The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria

High Water at Colwyn Bay. h m 1 ft in h m ft in Morn Height Even Height Jan. 16—Friday ..12 21 20 4 ..12 43 20 o 17-Sat. 1 7 19 6 1 28 19 2 II 18-San. 1 50 18 3 2 10 17 II 2 31 16 11 2 52 16 4 II 3 14 15 3 39 14 7 1/ 4 8 13 2..4 38 12 10 « 22—Thurs. 5 13 12 0 5 52 12 3

DENBIGHSHIRE. THE above sessions opened, at Ruthin on Friday, before Capta.n- Griffith Boscawen and a large attendance of justices. In his charge to the grand jury, of which Mr Robert Beech was foreman, the Chairman said he was glad to inform them: that their labours would not be heavy. Referring to ,e Licensing Act, he remarked that he did not see why the Act should not be accurately worked in the county, although the working of certain por- tions of the Act would be found difficult in large towns. But however it milght be worked, he thought the introduction of the Act would tend to check the great amount of drunkenness, which was doing such vast harm by undermin- ing the health of the nation. Visiting Committee On the motion of Mar Stanley J. Weyman, seconded by Mr E. O. V. Lloyd, the following gentlemen were re-elected to form the Visiting Committee to Ruthin Prison:—Colonel Corn- walli-s West, Rev Chancellor Bulkeley Jones, Captain Cole, and Messrs G. H. Denton, and George Blezard. Home for Inebriates. A letter was read from the Lord Lieutenant of the county (Colonel Cornwallis West), asking the chairman to call the attention of the magis- trates to tne fact that in Denbighshire the powers given them under the Inebriates Act did not appear to have been put in force, neither was it generally known that accommodation had been provided by tne Denbigh County Council at a home in Bristol. He had ascertained from the chief-constable that in 1901, two males and one female, made, themselves liable under the Act, and in 1902 three males and two females, the cases being tried before the Wrexham, Brom- field, and the Ru-abon just c'es respectively. The Chairman then briefly referred to the pro- visions of the Act, and expressed the hope that justices-' clerks would remind their respective benches of the accommodation provided, by the County Council, and there were no reasons why advantage should not be taken of at provi- sion. Llanrwst and St. Asaph Appeals. Mr Moss, M.P. (instructed by Mr J: Glynne Jones, Bangor), mentioned the appeals by the Rev John Gower and Mr John Evans Jones, both of Llanrwst, against a rate made by the Assess- ment Committee of the Llanrwst Union for the parish of Llanrwst. He was glad to say that the Court would be relieved of the trouble of hearing the appeals. The day before the rating in respect of three other parishes came before the Carnarvonshire Quarter Sessions, and both sides had agreed to abide by the result of the principle established there, and apply it to the assessment now appealed against. There would be an order by consent, reducing, the gross value from £ 71 to ^69, and the rateable value from £56 16s to 635- Mr Ellis Griffith, M.P. (instructed by Messrs D. Jones and Roberts, Llanrwst), consented to the. arrangement, and the appeal was .en. with. drawn. The appeal instituted by the Denbigh Gas and Coke Company, Limited, against the rates made by the, Assessment Committee of the St. Asaph Union for the parishes of Denbigh and Henllan in April and May last was not proceeded with. Thefts from Colwyn t'ay Laundry. Thomas' Evans, also known as, Thos. Thomas (25), labourer, lately in the employ of the Col- wyn Bay Steam Laundry, pleaded guilty to hav- ing stolen several sums of money, tne property of the company, and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Stealing Provisions at Old Coiwyn. W. J. Jones (27), miner, was sentenced to one month's hard: labour for stealing a quantity of butter and ham, the property of J. J. Price and another, at Old Colwyn, on tlhe 22nd of Novem- ber. Mr S. Moss, M.P. (instructed by Mr T. H. Morgan, Colwyn Bay), prosecuted. The prisoner was undefended. Alleged. Thtft of a Fourpenny Cabbage. RIDICULOUS CHARGE IN THE VALL OF CLWYD. The Court was- occupied for four hours hearing a charge of stealing a red cabbage, valued at 4d, against Robert Parry, gardener, Ruthin. -This case caused widespread interest in the Vale of, Clwyd, and the court was crowded. Mr Ellis Griffith, M.P. (instructed by Mr A. Lloyd Jones, Ruthin), prosecuted, and Mr Moss, M.P. (instructed by Mr A. O. Evans, Denbigh), was for the defence. For the prosecution, evidence was given by Melville and Bleddyn Roberts, sons of Mr ù- ward Roberts, solicitor, Ruthin, who stated that on the roth October they saw uie prisoner entering the garden of Police-Sergeant Woollam, and taking therefrom a red cabbage, which was subsequently missed by the sergeant. Sergeant Woollam, in the course of his evi- dence, proved having interviewed the prisoner, who denied the-charge, but on the 27th of Oc- tober came to the witness, stating -.at he had been dismissed from his employment on ac- count of the red cabbage story, and that he would have to take steps to clear his character. Before that, 'however, the case had been report- ed to the superintendent of the police, and pro- ceedings taken. In cross-examination, the witness strongly de- nied that the proceedings were instituted by him owing, to a threat made by Parry that he would institute an action for slander against the witness. The prisoner (in the box) denied absolutely the truth of the charge. He had been in the ser- vice of Dr J. R. Jenkins for 27 years, and had been; dismissed as. the result of the allegations made against him. Since then, however, he had entered the service of the Clerk of the Peace (Mr W. R. Evans) as gardener. Mr John Roberts, Deputy Clerk of the Peace, spoke as to interviews he had had with both the officer an3 Fhe prisoner. The Mayor of Ruthin (Councillor T. H. Roberts) and Mr Williams, bookseller, gave the prisoner an excellent character. The jury found the prisoner not guilty, and he was discharged. The verdict was received with loud cheers in court. I The Embezzlement by a Poultry Breeder Saturday's sitting was devoted to the hearing of charges of fraud and embezzlement against Percy Butcher, for some time a poultry breeder in the employ of Colonel Sandbach, Hafodunos, Llang-erniew. On the first count tne prisoner was charged with making a false entry in a cash- book 'on behalf of Colonel Sandbach on the 5th July, 1902. On the second count he was ■dharged w-tn embezzling and stealing sums of money amounting to ^16 13s1 6d. Mr Ellis Griffith (instructed by Mr J. E. Humphreys, Llanrwst), prosecuted, and Mr S. Moss- (instructed by Messrs- D. Jones and Roberts) was for the defence. In opening the case, Mr Griffith said the real -charge against the prisoner was that, whilst keeping certain books for Colonel Sandbach in the capacity of poultry keeper and breeder, he made certain entries which were not honest and bon-a-fide entries. That was the real basis of the charge. Evidence was given by Colonel Sandbach, who said that the actual amount due to him from the prisoner was £35 13s 4d. In cross-examination the witness admitted that, having dismissed the prisoner, he caused an advertisement to appear in "Poultry," stating the fact. Mr Moss: Do you think that it was fair for a man in your position to issue such an advertise- ment when a criminal charge was hanging over the prisoner's head? The Witness: I did it with the object of clear- ing myself before the poultry world. After the tales which I heard at the Crystal Palace Poul- try Show, I felt it imperative to clear my cnar- acter. Evidence was also given by Mr Clarke, the postmaster at Rhyl; Mr G. T. Evans, bank manager, Abergele; Harold Archer, assistant poultry breeder at Hafodunos; and Robert Williams, Llanlgerniew. This closed the case for the prosecution. The prisoner gave evidence on his own behalf. Up to the present, he said, a balance-sheet as between himself and Colonel Sandbach had not been struck, neither had the accounts been audited by an accountant. The account was a floating one, and sometimes he was to the good and sometimes to the bad. All his books were open to the inspection of Colonel Sandbach, to whom every facility was given to discover any irregularities. He had not the slightest inten- tion of falsifying the accounts, neither did he do so. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, but recommended the prisoner to mercy. Mr Griffith said that Colonel Sandbach did not wish to press for a vindictive punishment, and- would be glad if t^e prisoner couCd be leniently dealt with. The Cha rman, addresing- the prisoner, said that in his opinion the jury had very properly convicted him, of falsifying the books. It was very s'ad to see a man of his education in that position, and although the maximum penalty for such a crime was seven years' penal servitude, the Court would only pronounce what, under the circumstances, was nominal punishment. Still the Bench could not forget that he been placed in a position of trust, and to, make an example of him the Court must pass a substantial sentence. The prisoner was then sentenced to six months' imprisonment, in the second division. The prosecution, with the consent of the Court, did not proceed with the other counts.

-+--0 > CARNARVONSHIRE. These sessions were held on Thursday at Car- narvon, before the chairman, Mr J. E. Greaves (Lord-lieutenant), and a full bench of justices. The chairman, after wishing, the Grand Jury a happy new year, observed that the most impor- tant event which had occurred last year, as far as its immediate effect upon that court went, was the passing of the Licensing Act, to, the pro- visions of which he thought it his duty to call the attention of all licensed persons' in the county. He also advised all licensed persons to obtain copies of the, Act, aneno make themselves thoroughly acquainted with its details. He would specially call their attention to the section by which that burden of proof was cast upon licensed persons in all cases of drunkenness on the premises, and the further section by wnich they were prohibited under any circumstances whatever from serving a person who had been declared to. be, a habitual drunkard, it being like- wise an offence for a habitual drunkard to obtain or try to obtain drink in any licensed premises. Those provisionsl were very well as far a-s they went—and it must be confessed that they went a great deal further than the provisions of any previous legislation—but it appeared to him that a keystone was still wanted in the shape of an asylum or a home to which those unfortu- nate, peopile who were declared to be habitual drunkards might be sent. Unfortunate .J.ey were undoubtedly, for in nine cases out of every ten there was no question about it that they had lost all moral control over themselves. He would with all respect suggest that it would be an excellent thing' for the counties! of North Wales to combine for the purpose of providing such an institution in a central place, but if ttiat should be found inexpedient an attempt might be made by the county of Carnarvon to estab- lish an asylum of its own. If that was done he took it that they would soon find the rest of the counties falling in line, to provide what on the face of recent legislation was a most palpable public want. On the motion of Mr J. Menzies, seconded by Mr Thomas Lewis, the chairman, with Mr Allen- son Pieton, Mr D. P. Williams, and Col. Lloyd Evans were- appointed visitors to His Majesty's prison for the year. Mr W. Watkin, Criccieth, took the oath as a county magistrate. The Railway Robberies at Llandudno Junction. Thomas Williams (38) and William Rogerson (25), labourers, pleaded guilty to feloniously stealing a number of articles, the property of the London and North-western Railway Com- pany, at Lland,udno Junction, on November 16 last, under circumstances already reported. Mr Fenna, who appeared to prosecute, pro- ceeded to explain the circumstances, when Mr S. R. Dew, who appeared; for the prisoner Williams, objected, as the, prisoner had entered a plea of guilty. Mr J. T. Roberts, who appeared for Rogerson, also objected. The court upheld the objection. Mr Dew then called evidence as to character, when The Chairman intimated that they had pre- vented Mr Fenna entering into the case on the supposition that no evidence would be offered for the defence. Mr Dew said he was not offering evidence for the defence, for, the prisoners having pleaded ======-- guilty, there was no defence. He called 'i. dence as to character in mitigation of f offence. Mr Fenna was then permitted to address court for the prosecution, detailing circuffl stances, and expressing regret that tne prisoners had not seen fit to disclose where other l°s goods- had gone to, or who had been concerne in the taking of them, thus leaving all otlier members of the railway staff under suspicion. Evidence as to character was then called by Mr Dew on behalf of the prisoner Williams, and Mr J. T. Roberts on behalf of the prisoner Rogerson. t;on Mr Dew then addressed the court in mitigation of the sentence. Mr J. T. Roberts, followed on behalf of R(>Ser" son, appealing that he should be treated under the First Offenders' Act. He denied tha Rogerson had any knowledge of any goo«s stolen other than those mentioned in the indict- ment, and that he could, tlherdore. make nO disclosures. He said Rogerson had been draWtl 'into the affair by Williams, and until October last, when tempted by Williams, he had alwaYs led a strictly honest life. The prisoners were sentenced to three months imprisonment with hard labour on each of tIe three indictments, the sentences, however, to run concurrently. Llandudno Trade Union Officials Sent to p, ison. Robert 'Owen Williams and William Roberts, bricklayers, both of Llandudno, pleaded guilty to an indictment which charged them with coIl" spiracy to defraud the Llandudno Branch of the Operative Bricklayers' Society of a sum, Of money. There was also a charge of falsifv-il" accounts and embezzling, to which the prisoner pleaded not guilty, and which, in view of the plea in the previous case, the prosecution agreed to abandon. Mr Trevor Lloyd (instructed by Messrs Cham- berlain anI Johnson), who appeared for the pr() secuting society, explained that the prisoners were respectively the secretary and treasurer of the Llandudno branch, of the society, and the charge against them, was that they conspired to falsify accounts and to put money into their own pockets. Mr Bellis addressed the court on behalf 0 the prisoners. The amount which tney had de- frauded the society of was £ 18; but, although the prisoners admitted having taken the monef; the}r denied having done so with the intention of appropriating it permanently; their inten- tion, in fact, being to refund it. The men were only bricklayers, and, tnerefore, were not used to handling moneys and keeping accounts. They were, moreover, trades union officials, and rllS (Mr Bellis's) complaint in that direction was that the society had not taken these proceedi under the Trades Union Acts, which would have enabled the court, in the first instance, to order the refunding of the money, and after that either to fine the defendants or imprison theal- The men were quite prepared to refund the money, which, in fact, had been handed to hInt (Mr Bellis) for that purpose. He pleaded for the leniency of the court, in view of the excel' lent character previously enjoyed by the pris" oners. Mr Lloyd explained that the reason why the prosecution was not instituted under the Trades Union Acts was that that class of offence had grown very much of late, the Bricklayers' Soci- ety having been defrauded right and left in other places, so that it was felt that further steps beyond the Act ought to be taken. Moreover, the Act did not apply to cases such as that, where there was a systematic falsification of accounts. The court announced that they regretted to see men of the prisoners' respectabillty in the dock; but their case must be regarded as a very serious one. They were then each sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labour.

OSWESTRY. Advice to Otfdfellows and Freemasons. Addressing the Grand Jrmry at Oswestry Quar- ter Sessions, on Friday, the Recorder, Mr R- LI. Kenyon) dealt with the Licensing Act. Re- ferring to the registration of clubs, he poiited out that the Act gave no definition of a club nor of what was meant by xiabitual use of premises for the purposes of a club. There would 11° doubt, therefore, be legal decisions on these points, and also on what constituted occupation of premises by a club; but all associat oIl3 which met occasionally and were supplied with beer when they met, such as, Oddfellows of Masonic lodges, cricket" and football clubs, must consider during the present month whether they were at ^all likely to be held liable to be regis- tered, and it seemed to him that if they were :11 doubt their best course would be to be regi5' tered. The fee was only 5s a year, and if it was aiterwards decided that it was unnecessary to register a club of their description they could cease to make the return and to pay the fe. He did not think any club would be injured) bY unnecessary registration, but, on the other hand, it might be injured by neglecting to register when it ought to do so. r^^si^>e^n? a maiden sessions, tihe Mayor (^'r J. Maclardy), in accordance with custom, hand- ed to the Recorder the usual pair of white gloves. gloves. te

— A Denbigh Councillor and the Railway Company. They are very Good to Me." AT the Bangor County Court, on Tuesday, K' Jones, butcher, Bethesda, for whom Mr "Ellis Da vies appeared, sued the London and North- western Railway Company for a sum of £ 7 rid, damages for the mis-delivery and delay a number of skins in transit on the railway. Mr Boaz Jones, of Denbigh, was a witness f°r the plaintiff, and Mr Fenna, who appeared f°r the Company, confidently asked him, *013 never have any trouble with the railway com- pany, have you?" "No," smiled Mr Jones, "Oh no, they alwaYs pay me my claims.—(Laughter.) There was a bit of trouble at fir,sit, but they always pay 111, now. Oh, yes., they are very good to me. (Loud laughter, in which the Judge joined). (1 Mr Ellis Davies: They paid, you somed-Lll1" last week, didn't they? Mr Boaz Jones:: Oh yes, and there is more to come yet. (Ren-ewed laughter.) Mr Fenna, -while admitting that'mistakes been made, contended -that no wilful neglect or misconduct had been proved against the com- pany, who, therefore, were not liable. His Honour, with every disposition to too plaintiff, said he could not see that culpa. misconduct had been proved against the corn, pany, for whom, therefore, judgment would be entered, but without costs.