RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. HAMILTON.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 777, 9 June 1877, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. HAMILTON.

Thursday, June 7. (Before B W Hammond (Chair^ man), T S - Seddon, Captain Steele, and Dr Beale, Justices of the Peace.) . W M Hay was charged by Sergeant Green with having on the

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1860, but li «^^;Jihe ; Act of 1866; the offense "was a misdemeanour, , and not a felQßy. <] The information, therefore, must fall through. The proseoution had chafg-ed the prisoner with a felony, and siniply proved a misdemeanour, and,, therefore, he must be discharged. Further, he direw the attention of the Court to the question of who had laid thi information. By section 60 of the Aefc, no information could be laid except by a. person specially authorf ised by writing under the hand of 1 the Governor. No evidence had been adduced to show that Betective possessed such authority. ' "That point he urged must be fatal to the ' prosedution. Again, the onus frobatidL miisi fall ' upon the informant. . was _ charged with f selling;. theseY guns : ; to the natives without a license, but on proof had been , shown 'that Potter did not possess such license; In not proving that Potter had no license, Sergeant green had failed to prove the only indictable portion of the information. .. Tliese three objections must be necessarily fatal to the case. The Bench came to the conclusion that the points raised, were fatal to the case, and,. the prisoner was dis- _ •barged. The decision was received with loud cheers, which were at once repressed.