. Marcus SomervilleV" 'pleaded " riot "guilty to an indictment?, charging him with stealing a

silverswateii, ia/gold^breast^pinv a hair.chafn^ ■"and a?ieat!ier|purse,J £rorn^hje dwelling|fio'usej: ■of Johrv^Barrcpfj/'at J3ampbeijttown, the wHole), of thjfcgroperl^beinglpr the value of £ t^| belpnging|storjohn| Sinclair. Mr Soufeßl appeared 'for the "prisoner. " " v s - s : ,\.'. rM& The Crown tor' having briei3ly de^ tailed '-the main circumstances of the case,' called ";;,. ■';.„.,.,■ xy.'- : ■■''■•■. John Sinclair^ wKa'deposed that he was living at the^A-rgyle 1 Hotel, in the^Campbell-.;;' town District, on the 9th November last. ,0n that afternoon, he wasin a room pff'th.e'bar i ; making up the books, when, in consequence" of* information; he^;receiyeS,"he wentup^s.taaral to ia room occupied by,MissrSinclair, when he f found the door fastened in the inside.. A fter some little time, the prisoner "opened"*" the door, and witness saw him sitting on the bed. '' .He. asked liiih what i he was doing V in . the room, when he replied he was looking forhis bundle. Witness' saw abox in ihe room that appeared to have been broken open ; the lid- was all smashed. Witness raised ihe lid, and saw that' a silver watch, a 'hair Albertchain, and a gold pin, which he had placed iii, the boi sbriie "days before, ?*yere missing. : He hud seen the box locked, arid had taken away the key on thatrnorning. 'He accused the prisoner <of bating the articles ; when he denied having done" ; so. Witness, sent for a constable, but " before^ he arrived," prisorier * put his ha'ndi in his pocket: and pulled out the'ywatch and- gold. pin. ; Prisoner aikedwitriess: to take theuii but he refused, and told VprikprierTt^ keep them .till the constable came, which lie did "a short time afterwards, wh^n he gave the pri3pner-4nto ; custody. • „•,■-■"•-.:.■■:.. ;,• ■■-■'•■'■.■.'■\- . By Mr South — Prisoner -had been staying in the house. They Jinight.have been drinking together previously. He could not; swear that it was on the ?th wheti-tlie : oettr r / rence took place, he had detailed. ,_. Was 'riot' aware whether theiprisoner went up stairs to search for some articles of his own. "Witness did not search the box with another person to find certain. things of. the; prisoner's.; Prisoner.; did not tell; jiim he was. , going lup stairs to search for anything belonging to him.". -He told prisoner if he Had taken the things the best thing he could do would 'be to give them up. He had sent for a constable when he said sp to prisoner. When witness suggested to prisoner to give the things up, he deniedhaving them. Jt was about ten minutes! afterwards that prisoner took, them out of his pocket and offered/ them to; Avitness; His suggestion to the prisoner. was a trick to see if he had the things. , Witness. -had : a-watch. belonging to another man, named William Bailey, in the same box. Witness Had given up the, house at that time, butwas still staying there. Prisoner had never stayed in the house. .--.-. .-.•>■,--■■ Isabella M'Pherspn, who was living at the Argyle Hotel on the T 9th November, said she saw the prisoner in the afternoon of that; day in Miss Sinclair's room. She went'up-to the room and found the door locked. Looking in through the chinks of the door she saw prisoner taking some papers out of- a box in the room. She then went and informed Mr Sinclair of ' the circumstance^ . By Mr South— Previously, on that day, she heard Peter Sinclair, the brother of the last witness, asking for a parcel which belonged to the prisoner. Prisoner was searching for the parcel- himself, and had previously gone into the room, when John Sinclair told htm it was a private room and he must not search there. She had seen the box in. the morning, at which time it was securely locked. She heard the prisoner tell John Sinclair he found the^watchand chain lying on the bed. Constable: : Munro, stationed at Campbelltown, proved the arrest of the prisoner at the Argyle Hotel. On searching him, he found the watch and Albert chain, als >. a purse and some papers. This being the evidence for the prosecution, Mr South addressed the jury for the defence, endeavoring to show tlie probability of the- prisoner having gone to the box in searching for some articles belonging to himself, and that the possession of the watch nnd chain might be accounted for by his having found them, as he said, on the bed in the room. His Honor at some length summed up the evidence to the jury, who, without retiring, found the prisoner guilty, and he was sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labor. OBTAINING GOODS UNDER FAME PRETENCES. Fullarton Sim Coulthard was indicted for obtaining goods under false pretences, from J. W. Perkins, to the amount of £2 14s 6d, by means of a cheque, purporting to be on the Bank of New South- Wales. The prisoner, on being asked to plead to the indictment, said he would plead, guilty, so far as drawing the cheque was concerned, but at the time he did so, he believed that the firm of Dixon and Company, in Melbourne, had placed £1000 to his credit at the Bank. His Ilonor said that would virtually amount to a plea of not guilty. r The prisoner accordingly pleaded not guilty to the indictment. In reply to His Plonor, he said he had riot the means of employing counsel to defend him. Mr South, at the suggestion of His Honor, undertook to defend the prisoner. His Honor said it was not his habit to assign counsel to defend- a prisoner, but he had received some information which led him- jo believe that counsel would be particularly required in the case. As Mr South had only then undertaken the prisoner's defence; 'it would, perhaps, be convenient to postpone the case until next day. It would be for his counsel to enquire iritothe matter, but from what he (His Honor) had heard, there were doubts as to the state of mind the prisoner was in when he drew the cheque. The prisoner remarked that he was bound to state h.3 was perfectly sane at the time. The case was postponed until next day. Th c Court then adjourned until the following day, at ten o'clock. •-■ •