CHARGE OF THEFT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10209, 11 April 1911, Page 6

CHARGE OF THEFT.

CHARLES GUKOIE COMMITTED

FOR TRIAL,

• Charles Gurote, better known as "Bismarck," was charged in the Masterton Magistrate's Court yesterday, before Messrs John Eraser and J. H. Pauling, J.'sP., with the theft from Mr Edward Jones, farmer, at Manaia, of sixteen sacks of chaff, one and a half sacks of oats, and twenty-four sacks, of a total value of £4 9s 6d. Sergeant Miller prosecuted, and Mr G. H Cullen appeared for accused, who elected to be tried by jury and entered a plea of not guilty. The facts as outlined by the Sergeant, wero briefly that Ml' Edward Jones had a stable in Kuripuni Street, at which was stored a quantity of chaff and oats. About a quarter to twelve 011 Saturday night accused was seen going to Kuripuni Street. Later he came back to where he lived in Queen Street, harnessed up his horses and drove down Worksop Road into Colomba Road, and stopped at the corner where a pile of sacks contain- " ing chaff wero laving on the roadside. Henry Emerson, labourer, in the employ of Mr Jones, stated that at about 3.50 a.m. on Sunday morning he and his son left the house in Columba Road, and went towards Mr Jones' homestead. He heard a vehicle coming along behind him, while lie saw a number of bags of chaff on the left hand side of the road. He had passed along the road at six o'clock tlie previous evening, and there was no chaff there then. While he was ' standing by the bags, a, vehicle came j up and stopped, and the driver asked I what it was that was lying there scaring the horses. Witness replied that he thought that it was bags of chaff. The driver had a team of six horses, and put on the brakes and got down from the vehicle. Witness had a milking pail in bis hand, and the driver said to him, "Get away! Get laway! What you have in your hand is frightening the horses.'' Witness recognised accused as the man. The! J chaff was carefully stacked on the side of the road. Witness then let the cows that he was going to milk out of the paddock. There was one short, and he left his son at the gate and went to look for her. He came back about fifteen minutes later and found accused still standing near the chaff. 1 Witness then went on to the cowbails, and about two minutes later z saw accused being brought along by two constables. One of them asked if witness had told accused to take a bag of chaff, to which the latter replied "No." Accused then stated, "I was pinching a bag when they came along." There wero more than twelve bags in the heap.

, By the Bench : A man was delivering bags of chaff to Jones on Friday, and said that there wero twelve more to come. When witness saw the sacks on the roadside, he thought they wore the twelve until he had counted them. He then concluded that they wore not the twelve alluded to. The horses in the vehicle were under control when approaching. Henry Emerson, son of the previous witness, gave corroborative evidence. Edward Jones, fanner, stated that he had twenty tons of chaff and crushed oats in his stables at the corner of Kuripuni Street, on April Stli. He saw it on the 7th, at which time the room containing it was full to the door. His attention was drawn to some chaff on the roadside on Sunday morning. He then went to the stable and found that some of the sacks of chaff were missing. Russell Sutton, waggoner in the employ of the previous witness, had taken nine sacks of pats from the stable in such a way that he would notice if any more were taken; He thought that fifteen sacks had been taken from the loft, and some crushed oats. Tlie bags produced in Court were sown in a similar manner to those sewn by witness and contained in the loft. By Mr Cullen: He first heard of the theft from the constable. Constable Brown stated that on' Saturday night, at 11.45 o'clock, he and Constable Dumphy were at the corner of Kuripuni and Queen Street South. He saw accused come up Queen Street from his house, and turn down Kuripuni Street. Witness saw him again at 2.30 a.m. in His own padSock, where he hurriedly harnessed up his horses. At about 3.45 he: had his wagon out on the road, with five or six horses attached to it, and a cab tied on behind. He drove down Smith Street, along Queen Street, and down Worksop Road. Witness and Constable Dumpby followed him on bicycles, and saw him turn into: Columba Road, driving at a very fast pace. He nulled up at the junction of Kuripuni Street and Columba Road. Witness heard accused repeatedly say to a boy; ''Why don't you go and help your father with the cows? 1 ' After about fifteen minutes a man spoke to accused. who asked him if it was he who struck n match in the paddock, to which the latter replied that he had. The man' and the boy went on to .Tones' place with cows, and tlie" accused came back to a heap of chaff on the roadside, and commenced to load it on his wagon. Constable Dumphy and witness interrupted him. t-b" b'tter asking where he got tlie chaff. He seemed confused, and said that the man who brought in the cows awhile ago told him the chaff fell off a dray, and that lie could a couple of bags. He fuj-ther said that he was taking a couple of bans to Featherston. Witness told him that lie would probably be charged with theft, and took him along to Jones' stable, where he learned that Einer-

son had given him no permission to take the chaff. Mr - .Tones identified the chaff on C'olumba Road. Subsequently witness charged accused with theft, to which he replied: "Surely you are not going to charge me with taking the whole lot? I was only taking a couple of bags." By Mr Cullen: He had not seen accused take the oats, and did not know who did so. Constable Dumphy corroborated the evidence of the previous witness. Mr Cullen stated that accused denied having taken the chaff from Jones' stables. He had discovered it lying on the roadside, aad admitted that he intended to take two sacks from that. Consequently he had only converted to his use those two bags. The Bench considered that a prima facie case had been made out and accused was committed for-,trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court. Bail was allowed in two sureties of £SO each and accused's own recognisance of, £SO. |