RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1287, 20 June 1883, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

(Before W. H. Reveix, Esq.)

Tuesday, June 19th, 1883.

An information charging A. Breen with being the owner of an unregistered dog.

John George Heslop, Collector of dog tax for the County, proved that defendant had failed to renew registration of his dog.

Defendant did not appear, and was fined in the sum of 5s and costs.

In reply to Mr Lynch's application for costs, His Worship said, he could not see that costs should be allowed. The summons were all issued without costs, and the collector should be able to conduct his own case. To allow professional costs would be to swell the penalty.

Eichard Lecher was similarly charged.

Defendant proved that he had effected registration since he was notified by the collector. Fined Is and costs.

Mary Anderson, upon a similar charge, who had registered her dog since the summons was issued, was fined in the nominal sum, of Is and costs. ■ POLICE V. O'NEILL. This was an information calling upon defendant to show cause why his hotel license should not be cancelled. Mr Jones said that since the proceedings were commenced a permanent transfer of the license had been granted by the Bqatman's Licensing Bench from defendant to one McTaggart. His Worship said that the transfer having been granted b) the Boatman's Licensing Committee, the Court was powerless to do anything in the matter. He, however, animadverted strongly upon tho conduct of the Licensing Committee in ousting the jurisdiction of the Court, and so sheltering the defendant from the due exercise of the law. It was a most improper and indecorous proceeding on their part, and it would be for the police to report the whole matter to headquarters,, with a view of applyitig : to the Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition to set aside ' this action oiifljg committee. In. the miss the information. CUM TEN V. JOHN COX. This was an (information charging defendant with fetoriionsly receiving a coffin, of the value of L2, knowing the same to have been stolen. Mr W. H. Jones appeared for the prosecution. ; • Defendant was not represented by counsel. Mr Jones having opened the case at some length calledthefolJowingevidence:--Jem Long: I am a cabinet-maker residing at Beefton, I know the defendant ; I saw him on the 23rd of May, at about half-past 3 in the afternoon ; he came into my place and said that Jack Melody was going away to Wanganui to-morrow morning ; I said" it had nothing ' to do with me; he said that Melody might be the man that stole the coffin ; I said I could not arrest him as I had no proof ; he said "you bjy out £30, and perhaps you will get the box back. '* I asked him if Melody wanted £30 or he wanted it ; he said nobody wanted the X3O, but putjout the reward in the public street. I then spoke to Gum Yen and asked him whether I should put out-L2O, and he agreed to do so y Cos then-asked whether he should ring notice of the reward in the public streets that night, and I told him to do so. He then went away and returned in about ten oriifCeen minutes with the Sergeant of police j he. told the Sergeant that I would give L2O reward for finding the coffin, and I said I could not give it until I put the notice up. The Sergeant then advised me' to put up the notice at once ; I went to, the Sergeant and he drew up the notice for me, and I posted it on Quigley's public-hiiuao. This was about a quarter to 4or 4 o'clock. Cox saw me posting it up, and as soon as I had posted it up I asked Cox if he knew where the coffin was, and he aaic(> <v Ye»." ' I then went to David Toung and got his dray, and Young, Cum Yen, Cox, and rayßelf went past the cemetery- into the bush. Cox told us where to go, and showed us the way; he was in -the dray with us and gave directions tb r the driver, he took us to where the coffin was; it was lying about Bft. from thd track, near the stump of a fallen tree. We could not see the coffin from the track, owing to the height of the fern ; the tree lying near the coffin' had been newly' cut j the stump was new ; where we got the coffin was about 1000 ft. past the cemetery \> we. put the coffin in the dray and took it to Cum Yen's place ; I saw the coffin in the cemetery on the 14th April, and can Bwear that the one we found was the same. First learnt on the 15th April that the coffin was stolen ; when we lost the coffin on the 15th April we gave notice toi the police, and at the suggestion of the pblice we got hundreds of Chinamen to search the bush round the cemetery ; the .police and fully a hundred Chinamen searched -the bush all round the cemetery, but found nothing ; on the 15th April I put a notice in the paper offering a reward^ of L3; this is the notice and paper produced ; between the 15th April and 23rd May, Cox frequently told me that he was looking for the body: he said he did not care for the money, but he wanted to find Out the dirty trick that had been played ; the coffin is valued at L2, I did not make it ; when we brought the coffin] home I opened it in the presence" of Young, Cum Yen, and Cox, it contained bonea in a bag j there was no money orgo|d in the coffin.

By prisoner : I did not see you about 12 and 1 o'clock ou ihe 21at May ; I asked you to ring the. tall* for the reward at about i past 3 that flay ; I never offered you money for look ng for the coffin; I offered the reward t< i anyone ; you asked me for a few shilling 8 for looking for the body, but I did nit give you any, told you that if I got mo^iey from the Chinese Society I would give Jou some ; it is three or four weeks Bince we found the coffin, but the stump was nev on the 23rd May when we fouud it ; it was half-past three when you first asked me whether you should ring the bell ofering the reward ; you came to me nany times speaking about this business, aid I told you I must have the coffin ) newr promised to pay you whether you fount the coffin or not ; you were always wanthg me to promise to pay you whether you feund the coffin or not, but I would not tb so.

Cum Yen : I am a sjarekeeper at Reefton, and know defendant ; reccollect the 14th April last, and j vas in the Reef ton cemetery on that d&e ; we left some coffins in the cemeterf on that day, and on the noxt day one ofihem was missing; the coffins were in my

The continuation of witnessed evidence was a repetition of that previously given.

Oox came to me repeatedly aud said that he had searched all round the cemetery and could n<& find the coffin. Heard Cox say that Melody was going away, and that we should put out L3O reward ; it j was just past 4 o'clock on the 23rd May when Cox told me he had found the body ; I authorised Jem Long to put up L2O reward : heard Cox ask Jem Long whether he (Cox) should ring the bell in the public street offering L2O reward, and heard Jem Long say "yes, ( " the notice of the reward was up before Cox told me he had found the body. The grass under the coffin was quite green, as though the box had not been there more than a few days, the place looked quite new. By the prosecutor : Have seen you searching for the body, you asked me whether you could dig up the re-filled graves to see if the coffin was there, and I said you could ; did not authorise you to search in the saw-dust at the saw-mills for the coffin. Lee Sue and Ti Kow were called, and proved that on the 15th April they searched the exact spot where the coffin was found, and there was no coffin there on that date. 1 , Jem Lung recalled :. The coffin was covered .^yith mud^wheQ ■;<** c found it had been exposed to the weather so long ; the grass was quite green under ; the I coffin was a new one, and had never been in the ground up to the time we had lost it. Cum Yen was re-called, and identified the coffin. John Melody : I am a bush man, working at Main's sam-mill : I know the accused, and recollect the day on which the Chinese bodies were exhumed, and remember the coffin being lost ; nevei : told Cox at any time between the losing and finding of the coffin that I was going . to Wanganui ; never in any way led Cos to believe that I knew anything about the lost coffin. By accused : Have seen you about tht , saw-mill, and told you I was working , there ; you never spoke about Wanganui to me ; saw you several times looking, foi ] tho coffin. , This closed the case for the prosecution. i The usual declaration having been read ! over to the accused, he was asked whethei - he had any statement to make, when he 1 stated that he found the body in the bush. ' He called the following evidence : — John Alexander : I am a miner living at Reefton ; I recollect the coffin being found ; Colquhon, who works at Me- ' Gaffin's farm, was out with me in the ' bush looking for turkeys He was going 1 through the bush, and I was on the ter- ' race, and he came to me and said he had > found a sluice-box, and thought it was the ' Chinese coffin ; he said it was like a ' sluice-box ; could not say what time this ' was; it was in tire fore part 'of the day previous to Cja ;, reporting the matter; 1 I said, never mind, what do I care aboufc ' the Chinese ' Coffin* atid we went on looking 1 for the turkeys until .the next day ;, next ■ morning Colquhon was going to work ; I ' said I would go over to the coffin and tell ; Cox, and let him get the reward, as he js 1 working hard for it \ I went up town and ' found Cox cutting timber for O'Xeill, and 1 took him down and showed him the box ; ' it was about dinner time : I told him to 1 go up to the Sergeant and get his reward. Crosß-examined : It was about dinner 1 time when I saw Cox ; I had not had dinner at the time ; told him to meet me at L the farm at dinner time ; he did so, and I '. showed him where tho box was ; I think ihe te would go and have his dinner, ' and then see the sergeant ; I cannot identify the box; the box was partly covered,. and only one end was to be seen ; 1 I don't think I spoke to Colquhon between finding the body, and seeing Cox ; ' did not speak to anybody ; think I did speak to Colquhon, about it and told him ! I had found it. Did not tell anybody else ; it was at Covel's that I first met Cox ; he was getting an axe, and I walked 1 up the street with him and tod him I had ' found the box ; Cox came down to the farm at dinner time, and I pointed out the box .to him ; this would be nearly 2 o'clock. Alexander Colquhon: lam agardner, , living at Reefton ; I know very little r about it; I found the box on the 22nd . May.; it looked to me like a sluice-box ; I was looking for turkey's, and found the ! box ; I told Alexander ;; I asked him if I I would go in and claim the reward, and he j said "no," never mind,, but he would lay t Bomebody on to it who. deserved it better ; [ I asked him to come and see, but he > would not, and I pointed where it was ; have seen Cox looking for the box on ; several occasions. I Cross-examined by Mr Jones r The coffin ; was quite exposed to view from one side, [ but not on tho other ; I saw tho whole of ; the lid and one side of it, and it did not seem muddy ; I don't know when Alexi ander found the box ; he must have- found it on the same afternoon that I first told him of its whereabouts ; Alexander never told me when he found the box. i Sergeant Neville was called, bat his evidence was not material. This closed the case for the defence. His Worship dismissed the information. He said it did appear at first as if there was something against accused, but the evidence of Alexander and Colquhon negatived the allegation contained in the information. Accused's statement to the Court was shown however, to be untruthful, for ho believed that he had found the coffin, whereas the evidence showed that Colquhon had found it. Case dismissed.