CHARGE OF THEFT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10606, 12 April 1912, Page 3

CHARGE OF THEFT.

I ACCUSED OOMMITED FOB TRIAL Afc the Masterton Magistrate' s Court this mora in gj before Messrs E. Feist and J. Wiugatc, J.P.'s, a man named liohert- liaggo was charged w.th the theft, on August 7th, 1903, of a horse and cart, valued at £'oo, the property of Angus Eraser, of Eketahuna. Mr P. L. Boilings appeared for accused, and Sergeant Miller conducted tlio prosecution. Angus Eraser, farmer, of Stratford, .stated that accused owed hi in £53. Accused sent him about ten trucks of firewood, reducing the debt by about £45. Some time after accused came to him and said that lie wished to purchase a horse and cart. Witness sold him a cart and a horse on condition that they were to bo witnesses property until paid for. Accused had never paid a penny for the horso or the cart. Several months later witness heard that tho horso and cart had been sold, and lie then laid an information against accused for theft, the date being February 9th, 1904. lie went to accused house to enquire about the horse, but could not find either accused or the horse. Cross-examined by Mr Rollings: Witness did not 'have an arrangement j with accused to supply one thousand I cords of firewood. Accused was to,sup- ] ply liim with some firewood, it was while accused was cutting firewood at Hukanui that ho came to witness and stated that he wanted tobuy a horse -and cart. Neither witness nor his j wife had v/ritt?u cv.t 1,0.1*. for the J ■-:-o and cart nor had tliov received , an 1.0. U. from ricc::«rd. Tho firs-wood I sent was to bo placed against tho price of the horso and cart. Witness had ' given him accused two promissory j for the. firewood, one being for { £2O, and tho oilier being for £2O [ odd. The hor.se and cart had not been j hired, hut a Kile had taken place. | William Henry Sykes, farmer at j E-ongomai, stated that about July. | 1904, lie worked for accused cutting ' firewood. Accused brought a horse j and cart from Newman 'and asked witness to put them in the saleyards and J dispose of them. Witness did this, the , sum of £ol being obtained The \ horse and cart was sold in witness's [ flame, and the money put into his j account. Ho paid out £4l of tlio ; amount to men who had been working ' for accused, and kept the balance in part payment of money owing to him. 1 Witness had not seen accused since then. j ■Cross-examined by Mr Hollings- i Witness ,said that there had bse.ti' a ; fire where accused was cutting fire- J wood, but he did not know if 'any : damage had been done. There hal not been a.fire while witness was working for accused. j Tho Sergeant asked for an adjourn- ' menit in order to allow of the procur- 1 ing of a witness (Mr F. C. Lewis) who ! was in Rotorua, and wlio had sent word that lie was unable to come on account of the illness of his wife. j Mr Hollings objected to tho adjourn-, ment as the accused had already been in prison for a fortnight, and it was not fair to keep him in prison longer waiting for a witness for tlio prosecution. The ivitiness in question could give no evidence beyond that of Mr Sykes. The Court adjourned for a few minutes to discuss the application, and on resuming .stated that they would go on with the case. Mr Hollings, in, addressing the Bench, said that according to the evidence of Mr Eraser tho case was a civil one, as lie had there ( was a sale. Further there was no evi- t dence of identification of the house and cart sold.. Accused reserved his defence. After retiring for about ten minutes the Bench'committed accused for trial at the .next sitting of the Wellington Supremo Court. Bail was fixed at self £3O and two sureties of £3O each or one of £6O.