R.M. COURT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3497, 29 April 1890, Page 2

R.M. COURT.

MASTERTON-MONDAY.

(Before Colonel Roberts, R.M., am A, W, Eenall, J,P,)

; ,AN ILLICIT STlLti,

The adjourned case, iu which Mrs A, 8. Crauiner, licensee of the Stat Hotel, was charged with a breach ol the Distilleries Act in having on hei premises a worm for distillation purposes, oauie uofore the Court yestorday afternoon.

The prosecution- was conducted b] Mr A. R, Bunny, instructed by HI W. T, Glasgow,'lnspector of Dis tilleiies, -Mr 0, A, pownall appearoi for the (Jefoncp,

[ Mr Buqny briefly stated the case, after..,wh'si he called Prioe, who 'stated that, froiri irifovraation received, on Wednesday, 10th inst,, he proceeded, in company wiib Constablo Swain, to tbe Star Hotel, This was about 11 in the.iiiorniiig. Ho went rouud to the side entrance, In the bar lie Haw John Welbourn, manager for Mrs CranniH'. Told him' ho 'wanted to look round the tack premises. Welfconrno accompanied theni." The first building;.ihe looked .-into.!.*«! ;'an attached storeroom, After looking tbraVjb tlw fioferco® hq ioo^

thrdu'glrthe stable, which was opon The .'storeroom was locked, but was opened to him by the manager. He then 'came!to the wood and coal house, tlie'dporof which was "made of batons, so could see what the place wa&i'-'Fouud tho door fastened with a padlock, which, however, was not locked. Made some remark about tho

fastening of the look, and whs trying to. open- iV-when WelbournJ (be believed) opened it, r f his small' house) contained coal and cases, which loolced like old beer cases. broken Hp, excepting tho one containing the worm, Asked Welbourn. what was in the case, pointing to the-whole, one'i| ! Qn;;'hi» answering, Gonitable.Bwain pioked.up the case and said," Its rather heavy for an empty." Ordered Welbourn to open,it, which he did, The Constable' then took oil tho straw and exposed

the worm iu question. Sent for the licensee, lira Oraninei', who came, and in reply l to a question she said, " what is it ?" Ho then told her what it was, aud she said she neither knew what it was, when it came, timt it was there; or anything. Told her it was a very serious matter and carried a heavy penalty! Mrs Cronmer 1 then turn :d to Welbourn and said, " John, do you swow anything about it Welbourn replied that ho thought it .wai a case which had come up from Flocktim's with crockery ware in it. Then -took' possession of the worm, '

To Mr Bunny: Noono-in New Zea'and had a liconso to distil spirits,

: , By Mr Pownall: There was no reluctance on the put of lira Oranmer or her manager to show him round the premises, and not the slightest reluctance to show him this particu l lar shed. Was quite sure the jiadlock was on this elied. The'door was fastened. Auyhody conld see through the baton door, and lie saw the caao before ho went iu. Tho other rooms, excepting the storeroom, hud no locks on: them. - (Jould not into the storeroom. ;It • would have been easier to conceal the worm in the

storeroom •tlun \v;here it was,. Did not know where the worm was when visiting the premises. There was a quantity of . coal in the room where tho "vorrn was -found, but the case was not concealed at nil. There was a label on tho , case, which wits marked "Wellington, Kuri|iimi," and "2s 3d." Had seen ill') iectipt produced, which was given at Welliugton. (The name of the consignee was Dorset, and' ,the consignor, II Kaurz). Had not seen writing which resembled that, of the consignor. Had the signature of Charles Gurote in his' possessiqn, biit it did. not resemble that;, of the consignor, in his opinion. : (The. signature wUnroto was here produced.) Ho could not see a tesetnblance between it and that of Kaurz. Did hot know the writing of Gurote, When ho informed Mrs Cranmer iliatit was a worm, sho of pressed surprise, - and denied knowing anything' about,. it. So I'nv as he knew there was nothing to (connect Mrs: .Cranmer., with- Recuse,! beyond it being on hdr premises. It would bu tho same if it wai on his premises. Mr Pownall: How long havoyou had it in your possession. ■Sergeant Price: Since, the 16th. Mr Pownall; Is there ut saving clause in the Act for policemen ? The Sergeant : I cannot say. Mr Pownall : You havo made rather a aoriona admission to-day. Witness, continuing, stated that the shed in question was detaohed from the hotel. He could see through tho batons of the' door.To Mr Bunny: Was at liberty to inspectany hotel. Did not tell Mrs Cranmer what ho had come in search of.

W, T, Glasgow, informant in the case, and Inspector of Distilleries, deposed that he had been some time connected with the Customs Department in New., Wand.; ;Mo .was ftiiniliar - with stills and distilleries. Had been seven yeais in charge of the Government distillery in Dnnetlin. Mrs Craumer did hot hold ft license, and wan not licensed to keep or use & still. The worm in Court was part of a distillery, apparatus,'-and-,vyas quite complete. Tho worm, attached to a screw, would probably produce about ten gallons a day, By Mr "Pownall: As far' ns ho knew c6uld not name any other purpose than condensing spirits, for which it could be used, Had been iu the yard of Mrs Cr,miner's premises, but did not inspect the hotel. The worm had not, in his opinion, been used for distillery, There had been no licenses issued in the Colony. ■■ . Constable Swaiu, sworn, stated that he remembered the 16th inst, on. which'dafe he went to, the Star Hotel in company wilh Sergeant Price, Ho theri stated what occurred, his evidence oorroborating that of Sergeant Prico. This was the case for tho informant, 1

For tho defence, Mr Pownall submitted' that Hhe ckso should bo dismissed,, There had been no evidence given to prove that the worm was on tho premises of Mrs Cranmer, as required by the Act, Mr Buuny contended that the evidence of the Sergeant and Constable Swain was sufficient on this point, The Bench stated that it was agreed on this fioint. Mr Pownall then addressed the Court on behalf of tho defendant, who was afterwards placed in the.box; Alico S. Cranmer, sworn, stated alio was licensee of the Star Hotel.' Knew nothing about the worm,,, Did uot know when' it was put in" the shed, or. by whom. Did not know whut it was when she saw it, and had not seen one before.... Knew nothing, about it previously. , By Mr Bunny: J.Welbourno was her manager. Was licence of. the Star Holel, and was it} possession of tlio premises where the case was found. Welbourno had lately been in Wellington, He went down on Friday we?k, Welbourne returned frim Wellington the Saturday prior to the discovery of tho worm on Wednesday, been;in Wellington some time before and had gone down to seek for servants, .As manager Welbourne looked' after the bar, kept the books, and took care of her house. Ho managed tlm business for her.

Had orderedsomecrockery-of Flookton of li)t«. Had not the least knowledge of the worm being found 6u her premises, . . ; To Mr Powiiall / Tho wo'o'dsliedliad uovqr been lockedj n'|)cl sho was sure there was no the door on tins occasion, was not a good place to coucoril a worm, . By Mr, Bunny: ,Tlio duor had nevor been'locked, '

John Elley, sworn, deposed that be reiiiembeiod Monday, the 14tli inst., on;which occasion, ho was out rather lato at night, Had ridden in and left his borse'/alj rs"\Crpr|mer'S. Went for it about midnight. The house was theniin darkuess,;; 'Went

out ;the back way, Left his whip behind, and when ■ returning after going for.it he saw two men carrying a fe'ojf, •Ibapertwißpjdow'ij He

road from the direction of Kirilp'iinir The bwgjw could about .2fl?;Gia|iri length, aridj was of ;t||- boje the ba«kfoT,Mra discern who were, DiiPcodld not recogniso tho" two, Could rot swear positively, but.felt confident in

Itispvn mind thatoiiewau "Bismarck," for, but thought they tdight have been going for a whißky. By Mr Bunny: Came in from the Waingawa ab'6'iit five'or six o'clock, About nine o'clock that evening lie ttfe Upper 'Plain" iliii coruetf <if "Chapelstreet about that time, but there was nobody with him. / Spoke for afow mofoents'with a sttinger, who told Jiim about.a row amongst some boys. Said- ''good evening" to Constable might havo, ,beeq speaking to the Btrangor when be passed. The irian *bo spoke to him asked biin for .a match but he. could not toll who it was, ;I Ha'd not Bpbke U "Bismarck"

that evening.,-Ho wns not tlio man hip if hje raoV■him. 'j,,lt was : not a' foreigner "lio ' was speaking to. Declined to say, what he had benn doing till miduight that night.! (Tlie men ho saw did not speak to liim, JTho Loxips b?t\feen] tl)e t«o men. First.mentionod 'to' Wclbourne on Wednosdayimoruiug what he.had seem Mentionod whoihe thought whero the men, When lie mentioned ".Bismarck" • Welbourne said." all right." : t :

■ ToMr ; Pownnll :Wclboiuno told him, in the, morning, tlip police had found thej box, on ( liis pfetuisesl- 1 ' At once told him about' the tiro mon ho had seen.;i It was on Jlopday night lie snw the men.' {-< ; ' 1, f I'alrick Cowan.laborer, staled that ,he kuov;" Bisinarok."; A iv,epk : too'ago "iio borrowed '"' Bro bob ' off him, but had "not paid liirn back. He eaid then (lie had,been all over the country,, and showed liiai a ipawn

ticket foi* a .wiitoh he bad pawned.in Wellington, Ho snid lie was about to make a rise, and said he would get it through whisky-making on Mrs Cranmer's. He.said he had been paid to put a still on Mrs Cranmer's at the buck, he Raid," d—, ■ I got paid, and that's how I mado a rise." He 'asserted ho was goiug io get paid for planting the worm, • By Mr Bunny: This conversation took place, about,a .fortnight ago on the premises of Mr Phillips, He was perfectly sober 1 at the' time, although lie had boen on th» beer." Was not- .lold ,who was going, .to, pay "Bismarck," arid did not ask, Heard about the worm being found, and tho conversation with Bismarck took plsco after tho finding of the worm. When he was lold about the still being planted, ho did not take much notice, Was slwwn tho pawn ticket .at the time of tho' conversation.!' Bismarck 1 '

did'uot tell him who was going to pay iiira, but he mid lie would poison Mrs

Craomer if lie was paid for doing it, E W Berrillj guard ou the. Welling-ton-Masterton railway, deposed to having left; tho box in question at tho Knruptmi station on the 14th i.nst. Prior to the traiu starting u' man came up and laid claim to the box, Did not entertain the'cluim, Could not recognise the man again, but he had a foreign accent. Had seen" Bismarck" with the police, and heard him speak, As far as be ceuld say the accent was the same, aud he could almost swear the man was the same, He believed it'was Bismarck came iip with iiim in the train. ,Wben it was pht'but at Kuripiim Bismarck got out, and claiming the. box, took it into his possessiou. - By Mr Bunny: Could swear that 1 the man who got out at Kuripuui was the ouo who came to him in Wellington. Nobody else got out at Kuripuui. Could not ideutify tho man by his appearance,

H. E. Wallace, employed in the railway parcels office at Wellington, identified the consignment note'produced. He took it on Monday, 1 the 11th, Saw the consignor attach his signature. Ho then described the consignor, who .was a foreigner in his aciwiit, Had- scoii the man who booked the parcel outside the Court, and knew him as " Bismarck," Was quite sure as to the,.man,, . . .., . By Mr Bunny: Had no doubt as to the man. The consignment note was signed by " Bismarck " -in his presence, Filled' up tliii consignment note nt his dictation.

Charles' (furote, laborer, sworn, stated that lic. bad not spoken to Mrs Oranuier during the last three or four luotilks. Had not spoken to iler manager until a week ago. Had no trtnsactions with tliem sinco Christmas, At Christmaß 'had an,altercation about his swag, Had never seen the . worm, produced .before. Came from Wellington on Monday," 14th April. Got out. at Kuripuni, but had no; lusgat>e,;; Did not uk the .Gilard at Wellington for a 1 case, neither did he took a caso: at Wellington, His reison for gettine; out at Kuripuni was that he lived up that way. .Did not know tho signature of tho consignment order,...'. Hid nothing to do with . Mia. Crarimer for the past two or three months, By Mr Buuny ; : Four mates came up together in a second-class carriage, two of whom ' were foreigners, Bhilai the others-were "long fellows," They all got out at Kuripuni, because they, wanted to stop for the night at the Royal. Stopped,there' for three da js. His mates had gone' away poisoning. Knew a man named Pat Gowaii, and borrowed " five boh" from him, Did not remember the day when the worm was found;; Did not tell him lie , was going to make /a' rise, Cowin'' offered him the; money. Did not tell him he .'was paid for putting a still on.lire Cummer's premises. Did not know the guard, and. had not spoken to him on the Wellington platform about a box, Did not know tho officer in the ; Wellington railway station, and had hot signed, a consignment order. Knew Elley, the butcher, and' had neyer .spoken to him iu his life. Saw him at ihe Boyal Hotel about' nino'o'clook ou the Tuesday," - ' ! '' ■' •'■ ' 1: ■ To Mr Poivnall: Did not know there was a still On Mrs Cjanmcr's I -omises, imd who gave Uhe information,' (Witness would/no't state whether or not he .himself gave the information).; Did not lieur of the case for three days afterwards, This was the oase' for the ■defendant. : The Court, at six o'clock, was adjourned till 7.30. vij.:-..-;.',! On resuming/ My Pownall addimeij the Court'Oh'behalf orthe defeiiMt! It must appear, ho thai Mrs Cranmer had no knowledge of, the affair. ; 'ihe, : conduot; of herself and her manager wa? not .that offllilly;

persons. The Oourt could not/.fail to

observe from tho evidence hosUk worm was placed : on ; the premiCeraniT .who 'pjacedit ;i there. 1 *' Whatever Gurote-jnijgKt.hayi'ddne, it was cjear it was,n.ot done iu.coalition' witlv Mrs Craumer. It was nerfeoily fleer' that Gurote fliere

»afl. no. evidence to connect Mrs jranraer with the charge. Notwith. itanding the embarrassment created, this liant had ployed her innocence, He thought it would be only a matter >f' courtesy, nftor the hearing of the ividenco, for the prosecution to with* Iraw tho chnreo and prosecute tho •ight person. By fining his client a areach of the British justice would be :fFßoted,-'Bnd*the»publib>in'.»genml'-» • would be "injured. In conclusion bo pointed dtij that if inflicted,': ' iny person wouldbo open'to (lie same' foul play. -v ; For 1 the informant Mr -Bonny stated: the/ AcijAi'ntlef fwhifch' tlio charge Was kid was Very arbitrary' but this : nwessafy home a. charge io any particular person, Oif r reriewihg) the/eiidenco ;\ t he could seo f that tlie accused bad a ( knowledge) UitlieVorlri being pij jicrj j-* premises. It might lie that in carrying'o'ut hiß ~object her, * engaged. #: '}• low; scoundrel" |, out thework. 'j Theyilkd tlio endencfl v of the police ori .the- , wbjflctj« : lut'j® singularly enough Mr Wfilbqiirtle was • 7 not placed in the box.' '/He; could JiaTe given Very material evidence'oV the subject! Mw pranmer had disputed the evidence of'tho'pilica tlfanbere ' Avas.a padlock, on tho door, Several : , other discrepancies ho observed in'the evidence, On these ground? he would i ask for a substantial penalty. . Tho Bench then retired, but as it:, could not adjudicate, it was announced i that a before a full' bench on thr following-" l;,; ; . • s This DAY. ~ The case cann on again thishliirning. before the RM, mid jVlessrs Benall and M'Cardle, J'hP. Mr Bunny pbjf pted to such a Court ro-hearingthe cssi and asked for su adjournment;. This was not granted, and llr Bunuy being ;nnwilling to produce evidenco, aslied have to withdraw the information. This was not allowed, and the case was dismissed on its merits,