THE HOTEL ROBBERY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4095, 23 April 1892, Page 2

THE HOTEL ROBBERY.

L 7oas Bofgrj tho Court. Four Montis' hud labour.

In the Maslerlon R.M. Court yesterday afternoon, before Messrs B, Boys, J; Gardiner, and T. E, Price, J-P.'s, Samuel Lyons was charged on reinand on two separate informations with feloniously stealing £Bl2s the property of Thomas Burslum, and A the property of D. A. Smith, Mr Skipper appeared for the'acoused. The two informations were taken together.

Sergeant M'Ardle briefly stated the circumstances of the case, Thomas Bursluoi, sworn,stated: I remember the night of the! Btbinst, when I stopped at the Empire Hotel. I saw the accused in the hotel, and he appeared to be sober. I did not see him with money. He borrowed a shilling from Mr Thompson and sixpence from me, I had three single notes and about sixteen shillings in silver in my possession when I retired, Lyons slept in the same room with me. When I got up in the morning I found thero was no money in my pocket, I said, " Somebody's gone through me, Sam; they've not left me a copper." The accused got up and went to his trousers and ex» claimed," They've gone through me, too." The trousers of the accused were in the same position in which they were placed when he went to bed. I afterwards learnt that another person had lost money, I heard the accused report to the police that he had lost £5.10s and an order for £BS from his brother Edward, who he said wa3 living in Napier, Some time ago I wrote a letter for the accused,_ and addressed it to his brother in Eohuca, Viotoria, I went up to the room in which I had slept, with Mr Thompson, and a pocket book and letter were found under the mattrass of the bed on which the aocuaed slept. After the accused bad been arrested I asked him what his money was, and lie replied that it was a five pound note, ahalf-soyer. eign and a shilling, I remomber Lyons telling me he was a' broker.' I have given no person authority to touoh my trousers. By Mr Skipper: The acoused and I went to bed together. I had no suspicion of Lyons, As a rule I put my money under my pillow. It might have been twelve o'clock when I went to bed, I was not awakened and was not intoxioated during the night, I wa3 the first to get up in the ing. I did not hear the - accused moving about during the night. By Sergeant M'Ardle: Lyons seamed to be cut up about his loss, and mentioned the name of a person who he thought had got the money. To tho Bench: I fancied I heard a footstep during the night in the lobby, but I took no notice of it.

f David A. Smith deposed to hav.. ? ing atoppecj the Empire Hotel on the night of the 18th ibst, He slept tin room No 12. When be went to 0 bed lie had a pound note m his pocketJ book and a pound in silver in his tiouser pooketi His trousers and j coat were hanging on the bed post, j Od awaking in the morning he found , that he had been robbed. He re- , reported the matter at once to the • police. He was afterwards speaking ' in the street with the Sergeant, Burs--1 lem and the accused, when he said he * did not care so much about the money he had lost as the receipts which were in the pooket book. The popketr foqk and receipts produced were hie. He gave no person authority to talfe , hjfl pockot bofik. ! By Mr Skipper; There ipsnqbody ! sleeping in the room wit ji hiffl.V B§ ] heard nobody stirring about during ; tjje night. He had pot seen the ap- ; ousedqqringtl)eeY§ning. : T, Burslum, rerpalltd, staWI The I letter produced was found under the [ qMtra'p of the bed on which the accused slept. Be had seen it before. It had been Bent to Lvons by one t Dalaiel, . Thomas D. Thompson, lioensee of i the Empire Hotel, deposed that he had been asked by Lyons for a shilling on the night of the 18th. Oa the fq|jQwiiiff HlO'Pjng Smith, who was slespinjfin tbfjhqtgl, rpppd tjjfllp ,of £2, A |eV iputyp fit'pr ftorstiim came down and said, '! Somebody's m thrflugi) me for ail I've got, and ' JjyPDf h#s Jo.sp his,' 1 Bplsm stated ' -* Inst und BQID6 silypr, and nenau .. -„, d yj ft Lyons a five puu.,.. •' - sovereign, and a shilling, besides Ul , order for £2swhich lie had received from his brother. Witness went oul |nd reported the matter to the police. accused said, 11 Never mind tell- 1 mgLie police, I'm the heaviest loser; ] Hb," After conversing with < gfllggSgLtho street he saw him go i EffljHyiicli was an uncommon 1 Hftto do, He came down Hfflßntes later, Jhq basins , He went up and ] fiurslum on < found the ' gHHflßjHßfrigether with a J They ' apd say [ the HHHHHKHHfoD HHHHHbe; HHHHi a HHHHHHH to ■HiHWIilBHHldi: i; ■HHHith'e i HiMBHBHMHMked 0 1 nHHHHMihe g 1 WBBHMMHMBerit HHHHHH »e MBBml f ■HMHiet, M ■HHHHp 5 MBmii " PgHgggK&gNH lIIMIIIMIgM be RH^HHHBHHHHsed BSSBRraBuBBas HHHHH i lO h to on pr bimwo IeReWfIHBBBHw sjj tie. The letter produced ' those'found on him; ■' a i said his brother was shepherding' all r< Taradale. The two letters - werel returned to Lyons and,he was allowed „ logo. On-Thureday morning myself I and Sergeant M'Ardle wont into the I cell of accused and asked Him for the 1 two letters. He made a.pretence to' feel his pookets, but said he liac] .lost jj tho letters,. I • afterwards* found a \ portion of. one of tie documents m < the blankets in the cell, I By Mr Skipper ,; I have only the r statements made by. the accused 10/o connect him with the robbery, Iti i ■■ 1 ; Arthur Poulsen deposed having mijl J \ , I

accused on the Opaki. oad on tbe morning of the 19th met. The aooußed accosted him and said, "YoU had better look out, Sergeant' " M'Ardlfl's on your traok. A hey and other tilings have been found in your " room." Lyons.alao told witness not' to tell tho police he had seen him fm ' the road. Lyons did not accuse witness of taking the money and de. mand (hat he give it up Sergeant H. M'Ardle deposed to the circumstances of the arrest. This was the ease for the tion,... /}-.'■ Mr Skipper :L=^vw r g - not sufficient defence. • ■ ' Mr Boys: The Benoh are decidedly ' of opinion. that there is a. case to answer.' \r, Mr Skipper:' Very well, Twill call the accused. The accused, on oath, deposed: I am not guilty of the lam ohwged. T have KalPathing * to do with the robberies. I.joiicupied • a room m the Empire Hotel with Buralum on the night of the 18th inst. 1 had been to the 'races with - Burslum. I was- returning to the hotel, when I met Gardiner and got from him .a dividend we bad won at • the races. I afterwards twelve o'olock, There wainjPRjHHS the door of our room, Burslum told me he had money on.him. In the morning Buralum got up v first and told me he had been gone through. I know,nothing whatever of the robberies. Sergeant M'Ardle did not orossexamihe.

1 After a short retirement the Bench ' intimated that it had not the slightest 2 hesitation in saying that ihe acoused * wasguilty.Therewasonelinkmissing, • and that waß thai the accused had ' not actually been seen puttiog the... pocket-book under the mattrass. At 3 the same time there was not the I slightest doubt about bis guilt, The ; f penalty allowed by the Aot waa ' twelve months'hard labour, but the ' acoused would be dealt with leniently " and sentenced to four months'hard ■■■>. : labour in the Wellington Terrace ■-* Gaol, and it was to be hoped that ' this would , that in future * hands out of other people's pockets'' . and earn his livelihood in a proper manner, , Mr Burton Boys, the Chairman oi . the Bench, then retired, after which / Mr Skipper made application that the 1 accused be admitted to probation, as | this was-his first offence, ? The application was refused,