SUPREME COURT.

Southland Times, Issue 1665, 19 November 1872, Page 3

SUPREME COURT.

(Before Fis Honor Mr Justice Chapman.) The criminal sessions of the Supreme Court were commenced yesterday in the Council Hall, at ten o'clock. The Judge's ehaTge to the Grand Jury was oHf-flv a recapitulation of the cireum stances on which the various charges were founded, and contained -nothing of general interest. &?-* 1 Mr Harvey appeared for the Crown Prosecutor (Mr T. M. Macdonald), who waß unable to attend {mm illness. .After the C?rand Jury had retired, Mr Wade called the attention of the Court to the fact that a coroner's inquisition for manslaughter against Tonald MoTrison had been presented, and submitted that as that inquisition was equivalent to » bill of indictment presented by a Grand Jury, and as <he return of a verdict of manslaughter amounted to a finding of no true bill on a charge of imiro'er, and as a Grand Jury ought not to defll with a bill after once ignoring it. that <ho preferment of a. bill for murder to the Grand Jury was improper. He further stated that he believed the point had been decided hrEngland, but -was unable to find any case in point ; on the other band he knew of no case in which an indie merit h»l bp*n preferred for murder after a coroner's inquisition for matislauahter for the tome offence had been returned, though he acknowledged it was a common practice to arraign on an indictment and inquisition for the same offence. Hia Honor said be knew of no reason why the bill should not be preferred, but that in thie ca*e it was of little conseqnecce, as it was not likely thnt any petit jury could convict of murder. He suggested to the acting Crown Prosecutor to alter the indictment. ' Mr Harvey declined, as the indictment having been prepared by the Crown Prosecutor, he did not like to take the responsibility of altering it. The foreman of the Grand Jury shortly after returned to Court, bringing in true bills against Mir-hael Carrol, for placing an obstruction on the railway, and Stephen George, for indecent assault. piiOOffl AN OBSTETJCTION OK THE OEBTI RiIIWAY. Michael Carrol, a lad thirteen years of age, charged with placing two pieces of iron on the Invercargill and Winton railway, with intent to throw the train off the line, pleaded guilty. In reply to the ueual question, the prisoner 6aid he had nothing to say. His Honor enquired whether the boy's parents or any of bis friends were in attendance, but was informed that Ac parents were in Duner'jr, and that the prisoner had no friends in Court. He then proceeded to pa»s sentence, and after pointing out the consequences which might have ensued if the obstruction had not been discovered in tjtne the destruction of the train, and the death and wounding of many of the passengers, said that these terrible results had probably not been contemplated by the prisoner, but fhafc the act locked more like a piece of boyish mipchief, for which., had the prisoner been caught at the time, a suitable punishment would have been a sound whipping." He was sorry tbe law did not admit of his awarding such a punishment, not a flogging such as is inflicted upon grown men, but a chastisement with the birch, such as was in rogue in His Honor's school days. Considering the length of time for which the boy had already been confined, he would only ipflict such a nominal sentence as would giv« hi* parents an opportunity of looking after him and taking him away, Sentence, fourteen days' imprisonment. IitECETr. True bills having been returned against William Hoare for larceny of a watch at Smtzeri, in July or September last, and of money from a house at Invercargill, on 14th October last, William Soare, with numerous aliases, w&9 placed in the dock charged with the larceny of a watch from the Crown Hotel at Switzers. Mr Harvey, having briefly stated the facts of the case on behalf of the Crown, called William Williams, landlord of the Crown Hotel, who identified the watch producer), and stated tnafc be had it in his clothes' box in the hotel at the end of July last, and missed it on the 15th of Sptember. His reußon for looking for it was that a friend wanted to buy it. The prisoner was in his house sometime between the end of July and September, as an ordinary customer, about tbe bar and the billiard room, bat not staying in the house. Charles Freeman, watchmaker residing in Deestreet, Invercargill, identified the watch as having been brought to him by the prisoner ou the 11th of October last, for repair. Prisoner gave the name of W. Mitchell. The watch remained in his possession about a week, when he Jianded it over to Sergeant Fleming. Patrick Fleming, sergeant of police, stationed in Invercargill, stated that lie got the WBftch produced from Mr Freeman. The prisoner made .a statement to the effect that be got tbe watch from a man named Hodson, acd tbat he wa» not at Switzers at the time alleged. Hie Honor, in summing up, stated that the evidence, if the jury believed the witnesses, was sufficient to convict the prisoner, the only question for tbe jury being the recency of possession, wtieli in this cxie amounted to about a month, a time not unreasonably long. The prisoner had entirely failed to account for his possession of the watch, he ought to have had the man Hodson subpoenaed, or laid a charge against him of theit. The fact that be gave a false name when be leit the watch was also against him. The jury almost immediately returned a verdict of guilty. Sentence was deierred until the next case should be heard. LAECEKT. William Soare was charged with stealing £7 on tbe 14th October last, from the bar of the Golden ¥leece Hotel. Mary Lang, landlady and proprietress of the Golden Fleece Hotel, in Esk-street, stated that thy prisoner was in the bar of the hotel on the 14th of October, at one o'clock Witness went to" dinner, leaving a boy cix years' old in the bar. Tbe moziey was in a purse in a cash-box in the bar. Identified tbe purse produced, a watch

r key, and a crooked sixpence which it contained. I Tt contained also about £3 in gold, and there wa* £4 in iilver in the box under the purse. Missedthe money on returning from dinner. The prisoner could have reached orer the bar and <nken the money. Keported the matter to the police. Henry Hodson, miner, at present residing in Tnvemmiill, stated that he wai with the prisoner when he was arrested. Saw him the same nuht in (be qnol ; ho a-ked witness to get him a lawyer. Witness sail he had no money. Prisoner told Kirn to '_'o to an empty house, and he would find plenty of money in an old boot under the floorine. Went to the plsce, and fourth the purs? produce 3 with the money. Sergeant. Fleming came into the empty house, as coon as witness hurl found the purse, and made him gi?e it up. This witness was cross-examined by the prisoner at great length, without eliciting anything material. William Graham Fox, Sub-Inspector o r ya'lce in Inverearsill, stated that when the prisoner was arrested he ' refused to give his nara-\ Watched Hodson in the oveniuz go from the giol to sn unoccupied house in the North roal ; saw him stritin.e matches there, and take a boot from uii'-'er the floor. The boot contained the purse produced, and £4 12s 6d. Took the boot and j the rroney, and kept them ever since. The prisoner addressed the jury at some length, contending that the bar was open, and that as there was no one to take care of it, the boy having left, any other man might have taken the money as well as himself. He endeavored to throw tl o blame on the witness Hodson, whom he described as » card-sharper and a swindler. The judge having instructed the jury that the case depended chiefly on the credibility of the witness Hodson, and having gone over ti e evidence, the jury retired, and the Court adjourned lor half an hour. On the Court resuming, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The prisoner was removed, to receive sentence this morning. INVECEST ASSAULT. SiepJien George was charged with an indecent assault on Bobert Thomson, with intent to com- ] toit an infamous crimeMr Wade appeared for the prisoner. The prisoner, who is a Greek sailor, being unable to speak English, but conversant with Italian, an Italian named Silva was sworn as an | interpreter. Robert Thomson, a lad seventeen years of age, | described the circumstances of the assault, which. I was committed on the J3lh September last, about. | half-past 8 at night, in Deveron street. His evidence was corroborated by a lad named Har- j vey, in the employment of Mr Saunders, butcher, to whom Thomson had related the facts immediately after their occurrence. Mr Wade contended at some length that the jury would not be justified in convicting on a serious charge of the kind under consideration on the evidence of a single witness, and that the assault complained of migrht be explained by the j /net that the prisoner did not understand or speak English, and that he merely dosired to make his wishes known to the witness Thomson, I which, however disgusting, was not an action ! whif>h could come under the indictment of indecent, aseault. His Honor, in summing up, Baid that the verdict would depend mainly on the evidence of the witness Thomson. Even if the original charge were not sustained, the terms of the indictment contained the essential elements of a common assault, fov which it was competent for the jury to find a verdict. The jury retired, and in about half an hour returned with a verdict of not guilty. The Court was then adjourned till ten o'clock this morning.