SUPREME COURT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 2869, 2 December 1890, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

(BV TKtKQKAPH—OWN OOKKEHPONDENT). Auckland, Last Night. The Supreme Court opened to-day. The Judge in charging the Grand Jury said there were two cases of malicious injury to property, one charge being against Korei Kaihau for removing a trig station placed on native land. That was an offence specially created by the Public Works Act aud by the Land Act the Survey Department had the right to erect trig stations upon private land and any person who removed them without permission was liable to be punished. In this case it might be that there was some idea on the part of the natives that the planting of a trig upon native land was unlawful, bet it was more probable this was one of those foolish acts of defying the law, which aoinu natives indulged in, seeing that the native, according to the evidence, did not act upon his own motion but under authority of Tawhiao, whom so:ne people called the Maori Kine. At all eventx the whole thing wae done quite openly. The trig station was pulled down and was brought by the prisoner to the nearest post-office. So far as the jury weie coucerned there would be very little difficulty in finding a true Bill against the prisoner. Whether the offence was a matter for punishment or I not would be for the Court to decide. The other case of malicious injury to property was a case arising out of the recent strike. Ho was happy to think, so far as he was aware, j this was the only instance of violence aris- J ing out of that strike, which was happily now onded. The proprietors of a Huntly coal mine had a pump, which was used in connection with their works. The men employed at the mine had struck, and the | company had to engage other persons ' unconnected with Unions to take their places. The pump was in good order on the evening of the 22nd September, and on tho next morning it was found that it had been damaged. No one saw the injury done, and the evidence against tho three prisoners charged with the offence was a conversation in which thoy took part at a butcher's shop, about a-quarter of a mile froir. the pump, and the fact that the clothes worn by two of them wero wet. The last case to which he had to refer was the charge against twenty-one natives of riot and assault upon certain persons. His Honor alluded to the facts of the Te Kuiti disturbance and said it contained all the elements of what was called riot and also evidence of assault upon soino poreons. The only question for the jury to consider was whether all or any of the twenty-one Maoris charged were present and if present whether thny acted in pursuance nf a common object. It was not necessary that they should all have taken a very active part—the leader probably took very little active part himself—but if they found that they were present with a common object they were all principals in the eye of the law, and they would all be found guilty of the elements of riot — i.e., tumultuous proceedings on the part of more than three persons. The jury would, therefore, simply have to consider whether all of the twentyone persons charged were identified as being persons taking part in the disturbance.

On the motion of Mr Cotter, tho Huntly prisoners wore admitted to bail. Harriet Ann Letham was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labour for stealing wearing apparel. The conviction was quashed in the case of Edmund George carnally knowing a girl under fourteen years of ago.

John Hill Johnson was charged with having on the 20th of September, broken into the store of Thomas Wells of Cambridge, and stolen therefrom certain goods. Prisoner pleaded guilty, and stated that he was drunk at the time he committed the offence. He remembered late at night going into the store and taking down some blanlcets to wrap round him. Afterwards he was found by the constable lying in another building, with the blankets around him. He asked the Court to afford him the benefit of the First Offender's Probation Act, as it was his first offence and he had a wife and seven children. His Honour said the Probation Officer reported very favourably regarding the character of the accused, and ho should therefore place him on probation for twelve months, and ordered him to pay the cost of the prosecution within three months. Wellington , , Last Night. At the Supreme Court to-day the Grand Jury threw nut the Bill of rnnrdnr against Young Bin, and in the case of Sam Coy and Tom Hung reduced the charge from murder to manslaughter.