SUPREME COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 333, 21 June 1911, Page 7

SUPREME COURT.

NKW PLYMOUTH, TUESDAY. .Before Mia Honor -Mr. Justice Edwards. The Supremo Court sessions at NewPlymouth opened yesterday morning. GRAND JURY. The (irand Jury was empanelled as follows:—Stanley J. Smith, H. F. Russell, P. E. Orbell, W. L. Newman, F. Messenger, ]). McAllum, N. K. MacDiarmid, C. M. Lepper, W. Jenkinson, W. F. Jenkins, T. Hurst, C. 0. Hawke, E. VV, Garner, O. Deacon, R. Cock, C. A. Benbow, W. Ambury, J. Ave.ry, S. Teed, E. Beekbessinger, and F. Watson. Mr. Newman was chosen foreman. HIS HONOR'S CHARGE.

His Honor charged the Grand Jury in brief terms, congratulating them on behalf of tho district upon the continued immunity from crime. Neither of the two bills to go ibefore the jury concerned the immediate vicinity of the jury's district, one being at Hawera and one at Eltham. Neither case presented the slightest difficulty in points of law, and it was only on points of law that he was required to direct the jury. He then outlined the oases to be considered by the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury then retired. [His Honor omitted to mention the case against George Delan«y, of Eltham, alleged forgery.] THE CRIMINAL CASES.

There were five cases on the criminal list, but of these two had been adjourned from the previous sessions, when true bills had been returned in each case. These were charges of cattleetealing and carnal knowledge of a girl under 16 years of age. TRUE BILLS. The Grand Jury returned a true bill on all counts in Res v. Munga Wainonga, a charge of breaking and entering a shop at Okaiawa and committing theft. Rex v. Alexander Blue, a charge of house-bnaking at Hawera.

ALLEGED CARNAL KNOWLEDGE. The first case called was The King v. Lewis John Pepperell, who answered to a charge of having .at Toko road, Toko, in May, June, and July, 1910, had carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of 10 years. The prisoner had already been charged, and had pleaded not guilty. Mr. C. H. Weston prosecuted on behalf of the Crown, and Mr. R. Spence appeared for the accused. The following jury was empanelled:— David Newsham, S. P. Kidd, E. Clarke, W. H. Drinkwater, F. H. Jackson, J. H. Luke, A. A. Mace, Robt. Barlow, Win. Groombridge, O. N. Firth, A. E. Nathan, Geo. Hopkins. Mr. Jackson was chosen foreman of the jury. The court was cleared during the hearing of the case.

The case for the Crown was that the accused resided at various times with a family on the Toko road. He .became engaged to he married to one of the daughters, who became enceinte. Whilst still engaged to her, he bestowed some attentions on a younger sister, who was then under 10 years of age. She, too, became enceinte,, and a baby was born to her \early in her sixteenth year. She stoutly maintained, but he denied, that accused was the father of that child, whose birth clearly showed that someoae had been guilty of the charge now brought against the accused. The girl alleged that her improper relations with the accused were of frequent occurrence, but the Crown confined itself to three alleged occasions in May, June and July, 1910. The delay in bringing the case on for hearing was the illness of the girl, the principal witness. The defence was a denial of the offence charged. The jury retired at 3.34 p.m., and at fi o'clock had arrived at no decision. The Court adjourned till 7.30 p.m. The jury having intimated that there was no chance of an agreement being arrived at, they were lirought into Court at 7.50 p.m., and the foreman assured His Honor that there ' was no possibility of an agreement. The jury was then discharged. Mr. 'Weston applied for a fresh trial at the present sitting. Mr. Spence, however, asked His Honor to fix the hearing for the next session.

His Honor agreed that the fresh trial should be taken at the next session. Accused was admitted to bail, himself in £IOO and two sureties of £SO each. BREAKING. ENTERING AND THEFT.

Munga AVainonga, a young Maori, pleaded guilty to charges of having, at Okaiawa, in or about February last, (1) ibroken and entered the shop of Edgar Ormond Olivers and stolen therefrom two Kaiapoi rugs, a pair of boots, a pair of trousers, and 4s in money; (2) with having stolen the goods mentioned; and (3) with having received the goods, knowing them to have been dishonestly obtained. The last two charges were alternative counts. Accused had nothing to say. His Honor perused the prisoner's record, and remarked, "Well, prisoner, vim seem to have got a pretty good history." The record, as read, included sentences for eattle-stealing, breaking and entering and theft. His Honor continued: "Well, this is a bad business. Prisoner, I'm not going to give you a long definite sentence, but I am "going to put yon where you will have to stop for a considerable time unless you can show the Prisons Department that you ought to get out. The sentence of the Court is that you be confined in the New Plymouth prison for one year, with hard labor, and that thereafter you be further detained for a period not exceeding four years." A HAWERA CASE.

Tlio charge of breaking and entering and theft nt Ttawera preferred against Alexander Blue, a man of about thirty .years, was then called. Mr. C. 11. Weston prosecuted. The jurv was empanelled as follows: W. X. Kwing (foreman), W. C. Elliott, 0. H. Spro-en, L. Marks, .Tames Kibhv. Robt. W. Sinclair, S. D. Pope, James McClce, T!. ,T. Deare. K. A. Golding. .T. IT. Kevel], and James Pimlie. James Tiarry Oibson, commercial traveller, residing at Hawera, stated that in March last he removed from his home in Victoria street, Hawera, to another residence. An iron bedstead and a wire mattress were left behind. When he went hack to the house to got them he found that the house had been entered am! (lie things removed. Tie had given no one authority to take them. The house was left 'locked mi. but one or two of Hie windows could not be fastened.

tteorge Dunn, gardener, TTawera. who hid been employed by the previous witness to help in removing his furniture from Victoria, street, said that he had left the bedstead and mattress there, lie identified the goods produced. To the prisoner: One of the windows in the front was left unfastened, and it would be possible to enter there. Tt would ha nil v be possible to enter by th" windows or. the south side, except with a ladder.

Frederick William Sutton, a clerk in the firm of Bennett and Son. of Hawera, ironmongers, said he remembered seeing the accused in fiibson's garden at about six o'clock one evening 'about a' foVtnight after Gibson had.,vieft"the house. He appeared to be putting vegetables or

.MniiCiliiiij,', and on his way out of the gate he picked up as he went n mattress which was standing by the gate, and carried it along the South road to his cottage. He had not noticed the mattress at the gate previously. To the prisoner: He would have noticed the mattress standing by the gate if it had been there, but not if it had been lying on tile ground.

Constable Flanagan gave evidence that in consequence of his investigations lie obtained a search warrant on 17th March last and, in company with Constable Clouston, went to search Blue's house. They met Blue in High street and acquainted him of their intention. He said, ''You won't find it there. I have not been home since Wednesday night, and if it is there 1 know nothing about it." Blue accompanied them to the house, and in a hack room witness found the bedstead and mattress (produced), which Gibson afterwards identified. On being arrested and charged, accused said, '"I know nothing about it." The constable was cross-examined by the prisoner as to the actual words used nt the time the search was made.

After being warned, the accused elected to go into the witness-box,. His evidence was that on 15th March he was passing Gibson's house, and saw the bedstead and mattress lying in the garden. He saw them there twice subsequently on that day. Towards evening but while it was still light, and while people were about, he took the things away, being of opinion that, the house lying empty, these things had been thrown out as useless. He saw Sutton standing in his' gardeii at the time.

• Cross-examined, by Air. Weston, the accused failed to make a satisfactory explanation of why he had not told this story to the constables or in the lower court.

Mr. Weston obtained permission to cross-examine witness under the riites under section 3.54 of the Crimes Act, 1908. , These rules set out that where on the trial of any accused person under the Crimes Act, 1008, such accused person shall have given evidence for himself on his trial, such person shall not be cross-examined as to any prerious conviction of such person without the previous permission of the judge presiding at the trial. His Honor having given his permission, Mr. Weston obtained from the prisoner an admission that he had been pieviously convicted of breaking find entering and Wieft nnd a number of other offences.

His Honor: It's no use making any bones about it, Blue. His Honor then reviewed the previous record of the prisoner. In September, 1898, he was sentenced to 14 days' for theft, and in the same year lie got three months for vagrancy. In the next year he was sentenced to four years in Dunedin for breaking and entering and theft. Then followed sentences for vagrancy, being a» idle and, disorderly person, and for obscene language. "All this," said His Honor, "was at Dunedin. You onght to have stopped in the south. Wo didn't want you here." Another four years ,for breaking, and entering, and a year for theft completed the list. The prisoner did not address the jury. His Honor's remarks were very brief. The case for the Crown, he said, was that these things were left inside the house. The, accused,, on jthe other hand, said he had found them outside. If so, someone else, must have brought them out and left them there. Unless the jury helicved his story they would find him guilty. The jury retired at 4.20 p.m., returning about ten minutes later to ask if they could find a verdict of guilty on any one of the counts in the charge. His Honor replied m the affirmative. At 4.50 p.m. the jury brought in a verdict of guilty on a" charge of theft, and not guilty on the charges of breaking and entering l and theft from a dwelling. . The sentence of the Court was that the accused should serve a sentence of one year, with hard labor, in the common prison at Xew Plymouth, and that he should be kept for reformatory purposes for a period of not exceeding three years. His Honor said that he could have declared the accused to be an habitual criminal, but he had elected to give what was a comparatively light sentence when bis record was taken into consideration. lie impressed on him that the date of his liberation would be dependent upon his satisfying the Prisons Hoard that he was fit to be at large. "You are putting the honest part of the community to considerable expense by. your conduct, to say nothing of robbing some of them," he concluded. The Court adjourned till 10 o'clock this morning.