RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1130, 24 January 1884, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

Temuka—Monday, Jan. 22, 1884. [Before S. D. Barker and I>. Inwood, Esqs., J.P.'s.] BURGLARY. Samuel Kirkpatrick was brought up on remand charged with having on the 6th day of January feloniously broken into the house cf one Daniel Seaton, at Waitohi, and therefrom did steal, take and carry away one £lO note and one £1 note.

Daniel Seaton : I am a farmer, residing at Waitohi. I know accused. On the afternoon of the 6th of January last I.diove to the Spur Hutt with my wife, a distance of about two miles. I saw accused at the Spur Hutt. He assisted me to unyoke my horse. He told me to hurry, or I should be late for Church, as Mr Gordon had passed. Divine Service was held in the schoolroom, near the Spur Hutt. It was close on 5 o'clock when I left the Spur Hutt, I thought I saw the accused iu a gully a couple of chains from the Spur. I reached home about 5.30, and went in my bedroom and found the things disturbed. I saw papers that had been iu the bottom of my cashbox knocking about the drawer. I asked my wife had she disturbed them, and she said ' No.' She looked to see if the money was still in her purse. She found that a £lO note and a £1 Lad gone. I then went to the Point, and told the police. I saw some footprints in the paddock close by, and covered them over with bags with the view of preserving them from being obliterated. On the following morning, between 4 and 5 o'clock, I got up and had a look round for more footprints. I traced the footprints to the public road. I observed footprints on the main road leading to my gate. T traced them to within about 2i chains of my bouse. The ground was then too hard. I saw footmarks close to my back door going away. I again found the same marks near a gorse fence on Walker's paddock. I then waited till the police came. On the arrival of the police, we traced the footprints through two ploughed paddocks belonging to Mr Walker. The paddocks were newly rolled, and the footprints were quite distinct. We then traced them through McCullough's wheat paddock, and Mr Moore's grass paddock. I measured the footprints, and they were There were tacks in the outside and none on the inside of the heels of the boots. There were no tack marks in the soles of the boots. The boots produced correspond exactly with the footprints I saw near my house. I saw th e boots produced on the accused on the same Sunday. He wore them when he helped to unyoke my horse. I examined my door on Monday, and found the staple had been withdrawn and put back again. The hook produced had been lying in a box at the back door, and it bore marks that it had been recently used in drawing the stap'e. The accused has been in my employ. He was thoroughly acquainted with the house. To the Court : The boots I saw on him at the Spur looked like the ones produced. Jane Seaton, the wife of Daniel Seaton, gave evidence corroborative of that of her husband. Joseph McClintock : I am a wheelwright, living at Waitohi. I know the accused, anil remember seeing him going along the main road on the evening in question in the direction Mr Seaton

eani'i IV >m. It was not more than fifteen minutes after Mr Beaton passed up that I saw accused pass. He was walking fast. Saw him the fame evening before dark opposite the hotel. Michael Moore, farmer, Waitohi, stated that he saw accused in a grass paddock belonging to him. He was coming from the direction of Mr McOullough's paddock. It would be a near cut from Mr Seaton's house. It was between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon, He turned to the left kito a gully, and only for that he would have passed within about three chains of where he was sitting on the fence. It was possible for him to have seen witness. He turned into a blind creek. At times he was entirely, and at other times partly, concealed in the blind creek from view. He followed the course of the creek, which winds round very much. By doing so he diverged from his former course, and went in a somewhat different direction. Watched his movements until he went out on Walker's road. I thought it was very strange to see him coming from where he did, and consequently I watched him. He was going in the direction of Temuka.

Thomas Burke: I am a constable stationed at Temuka. On the 7th January I went to Waitohi to inquire into a robbery reported to have been committed in the house of Daniel Seaton. Examined footprints with Mr Beaton. Noticed that the staple in the door had been drawn and put back again. Close to the back door there was a box in which there was a hook, which bore marks as if it had been used in drawing the staple.

Witness then described the course over whicb he found footprints. He measured the footprints and the boots of the accused and they corresponded. The tacks in the heels of his boots showed distinctly in the footprints. The boots measured 11£ inches. When accused, was searched at the police station he had on him £7 in notes, 34s in silver and a few coppers.

In reply to the accused he stated that the boots might be of an average size, but did not think all aveiage size boots would fit the tracks found. He had found the tracks near where the witness Moore had stated he had seen the man. David Cunningham, farmer, Waitohi, stated that the accused had been in his etnploymcntfrom April to the latter part of November last. Paid him a cheque for £lO on November 27th, a cheque for £5 on December 3rd, and a cheque for £6 6s 6d on December 7th. When given the last cheque accused stated he did not want to go to Gil move's for a blank cheque as he owed him 30s and he wanted the money to buy clothes. He went to Timaru next day and he saw a new suit of clothes on him. To the accused : I knew you sold a Jangler filly for £lO, and you said you would keep that to prevent starvation.

Adam Orr Gilmore, hotel keeper, Waitohi, stated that the accused was indebted to him on the sth of January to the amonnt of 40s ; a portion of it had been due for sometime previous. On the 6th he got three bottles of porter on. credit and took them away with him, and on the 7th one bottle of beer. To the accused : You have ran up an account with me several times before r,nd always paid. You have asked more than once to let it stand sooner than change money.

George Bolton stated that the accused came to Mr Ackroyd's shop on the morning of the 7th of January and borrowed from Henry Dunford 4s to pay his train fare to Timaru. He paid the money back the same evening. Henry Newbould, clerk in the Union Bank, Timaru, remembered a man coming into the bank on the day in question and geting ten Union Bank LL notes for one LlO Bank of New Zealand note. He appeared to be a working man, bat could not swear it ,vas the accused.

John Morton, constable stationed at Ternuka, stated that he arrested accused in Sfcgert and Fauvel'a back yard, where he had turned in apparently to avoid him. He walked all right until they reached the post office where he attempted to escape. On the way to the police station he said,' Well, I got into it once by talking, but I will say nothing this time.' On searching him witness found seven one pound Unicn Bank notes, 34s Gu in silver and two pence in his possession. Witness found accused had changed a Ll note in Mr Miles's, a Ll note in Mr P. Storey's hotel, and a Ll note in Messrs Siegert and Fauvel's. The notes he changed in Storey's and Sie-

gert and Fauvi'.'.s were Union Bank notes. This completed the evidence, and the accused was committed for trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court.