Police Court. TE AROHA. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5th 1889. [Before Messrs Hunt & Dobson J.'sP.]

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 409, 9 October 1889, Page 2

Police Court. TE AROHA. SATURDAY, OCTOBER sth 1889. [Before Messrs Hunt & Dobson J.'sP.]

Gayer was brought; up, charged with being 1 unlawfully on the premises of William Samuel Collins, storekeeper of Waiorongomai, on the- evening of Oct. ,2nd. I Accused pleaded not guilty. j Sergeant Emerson conducted the proi sedition, and briefly stated the circumstance* of the case as follows ;■ On the : evening in question one of Mr Collins 1 employees named Albert Edwards, paw a lightin the feed room at the fear of the store, and on going to see what it was found accused there. Edwards asked accused what he was doing there, and hereplied that !he had been eating pork and! did not feel well. Edwards saw n bag with some oats in it near the feed bin. Accused left the feed room and Edwards 1 locked it up, and went and told Mr Carpenter, book-keeper to Mr Collins, what had occurred. Carpenter at once came into To Aroha to lay an information, but as it was so lato he did not do ea until the following morning. On his return to Waiorongomai he went to the stable to see that all was right, and paw the bag lying nenr the bin as Edwards had stated. On the following morning he went to the stable, and found the bag was gone. Car penter at once came in to To Aroha and laid the information against the accused. \v •"*«'>-,, t] , , -„,,, went out to Waiorongn- " ' .i,. 4 i accused, but ho was not to be

seen anywhere. Ho, however, found him that evening in a whare up the Hill. Told} accused what he had come for, and took him in charge. Sergeant Emerson stated to the Bench that the accused had been* convicted oa Sept. 15th last, before Mr Northcroft, of stealing- oats from Messrs. Bradley and Go's stables. C. B. Carpenter (sworn) r Am a bookkeeper fn the employ of Mr Collins^ storekeeper, Waiorongomaj, and know- the accused. Saw him' at Smardon's corner on the evening of Oct. 2nd. One of thn employees at the store told mo that ho had found Gayer in the feeds room adjoining the stable. Went down, to the stable and saw a bag there with about a bushel and half of oats in it None of the employees had put the oats in the sack. Albert Edwards (swonn).: Am a storeman in Mr Collins* 1 employ, and: knowaccused. Saw hint ia the feed room about half-past seven on the evening of Oct. 2nd. Asked him what he was doing there. Accused- said be had been eating pork and was taken bail. There was nothing in the stable or feed roon* belonging, to accused. _ Saw a hag near the feed, bin. with over a bushel of ©a*s in it.. Locked up the, stable and went and in>~ formed Mr Carpenter. Did not put the oats in the sack. It was not customary for the accused'to be on the premises. By the Bench :' There is a- partition. , dividing the feed* room from, the stable^, hut the dUbr was- not locked.. Accuse! has stablw on the opposite side of the street- Sevei al palings were eff the fence,, and anyone could go through.. This was aH the evidence foe theprose— cution. In reply feo the Bench as to whether he h<td anything to. say, accused, made a. -rambling statement, but could' give no satisfactory reason as to why ho was on Mn Collins? premises afc that time of: night.. , Owen Grayer was- further charged that he did, on the morning of the 3rd inst., feloniously steal, take,, and carry away one and a half bushels of oats* value 6a, the property of W,S< Collins^ Waiorcmgo— mai. Accused pleaded not guilty. C. B. Carpenter (sworn), stated he locked up the stable on the evening of the 2nd inst., about 11 p.m., and' left a sack with about a bushel and a half of oats, near the bin in the feed rrootm t On goinjr to the stable a little before eight o'clock next morning he missed the oats. The door was still locked, but some boards had been pulled off the stable.. By the Bench : The oats were kept in abin in the stable. Gould not say how the outs referred to got into the sack. *Vas quite sure no person in the employ of Mr? Collins, put them in.. Saw nothing wrong with the stable the night previous, but in the morning found some boards had been reriioved, and replaced in, ti temporary way,. The boards :Bell down when* he toLohed them. Valued the oats at 4s 6d per bushel; Dennis Uitchie (sworn) : Am a carter in, the employ of J.-. Orr;. of Waiorongomai. Know tiio accused, who* keeps a- stable opposite Mr Collins store. Saw him on the 3rd Oct.. about l.alf-past five in. tho morning,. croßxing/ Mr Collim'* section. He had. a bug which he was currying towards the street. The bag had something in it, and was about a third full. Gould not say what was in tim bag. DM not see where he wont after ho got into the (street Saw him again shortly afterwards coming backagain towards Mi Collins stable. Accused . went to tho stable, and put his hand inside as if to undo the door, tie then went towards Jenkins paddock carrying a rope, 1 Did not see anyone- else about. Do not think the accused oonld have business , thore at that time in the morning. Should! think he was about 150 yard? distant when he first saw accused.." Thought at the time there was something wrong in the accused being about Mr Collins stable 'at that hour in the morning. By the Bench: It was about half* past five when. I saw the accused, and it was: quite light,. I- have no doubt whatever that it was tho accused. This closed the case for the prosecution.. ' For the defence, Nicholas Kenny (sworn),: Am a driver in the employ of Gayer. I got a sack of chaff from Carpenter on the morning of the 3rd inpt. Accused told me he hndilent Carpenter a saddle. There were no oats about when « I went down to the stable to feed the horses in the morning. By the Bench t Carpenter pave me the hag of ehaffl Have been getting horse feed from Collina latel % y. Generally brought the feed from. Collins''6table to "our stable. i Accused mad© a- statement and said : He had lent Carpenter a saddle, and hem ing 1 that he (Carpenter) had been lending it to other people, thought he would look it uj>. Carpenter told him- the- saddle was in tie stable, and that he could get it at any time. ■ When seen b) f the witness Ritchie he vas going to catch a horse, but as he could not >ret him without taking some feed with him, lie put a little in a sack and carried it in his hand. In reply to a question' from' the Bench as to what made him tell the witness Edwards that he was hfid if he went to look for a saddle,, accused could give no clear explanation^ The Bench retiied to consider the case,. ■ and after about half an hour's abfence re* turned, and, addressing accused, said : W© find you guilty of being unlawfully on the premises of W. S. Collins, nrid gent* nee you to three months' imprisonment with ' hard labour ia Mount Eden Public Prison. On the charge of the larceny of the oats ' we alio find you guilty, and sentence you to three month»s v imprisonment with hard labour in Mount Eden Public Prison ; the sentences to run consecutively, that is six months in all, and consider we are dealing ■very renieotty with you, seeing this is the second conviction within a month. We have the power to give jou <1 8 months, but think the sentence you have received will meet the case, and we hop© you* will mend your ways.