RESIDENT MAGISTRATE COURT.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 486, 3 April 1869, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE COURT.

Fbiday, Apbil 2. (Before J. Giles, Esq., E.M.) VAGBANCY.

John Eoster, who appeared to be suffering greatly from the effects of drink, was charged with having no lawful visible means of support. Constable Neville stated that, for the last five or six weeks, the defendant had done no work, but was idle, loitering, and incapable of working from the state of drink in which he was. The Magistrate considered the fact was scarcely sufficient to establish a charge of vagrancy, as the defendant had been at work up to the time stated, and the defendant was discharged. Constable INeville explained that the defendant had been arrested chiefly on account of taking care of him ; he was in such a lamentable state. STEALING SLUICE-BOXES. Patrick Meagher, Addison's Flat, was charged, on the information of Joseph Noble, with having stolen five sluice-boxes and five bags. Mr Tyler appeared for tho defendant.

Joseph Noble : I am a miner, re- • siding at Addison's Flat. On the 25th of last month, I had occasion to come to Westport, about a case in Court. My mates and I remained ia town till Sunday last. When we went up, we went to our registered tail-race, on the bridle-track to Addison's. There had been five sluice-boxes there, but we found they were gone. They had been originally purchased by me from one Bobert Barclay. On Monday morning, I went on the ground where the prisoner was working, and there I saw a lot of boards wrapped up in bags, some of which belonged to our party. There were also some battens belonging to me. The prisoner said, " What the b h do you want here without authority ?" I said " Can't a person look round now?" And he said "Are they yours ?" I said " Did you get them off me ?" and he said " No." Meantime 1 was examining the battens. He came up to me and eaid " Clear out of this, bloody quick, or I'll strike this pick through you." He commenced kicking me, having the pick in his hand at the same time. He kicked me right off the claim, saying he would " bloody soon clear a lot of us off that place." The boards were concealed, at the ends and sides, with bags. I recognised one of the bags as belonging to me. By Mr Tyler: The boxes were put in to catch tailings. Barclay was using them for that purpose till the 4th of January last, and I have been using them since. They have not been abandoned.

Robert Barclay proved the sale of the boxes in question to Noble. Mr Tyler, for the defendant, admitted that some of the boards had been taken, but that they had not been taken with felonious intent, the defendant having believed the boxes to be abandoned. lie called—

John Fahey, fli mate of tho defendant, who stated that defendant and he had taken the boxes. They thought they were abandoned, because they had seen them lying a long time without anyone in charge of them. The bags were put on the boards to keep them from the weather. By Detective Lambert : There were some sort of bags in the boxes when we took them.

By the Court: I considered the boxes had been abandoned for four or five months. There was green moss growing on the bags. The Magistrate thought that the evidence as a ' whole would justify him in dismissing the charge of felony, but he must say that the prisoner had gone very dangerously close to an act of felony, and. had run a great risk. The taking of the boxes was altogether unjustifiable. . The prisoner had no good reason to think that they were abandoned, and his conduct in assault, ing the complainant on his claim showed that he had reason to think that the complainant might lay claim to the boxes. The whole ease went as near an act of felony as could well be. In fact he did not know but, in strict law, it would be a felony, but of course there would be some reluctance in convicting a person not previously so charged. The better remedy would have been a civil action.