MAGISTERIAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXII, Issue 8256, 22 December 1911, Page 5

MAGISTERIAL.

ASHBURTON— FRIDAY.

(Before Mr V. G. Day, S.T.i.).

Maintenance Case. , Albert JFoster ;was charged with t h* father of an illegitimate child qS^d^ 1" 10 ' d WhiGh SubMr Buchanan appeared for the complainant who 'sought by. an order of the Court payment of all expenses incurred m connection with the child. Ine defendant did not appear The nursing, medicaL , funeral and other m$ 6nS£t W? rf set, down .at £11 10s lUd.^i he defendant was adjudged the putative father of,the child, aid was ordered to pay' the expenses, claimed, j . Breaches of By-laws. ■For driving :a motoiScar at an excessive speed across .the. Asliliurton traffic bridge, Arthur Eden was fined 40s and costs. Leonard Henney was fined a similar amount on a like charge. Throwing Missiles. William Lennon (Mr Purnell), charged with throwing missiles (gravel) to the endangerment of the , public, pleaded not guilty. Frank Greenslade, living at Digby's. bridge, said he remembered the night of November 18, when Mr Hammond was speakmg at the Somerset Corner. He saw the defendant there, and also saw him pick up a handful of silt and throw it at Mr Hammond and others who were going towards the "Mail" and " Guardian" .office. Only one handful of silt was thrown, and it went over Mr Hammond. By Mr Purnell : Mr Hammond, when lecturing, was standing on a carrier's cart m the railway reserve, half a chain from one road and three-quarters of a chain from the other road. There was a big cr6wd on the road. The meeting was a prohibition demonstration. The i lecture ended shortly after 10 o'clock, and began at 9 o'clock. It was dark as Mr Hammond proceeded towards the '.'Mail" and "Guardian" Office, surrounded by a crowd of people. There was a light m the Zealandia Cycle Works at the time. Witness was close to Mr Hammond, who was on the footpath.". ■.-■■■■ ■-■ ■■<■•■■; ■: .• •■' ■■. ■■ By Sergeant Fouhy: Mr Hammond was not m the" Mail" and " Guardian '' Office when witness left. William B. W. Bell said that on the night of Mr Hammond's lecture he was m the street, and saw Lennon, but did not see him'do anything. He did not hear Lennon's name''mentioned, except by Greenslade, wh vo asked who h« was. • '■- ■ ■: ''■■■■"• '■•■■ ■'■ . . Henry Martin, police constable, said that he interviewed defendant about a fortnight after the alleged offence, and he admitted throwing the gravel and also buying half-a-dozen eggs. By Mr Purnell: Witness was m the street when Mr Hammond was speaking. The excitement was confined to a small section of young fellows. The meeting terminated shortly after 10 o'clock. Witness, could not say that Hammond was breaking the borough by-laws, and no information had been laid against him. His Worship said that more probably Mr Hammond was breaking the railway by-laws. '" .. Mr Purnell a said that, while the police laid charges; against those opposed to No-license, no proceedings •were taken, against the Prohibitionists, who were breaking the by-law by obstructing the public street. There had been a clear breach of the by-laws by those who conducted the meeting, and yet no action was taken against them. The defendant, m giving evidence, stated that, he was with the crowd on Saturday night, November 18. It was after 10 o'clock w;hen Mr Hammond went towards the "Mail" and "Guardian" Office. Witness did not throw any gravel at him. The darkness of the night might have caused an observer to, make a mistake as to what occurred. He denied telling the constable that he threw the gravel. He had two companions at the time, but they were now m the country. He was nineteen years of age. To Sergeant Fouhy: He was with his cousin and a person named W. Brown. He did not know that Brown had any eggs on that night. The..eggs witness had he bought and took home with him. The eggs were bought before 9- o'clock that night, and he had them m his pockets till the meeting was over. None of them were broken m the crowd. . He saw some gravel thrown, but threw none himself. .He saw eggs thrown by the dozen: To his ( Worship: No one was with him when the constable spoke to him. At this stage the hearing was adjourned, till -January 12, so that Mr Purnell could produce further evidence. James Bremner (Mr Purnell) 'was charged with throwing a missile, namely, an-egg, on the same night. William Greenslade said he saw Bremner throw an egg into the middle of the crowd where Mr Hammond .was standing. Bremner was standing on the railway reserve at the time. His Worship said that this was not a public place; but Sergeant Fouhy produced the Act to show that this did not make any difference. Witness, continuing, said that a good many eggs were thrown. By Mr Purnell : 'Witness was standing two or three yards from the defendant. "' •■■•'•' Henry Christensen said he had no recollection of seeing i Bremner at Mr Hammond's meeting, but he saw someone throw an egg. The defendant went into the box and denied throwing the egg. To Sergeant Fouhy: He had an egg given to him on the night of the lecture by a man who had a bagful. He did not know who the man was. He threw the egg m the trees just about the time the meeting closed. He was going to throw it m the crowd, but changed his mind. Witness was standing under the trees, north of the crowd. Sergeant Fouhy. : That was where the 1 eggs came from. His Worship said it was a pity to see young boys mixing themselves tip m such disturbances. What the boy wanted was a good thrashing by his father.: A conviction would be recorded, and the defendant ordered to pay expenses amounting to 18s. Charles M.< riarty (Mr Kennedy) pleacted guilty to a similar charge, and) through his solicitor, expressed regret for what he had done. He was convicted and ordered to pay 15s expense*.

A False Declaration. Albert Rowan was charged with making a false statement when ent^mg a claim for enrolment roi toral district of Ashburton, byg^S that he had .been m a longer period than «as ""ft. defendant P^'" J^Va said that he had imp«iio n Rose, who was unaei

that: he had been m the Dominion a sufficient length of time. Witness had been m the Dominion for over three lunar months, and did not know that he had to be here for three calendar months. • s ■; A fine of 20s and costs was imposed. Civil Cases. In the case R. Kennedy (Mr Kennedy)' v. C. Curry, a claim for £1 Is, judgment was, given for plaintiff by default. 1 B. McAuley (Mr Buchanan) sought an order against E. J. Bright on a judgment summons for £4 15s. The judgment debtor did not" appear, and an order .was made for .payment forthwith, m-'default" seven days' imprisonment. >