ON THE PREVALENCE OF CATTLE STEALING. By an Old Settler.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2208, 2 September 1886, Page 2

ON THE PREVALENCE OF CATTLE STEALING. By an Old Settler.

At no period during the past thirty years has &o much of this been canied on as at the present time, and, strange to say, it is by far the most difficult case <»f theft to prove, and one of the most difficult the police h.ne in even getting a committal on, although the ivuiiii.il may be branded all over. The reason of brands being of little use is, there are so many thousands! of different and rapidly increasing owners, consequently so many brands aie alike and no law to prevent it, and a great many aro illegible. The present law may have been sufficient years ago, but a change is required to meet the rapid increase of owners". The most accomplished cattle stealer has generally a herd of his own, and uses different brands and ear marks so as to correspond with those not his own, and to be able with more safety to sell them. Graziers cannot keep all their stock under lock and key, running them in paddocks or unfenced land ; they may be gone days, weeks or months before it is even .su.spected that they are stolen, and by that time may bo hundreds of miles away, and the owner have no idea in what direction. Should the thief be overtaken driving, he will be cute enough to h avo Home honestly acquired, and the excuse then is, they gor bo\ed by the way, and would insist in following his. Thieves are always prepared with some excuse that has a possibility about it. If even it is found out where they are, or sold, the usual defence is made vu : — A mistake, or the thiuf sets up a, claim <>n the animal he has .stolen. The bench in nineteen cases out of twenty gives the prisoner " the benefit of the doubt ;'' if he should be committed for trial it will bo about one in fifty if he is convicted, let the evidence against him be clear as day. A clover barrister is :>uro to convince ono or more jurymen that his client us a persecuted man. When this is accomplished the client is safe. About one Melbourne juryman in knows anything about stock, they aie cmifrequently quite incapable of trying a stock stealer. Such cas»-H should be tried in the country districts while this wretched trial by jury of twelve lasts. Trial by jury is a delusion. If one fool in the twelve takes an erroneous view in the prisoner's favour, his decision is taken by the piesent law in preference to that of thw other cleven — that is "Kngli^h law " so much boasted of. If the thief has plenty of money, as most stock stealcrs have, ho can easily get off ; if he c.in'fc tip tho bench he c«»n uiio of tho twelve juiymrn. His barrister will "pull him through "—of course he will have to be well paid. If the thief has no money to do thi.s soi t of thin?, he will likely get all or more than h« deserves I >aw one fellow who totply tried his hand among sheep, had n > money to defend himself, and got t'Mi roars, four of them solitary confinement. The consequence is that the police do not rare to have anything to do with a thief of means, knowing that the bench or juiy will let him off. And the bench often lets a prisoner off Raying it is no use to commit, and put the country to expense, as tho juiy will let him ofF. If a thief breaks into a bank, jowoller's shop, &c, the chances are he is Boon run down and comictod. If a Htockatfaler breaks the law .")00 times, the chances are he is never once caught, and, if caught, and has plenty of money, it is about one in 100 if he is convicted. Some special legislation is urgently required to protect stock owners, their property being no much at the meicy of rogues. The member who will take this in hand, and bring it to a successful issue, will earn for himself a reputation in every grazing district throughout Victoria. In conclusion, I suggest that the Government offer a standing reward of, say, £300 for such information as will lead to the conviction of an offender. I venture to say there would not be more than three convictions in a year, and most likely none, and that it would cause the "cattle duffers" to take t»> some other mode of living I have little doubt, and thereby be a great protection to large and small graziers. I expect the lawyers in our new Legislative Assembly would object to the Government giving this reward, as it would be the means of taking griat from tho lawyers' mills.— The Loader.

Among our special odvertnements will be found one from Mr Alfred Jowitt, wholesale grain and produce merchant, Custotna-street, Auckland. A[r Jowitt in the solo agent f'*r Allens "({olden Gem " patent roller process flour, which is a. genuine article, and has an immense sale. Another speciality is his XL oatn.eal, made specially from the finest uiillintr oats. Those requiring cocksfoot or ryegrass should send their orders to the above establishment, where they can rely on having good value for their money, Mr Jowitt having grown considerable quantities in the South Island. Mr Speer, a front for the above firm, is now doing the W.iikato, and we can confidently recommend farmers and others to jiive him a line. Mr John Pair lias been appointed agent for the firm in Hamilton. I* a man has a quarrelsome temper him alone. The world will soou rind him employment. He will soon meet with someone st;onger than himself who will rep.iy him better than you can. A man may fight duels all his life if he is disposed to (|Uiu-rcl. — Cecil.