Found recently on
http://www.law.mq.edu.au/scnsw/html/r_v_boyd_and_drummond__1826.htm
Decisions
of the Superior Courts of New South Wales, 1788-1899
Published
by the Division of Law, Macquarie University
[stealing, sheep - Moreton Bay]
R. vs.. Boyd and Drummond
Supreme Court of New South Wales
Forbes C.J.,[1] 10 June 1826
Source: Sydney Gazette, 14
June 1826
John Boyd and Henry Drummond
were indicted for stealing seventeen sheep, the
property of the Crown, at
Moreton Bay, on the 26th of January last.
The prisoners were stockmen,
at Moreton Bay, and absconded from that
settlement, taking them a
number of sheep. On the circumstance being made
known to the Commandant (Captain
Bishop), a constable and some soldiers were
sent in pursuit, who tracked
the prisoners for some distance through the
bush. They, however,
afterwards lost all traces of them, and returned to
the settlement, and for a
considerable time after no tidings were had of the
prisoners; when one night
an alarm was given that robbers were attempting to
rush some sheep from the folds;
constables and soldiers immediately hastened
to the spot, and apprehended
the two prisoners, who, it appeared, had
returned to the settlement
in the hope of procuring a fresh supply. On
being brought before the Commandant,
they confessed having made away with
the former sheep, and also
that their object in returning was to obtain
more. On the trial,
however, they pleaded not guilty, and stated, that
their former confession was
made with the view of escaping corporal
punishment at the settlement,
and of being forwarded to Sydney, where they
could have a fair trial.
Guilty. - Remanded.[2]
Notes
[1] Stephen J. resigned as
temporary Justice of the Supreme Court on 27 May
1826, and was not sworn in
as puisne Justice until early November 1826. See
C.H. Currey, Sir Francis Forbes:
the First Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of New South Wales,
Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1968, pp 97-98;
Australian, 3 June 1826.
In the meantime, Forbes C.J. sat alone.
[2] On 19 June 1826, both defendants
were sentenced to death: Australian, 21
June 1826.
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