SUPREME COURT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1780, 23 August 1888, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSIONS. Timaru—Tuesday, August 21, 1888. [Before His Honor, Mr Justice Ward.] His Honor’s charge to the Grand Jury was very short. The Grand Jury found a tme bill in every case. FALSE PRETENCES. John Russell Morrison was charged with obtaining a cheque for £5 from Frederick LeCren, by falsely pretending that ho was a shepherd in the employ of William Saunders, of the Wolds station, tint ho had bought a horse, and wanted an advance to enable him to get back to the station, and that Mr Saunders owed him money. Accused pleaded guilty, but urged that though he obtained the money falsely he did nol intend to defraud Air LeCren, but to repay the money.— No report was received from the probation oflicer, and a sentence of six months’ imprisonment with hard labor was imposed.

INDECENT ASSAULTS. Henry Tatham was charged with attempting lo have carnal intercourse with a girl of the age of eleven years. He pleaded guilty.—Mr Hay appeared for accused, and urged in mitigation of penalty the youth of the (.caused, who was only 15, and the fact that he hud

already been six mouths in gaol. —He was sentenced to two 3'eara’ imprisonment with hard labor. William Gilbert Swann was indicted with (1) haring on the 20th Jane last attempted criminal assault on a girl aged five yeats, and {2) with having committed an indecent assault on the same girl. Prisoner pleaded not guilty, and he was discharged. HOSIERY WITH VIOLENCE. James Fergusson pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting John Tozer, and robbing him of £ll and a number of small articles, on the 21st July.—Mr Raymond appeared for the accused.—The case was fully reported in our columns when it came before the Resident Magistrate’s Court.—His Honor, in passing sentence, said he thought prisoner’s counsel had very truly characterised the case as a drunken brawl. Both men appeared to have been drinking together, and neither of them appeared to know very well what they were doing. Prisoner was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment with hard labor. SHEEP STEALINg. Henry Russell, charged with stealing a sheep, the property of William Grant, on or about the 14th June, pleaded not guilty, and Mr Hay appeared for the defence. The evidence for the prosecution having been taken, Mr Hay addressed the Court. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and the prisoner was discharged. The Court then adjourned till the following day. WEDNESDAY, AD OUST 22. FORGERY. Samuel McSweeney was charged with forging and uttering a cheque of the value of £9 on the 10th December, 1887, drawn on the Bank of New Zealand.— The following' jury was empanelled : W. G. Croll (foreman), R. Bartlett, J. Fearon, A. W. Twomey, J. C. Lyon, James Sutton, T. Thompson, R. Ossey, J. Hampton, T, Skilley, J. Morris, J. Cartwright.—Prisoner, who was defended by Mr Perry, pleaded not guilty.—Mr White, in opening the case for the prosecution, said the prisoner was charged (1) with feloniously forging a cheque, and (2) with passing the cheque knowing it to be forged. On the 20th December, prisoner, asked at the Old Bank Hotel for a blank cheque and got one. A few hours afterwards he went to Messrs Bil!an!ynea drapery establishment, bought some clothes and was measured for i suit. In payment for (he goods purchased, prisoner off rad a cheque, and received neaily £8 in change. He endorsed the cheque “William Anglan," >md told the assistant that he lived at Temuka,—The evidence of James Power, barman at the Old Bmk Hotel, James Mitchell, and G. E. Tiiggs, assistants at Bailantyne and Co.*s, W. Angland, G. Hart, E. A. Pigeon, Bank of N.Z., and Austin Kirby, detective, was to the effect that the accused on the day mentioned in the indictment got a blank ch qua in the Old Bmk Hots', and very shortly afte wirds presented the same cheque filled in and eigne! “William Aoglau ” at Messrs BiTintyoe and Co.’s drapery e»Ub ishnaeat, Timaru. The amount of the cheque was £9. He bought shirts and* shirt collars, and received in addition £7lßs 3d. The cheque oh being presented at the bank was returned tii trked “no account.” William Angland never had a banking account. The case was put into the hands of Detective Kirby, who traced aocused to Gould and Cameron’s stadia at Melhven. When arrested he asserted he ha t never been in Messrs Billaniyne and Co.’s shop. He was identified amongst several other men by Messrs Bdlintyoe and Co.’s assistant as the maa wi.o cashed the cheque.—Mr Perry asked His Honor to direct the jury to acquit the prisoner, as the evidence did nob show that forgery had been committed. It had bean shown to be merely a fraud, and the charge of forgery wn untenable. The charge against prisoner should have been for obtaining money by false pre[ tenons. Mr Perry quoted Regina v. Marlin, from the Law Reports, at some leogth in support of bis contention.—Mr White said that when prisoner produced the cheque he represented to Messrs B»l----hntyne that he was William Angland.— His Honor, addressing the jury, said that according to the evidence the offence did not amount to forgery but to obtaining money by false pretences, and as the prisoner was charged with the first offence, he should direct them to re!urn a vtrdict of not guilty. The jury accordingly acquitted prisoner. In discharging prisoner His Honor said he had to thank his counsel for the ingenuity of his-defence, and hoped it would .be a warning to him not to appear before him again. FRAUDULENT BANKRUPTCY, Reuben Johnson was brought up on an indictment charging him with having neglected to account to the Official Assignee in bankruptcy for a certain sum of money received by him. Mr White prosecuted. The accused was undefended. The following jury were sworn:—W. Ziesler (Foreman), M. F. Dennihey, John Pearson, W. J. Wiggs, Jas. Cartwright, E. Carr, John Mortis, J. Ogilvie, W. G. Croll, J. Gibson, A. Williams, and J. Fearon. Mr White said the defendant was indicted on five counts under the Bankruptcy Act, 1883. Oo the 16th March defendant received £147, and on the following day £l2 Os ■ lOd, About ' the same data he also received money for rent. On the 27th April be was adjudicated a bankrupt on the petition of a creditor. On the same evening the Official Assignee asked him to deliver up all money in his possession.' fondant went away and returned with four £lO notes, and said he didn’t know of anything else. He bad given up nothing since; neither had he filed a statement showing what he bad done with the property. If He (Mr White) could prove to the satisfaction of the jury that this had been done with intent to defraud his creditors it would be their duty to ficd a verdict against the defendant.

W. 0. Beswick, Official Assignee in Bankruptcy, deposed that he saw defendant on April 27th and told him to make a siatement of what money and property he had rtoently disposed of and was then possessed of. He said he hadn't anything, and afterwards gave witness £4O. Ho had asked him seven! times afterwar's for a statement bat had never recived one, and he had not accounted in any way for che ba ! ance of the m >ney. K \V, Smith, Solicitor practising at G r.ildiue, depose i ili.it on (he IGih March last he cuuJuc.ed the sale of defendant’s

interest in the Crown. Hole). On the 16th June he gave defendant a cheque for £145, and on the fo”owing day paid him the balance £l2 0? lOd. He saw defendant in company with the Official Assignee and asked him for any money he had. He said he oou'dh’t let him have it that day, but ultimately paid £4O,- and said that was all he had. Defendant received on 26th Feb. one month's rent for the Crown Hotel—.about £l9. A. E.-Hawkins, -Manager Bank of New Zealand at Geraldine, deposed that the chnque for £145 was presented by Mrs Johnson on the 16th June, and cashed. The cheque for £l2 Os lOd was also cashed. R. H. Pearpoint, storekeeper at Geraldine, deposed that defer dant owed him £79, and he petitioned and had him adjudicated a bankrupt on 27ih April. .On several occasions Johnson promised to pay him when his wife got soma cheques cashed, but he bad not done so end said he eould not do so as he bed paid it away ini loans. Witness asked ; Him’ who be had paid the loans to, and prisoner could not tell him. Thomas Markham deposed that he was Johnson’s tenant in the Crown Hotel, Geraldine, and had paid ,him abont £lO for rent io February. Thomas Howley, Clerk to the District Court,- Timaru, .produced the application for adjudication of Johnson as a bankrupt. • tfi. C. Latter, Official Assignee in Bankruptcy. for the Canterbury district, deposed that Johnson bad not delivered any statement of his bankrupt estate. This was the case for 'the prosecution. The defendant stated in defence that he rrc lived the money and gave £4O to Mr Beswick, and bad paid away £3O in bills. .The balance had gone in dribs and drabs, and for the support of bis.wife and family. No doubt he had been robbed right and left, for when accounts came in be paid them, not knowing whether they were right or wrong, as he coaid not read or write. His Boner; Where are yonr receipts for the. payments made.t Do you usually live a( the rate of £lo7j>er meutb ? Defendant': Mr BesViok has a'l my receipts. " Mr Beswick was recalled, and stated that the receipts (prodneed) he got from Johnson amounted to £30.1 Defendant stated that he had a wife and seven children tc support, some of whom were cripples, and he himself was a cripple. Hia Honor, addressing' the jury said the defendant stood charged with having received £157, £B7 of which he stated had gone in dribs and drabs. If the juty believed the statement that it was spent honestly in support of his family, and not with a view to defraud his creditors, they would acquit him. He might point out to them, however, that by the Bankruptcy Act a bankrupt was bound to file a statement of assets and liabilities, and the defendant hud not dona this. The jury retired, and after fifty minutes , returned with a verdict of guilty. The jury recommended him to mercy. Hia Honor addressing the prisoner, said he had been found guilty of a gross fraud upon his creditors. He fully concurred with the verdict ot the jury, and the sentence of the Court-would be that he undergo six ; months’ with bard labor. ~ . k?. This c included the bugineaa of the aeaaion. •■ • - ]'■ Jf InVEROAROII.L, Aug. 21. After being twice tried',' Sophia Kidd wa§ found guilty on a charge of having received a number of cattle, knowing them to have been stolen. The jury added a rider, recommending tbs prisoner to mercy. His Honor said that it was not a case for the application of the Probation Act, and sentenced her to 12 months’ imprisonment with hard labor. As the prisoner left the dock and moved to the door she fell down in a fainting condition. The case baa excited more'general interest than any heard ■ here, for many years.— G. F. DeJeux was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for embezzlement of money belonging to the .North Invercargill Corporation, the amount of which is said to be £l3oo.—The breach of promise esse, Evans v. Jackson, damages £2OO, was heard this afternoon. Defendant, an hotelkeeper, was a widower, and made a veiy proaaic engagement; With a widow, but drew out on the allegation that she had concealed the .fact, that she had six children, , The ring was bought, the license procured, and the .clergyman engaged -for the marriage, ; hut defendant threw up the whole affair and married another a week later. The jury awarded twenty shillings damages and costs on the lowestscale.