In Re James

Application for a writ of habeas corpus upon the ground that the petitioner is held to answer upon a criminal charge without probable cause. He is charged with obtaining sheep worth about sixteen thousand dollars upon the false pretense that, at the time of so doing, he had six thousand dollars on deposit in a certain bank. The petitioner denies making such a pretense, but admits that at the time he did not have said amount, or, in fact, any amount in excess of eighty cents, on deposit. He engaged to purchase the sheep from the owners. The sheep were counted out and loaded on the cars ready for delivery. He thereupon informed the owners that he had six thousand dollars on deposit and that by the following Saturday he would deposit such further sums as were necessary to meet the check which he then offered to them and which they accepted. They testified, and the court necessarily found, that they would not have parted with the title if they had not believed his statement that he had the six thousand dollars on deposit.

[1] (1) The petitioner insists that he should be discharged because he informed the sellers that he did not have sufficient funds in the bank to meet the check. It…