POLICE COURT.—Saturday.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1804, 4 May 1874, Page 3

POLICE COURT.—Saturday.

(Before E- C.LAWLOR,Esi^XP;,'andJ.; kIMOO J,: : : | ■ •'" f ' Esq., J.P.;! . .;;._.. | j LiEOBNY.—J. Kobertaoa was charged' charged that; he, didj on, or about, the j 27th.,.ultimo, t feloaiousljr steal from tho 6 ,..u South' Devou'.claim. tp' pieceß,pf,t(toberi V !" vklue'23, the property of Joh'aNoble ana others.-;Mr Dodd,- for the defendantpleaded %)t guilty. ~Witnesses were ordered out of Court;-John Noble deposedvthat he,, with others, pocupied the// South Devra claim,; and. Was tlie holder of a miner's right. The grouhdi isuheld under license.—Mr Dodd asked to have the license produced.- \ThejicenseJjvas produced.—They had a tramway for the purpose of working-the. aground;* and witness was managing shareholder. In consbquenoe"- of 'ha'vidg lost-a ! good , sjeepers from this tramway, he laid down* ' f ' sbme ,'which: lie marked.j.! (Sleeper; produced.) Ee recogaiied the sleeper pro- ' duced by three ri chisel-marks on the bottom and one on the end. A man tiamed Arnold was present'when he made" fchQS.e.:marks.; jkedj it q down in the .tramway.., , The ""second sleeper produee'd- Was"alrea'dy lying ia the tramway..; -He jga.w. those jijoO the "He went to Auckland _Qh_ that day, and returned on Wednesday., He visijied the mine ou^Thursday-'morning,'--andithen foijHxd .it'WQi .sleepersj q Accused] resides about ; 300 feet, the tramway.!, There was.', rough ground be-, He)if?d'liigherUj) $Kfl,;Hil'i J thaif the : tramway. ] 'The, hill' tfcy fitness sai the two"', a lee ply ]ly iag jeas\j} pile, of firewood;iu ; The one marked was lying on,,tie itop ',pjF,-jj the "other,"' a h little, lowetj: down* :,The,i w height of the pile,:was about iaches; :; Witness gave information to the .■[/. policed' Accused nor rio : one else-had p'er'-«« mission to take "those from the't d • tramway.;.' Witness : p'erdoil , ''' i '-| could 'give,' permission';to'.'teaWttf';? them.' He,estimated the'yalae of'tliSin.at' ; j - a shilling a pieo'e'.?By"tfr"',!Dodd^iiero"j r . are four,other owners. y'Helaid,d'pjvn the £ tramway himself. He .removed'.'.the railtfjjj once, and loaded the dleepera with stpnej, ;:n to prevent 4heir being. carried : ..away.r«,( James llardmaa deposed to. having seeuo/ tbe'-plaititiff mark the ■ sleeper and place it in'the tramway ; under- the« points of the rails. He did not recognise the dther'sleeper. : Hekneff the Maim on the other side of. the hill,, ia.th.o_ fe Papi Gully. It was over the hill, about ,1,000 yards from Robertson's house. A'boy about sir-oVseveu years of age, son of the .defendant, was called before the Court,'~butw'as v not examined - as a fitness.—Sergeant Elliott, deposed he we'nt'with p'Wsebutorl'and' 'saw'a'heap of firewood 5 feet high, which defendant said ; .was ; identified the two' pieces"' before" 'th'e 1 Court amongst; th'e- I '* heap. There were six or seven other sleepers;ia,the/■pile^whioh.Noble ■ would . J charged accused with stealing those two" pieces':"" He'Bi'idthat whatever-wood-was -H there his;boy-brought'it,iand'said; thatjie» brought it from the Lily claim, which was abandoned. The boy Andrew Rdbertsoa ' jwas not; there at the .time—he,, was at school.-Mr"Dodd ! stated' that' -the' l'defendant, at the time 1 the'wood was alleged, ,' ;td'b : e» atdleli, ! waa ill in bed.—Tb.e,Benoh(A n questioned the ohildr who said that he;, ■ [dragged the two pieoes of wood. No one itold aim. to,do it, and he plaoed them oa ithe heap himself." Ho' did J hot Vell'hia t ! father. No one spoke to him about what jhe was to say in Court.— Dhe Bench said- * ithe circumstances -were very suspicious, jbut there was a doubt,, which they would I give, the : aooused the .benefit of, and. dis-., lnisgjhecase.•'.',..,V-n 'V'".'.'■?'"',,£ ,1 ji ■'-. Dim Wiljiata oharged > with uegleotiag| to , oiead ? premises in Eirkffood-stfe'etJ'/Gfr'fthßmjjfft town, on the 28th ult.r-He admitted the I offence.: He said that the.Jbspeotor had ' been round and seen- the place, and said 'that, if it'was cleaned that;;night, he would not issue a summons. It was cleane'd that night.—Fined 10s and'costs; '"'."" Cmitm on, Fire.—Howell -Williams was charged with allowing tlie' ohimney in his house in land, to take, fire on tha ,28th ult,—Fined ■ 10s and costsi' ' "' '"'•'' "'■