POLICE COURT.—This Day.

Auckland Star, Volume IV, Issue 1153, 3 October 1873, Page 2

POLICE COURT.—This Day.

(Before P. A. Philips, Esq., R.M.-, and A. E. Isaacs, Esq., J.P. DRUNKENNESS. David Kelly, Jno. Brown, Samuel Bright, Joseph Walling,' Geo. Hudson, Alexander Graham, and Mary Burke were convicted of this offence, and punished as-per usual. \_ i) :-. . A VAORAKT. Mary Howley, a dissipated-looking woman, in addition to being charged with drunkenness, was accused.of a breach" of the Vagrant Act by being thrice convicted of intemperance, and being a rogue and a vagabond. Prisoner begged most piteously for mercy, and promised, if she was let off, to go to the Waikato. Their Worships sentenced her to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. BREACHES OF BYLAWS. Fred Carroll, John Beaton, and Arthur Nicholson, three boys, were charged with throwing stones, in Hobson-street, at the boys of St. Matthew's school, on the 17th ultimo. All the prisoners pleaded guilty. Inspector Broham said the dangerous practice of throwing stones was becoming a positive nuisance. Only a few days ago the boy Murray had lost the sight of one of his eyes by a stone thrown at him. The master of the school wished to have an example made of these boys as a caution to others. , _ Two of the boys of the school gave evidence, and said that the prisoners came on the day in question into the school-grounds, and kicked the boys' caps about and pelted the boys with stones. After the defendants began the boys pelted them back, Mr Charles Beady, the master of the school, was called, and spoke to the nuisance which , was caused by boys assembling m front*

of the school of an evening, and behaving i_n ft, most disgraceful manner. Tbey annoyed the -w passengers, and used most filthy language. He had been instructed by the church^ wardens to prosecute. •> .' His Worship, after severely reprimanding the defendants, fined Carroll 10s and costs, and Beaton and Nicholson 5s and costs, with alternatives of 48 hours' and 24 hours'imprisonment. Robert Ikey was charged with driving round the corner of Queen and Shortland streets on the 18th ultimo at other than a walking pace. Defendant pleaded guilty, and was fined 10s and costs. Thomas Older was charged with allowing a horse to stray in the public thoroughfare. Defendant said he was guilty, but through an accident, as some one left his gate open. Fined 5s and costs. William Patterson, a jovial-looking old man, who responded to his name with aloud laugh, and the remark " Here you are, sir," was charged with driving round the corner of Queen-street and Wyndam-street at other than a walking pace. The Clerk : Are you guilty ? Defendant : Well, you—l dunjknow. The Clerk : Are you guilty or not ? Defendant : Why, you see the horse had got four months grass in him. Clerk : You must plead one way or the ■ I other. Defendant: All right, Sir, (laughter.) Clerk : Well, which is it to be ? Defendant : Its all in the course of nature. His Worship : Will you say if you are guilty or not guilty? Defendent : (With a laugh) Yes, I am. ; His Worship : Well, you must pay a fine . | of 20s and costs or go to prison for seven days. Defendant, who said he had got no money, was removed in custody rather crestfallen. Patrick Doran was charged with leaving his horse and cait unattended in Queen-street on the 30th September without having a chain passed through the near wheel. I Defendant pleaded not guilty. The chain was through the wheel, but had come un- . locked. Constable Mulville was called to prove the V , case. He denied that the chain was through . the wheel. On being asked if he had any questionto ask the constable, the defendant asked Mulville . if he hadn't "got it into him" because he belonged to the Diamond Troupe, and they i had brought in a skit about the perambu- • i lators. s The constable denied this, and declared he ' did not know the defendant, i Fined 5s and*costs. ' John Choat was charged with allowing ; his chimney to take fire in Hobson-street on the 24th ult. The defendant asked for the case to bo j deferred as he wished to produce a witness. Adjourned till to-morrow. Margaret Cockle was also charged with allowing the chimney of her house in New- ' ton to take fire on the 24th September. .'' The defendant, a very old, respectablelooking woman, pleaded guilty, and was I fined one shilling and costs. BREACH OF NUISANCE ACT. Richard O'Callahan was charged with allowing two cows to wander in the Kyber t Pass Road on the 20th ultimo. Fined 10s and costs. , FORGERY. , Wm. Patten was charged on remand with t forging and uttering an order for certain v goods, purporting to be signed by Mr Geo. , Cruickshank. » The evidence already given wa3 read over, j 3 and the prisoner was fully committed fori trial. ■ \; , SERIOUS ASSAULT CASE AT KAIHU CREEK. . j Jamas Heaton, and Catherine Heaton his /• I wife, were brought up charged with a_rj saulting, with intent to do previous bodily i harm, James Watson, on the 6th day off \ September, 1573, at Kaihu Creek. I i Mr*Jnspector Broham said it was necessary \ to proceed with the case at once, as the sessions began on Monday. \ Dr Philson was called, and said : I know D James Watson, He was brought to the Hospital by the police on. the 16th September,, with various injuries on his head. Behind • [ and above the left ear there was a compound fracture of the skull, and injuries to the left j temporal and to the parietal bones. Up--3 wards of 20"frag_ne_ts of bone were extracted „ from this wound, the largest of which in- _ eluded the entire thickness of the cranium, j, leaving an aperture, through which the point B of the finger could be introduced in 3 contact with the outer membrane of the 3 brain. The collective weight of the.frag--3 ments was seventy grains. There was no - protrusion of the brain. The wound 3 of the scalp over the fracture was Y-shaped, 3 the long limb being and inch and a-half in 3 length, and the short one an inch. Behind "_ the right ear there was a scald wound an . inch and a-half long, and on the back of the head between the ears there was a fourth ■ ' ■__ scalp wound also about an inch long. No injury to the skull could be detected from - 3 eitherjof the two last wounds. These appeared p to have been inflicted by a small hatchet, and i from behind. Notwithstanding the severity s of the injuries no symptom of leasion of the . g brain was apparent. Everything has gone _ on favourahly up to the present time. I 0 do not think the man is altogether j; ! out of danger. It is possible he may j i suffer from these injuries all his life. About . : a week had elapsed after the injuiries had been inflicted when the man came under my i care. # ... \ By the prisoner: The wounds were in- 4 flicted from behind. It would have made no , difference as to the severity of the case jf I had had the man under my charge at first ' I Dr John Scott, a surgeon residing and j practising at the Te Kopuru Saw-mills, ! Northern Wairoa, deposed to having the ; ! prosecutor brought to him on the 6th of Sept" tember. suffering from the injuries described f:by Dr Stockwell. He attended him for eight days, during which he was at times unconscious. .After this the man was removed t»] Auckland. \y. James Watson, whose head was enveloped t in bandages, and who showed evident signs . of weakness, was then called, and being provided with a thsir, read over after the Clerk 1 the deposition he had" made at the Hospital. f c This has been already published, and tended to shew that he. Received the injuries from c which he was suffering in prisoner's shanty, when none but |he prisoners were present except a man named Eraser, whekwas lying r asleep drunk at the time. They had all been i drinking, but he was sober enough to know 3 what he was doing. The first blow came i from behind. Nearly all the injuries were received while he was insensible. John Eraser, a gum-digger, was called, and 3 deposed that he lived in a whare near the i prisoner's at Kaihu Creek. He remembered . the 6th; September. On that morning the f female prisoner came into his whare, 3 and struck him a heavy blow on the side - with a tomahawk, telling him at the same . time to get up. A man named Blackie was in the whare at the time. He got up and , caught hold of her arm, while a young man j . named Pashley took the tomahawk out of • 1 her hand. He then went into Heaton's . whare, and asked him what his wife meant - by assaulting him. Heaton answered that he had sent hei to do to him what he (Heaton) in- , tended to do to Scotty (meaning Watson), iJ He went back home and got drunk. Did no., i remember seeing Wa^oa at all oo that day.

i MM»giiiiiiii _iitMi_7_m——mm»»m_—__CTq_____K_a«_i_ < i _$ __ " .id I the 7th, Sunday, he first heard that ' t_._on had been assaulted. The first indication he had of it was seeing bloody clothes hanging out. He asked Mrs Heaton what was the matter, and she said Scotty had got hurt the day before. Asked her bow it was, and she replied shedid not know. Sometime during the day the prisoners came into his hut and conversed about the affair, when ho heard Mrs Heaton say, "It's no use saying any more about it, yon know very well you did it." Before this, witness said "If Watson has been so much hurt it's sure to be found out sooner or later." He was on intimate terms with Watson. He was coming that day to. live with him.

By the prisoner : A week previous to thfi Watson went up the creek--further on—fcr the purpose of living near prisoner's wife, so that she might cook for him. On Thursday, tho 4th September, he recollected askingprisoner's wife tor a sovereign. She refused at first, but afterwards lent it to him. With that Watson and himself went to the Kaihu store, and came back that evening with six bottles of grog. When Mrs Heaton gave him the sovereign he only saw that one, and no more. He did not see Watson give a watch to Mrs Heaton. Did not hear prisoner say that he (witness) had assaulted his wife when drunk and robbed her of three sovereigns.

Some other questions were asked by the prisoner of the witness, but they only bore a very slight relation to the assault. Jno. Wmf Henry was the next witness called. He was a firewood contractor, and remembered seeing Watson on the Gth September in a boat, going up the creek. He got into the boat and went with him and they both landed at the store. They had both been drinkinc* but were not drunk. Heaton's wife came out to meet the. She had only her chemise and drawers on. The drawers were wet. She asked witness to take her husband into custody for attempting to drown her by pushing her into the creek. Heaton was then sitting in his tent. He asked for some brandy, and Watson gave him some. Watson then came out of thejtent, and so did Fraiser. The latter was very drunk. They went into Frazer's tent. Mrs Heaton then came out and asked Watson for three sovereigns he owed her. Scotty said he had no three sovereigns, and she use very bad language to him, and threatened to " knock it out of him." They were all drunk.

By the prisoner : Watson was in the' boat when he first saw him. There were only four of them at the whare.

Alfred Coldrey, a woodcutter, George de Blagrove, firewood contractor, and William A. Marriner, storekeeper, all deposed to hearing the male prisoner throaten to take Watson's life.

Detective Jeffrey gave formal evidence of the prisoner's arrest.

This competed the case, and the evidence having been read over James and Catherine Heaton were fully committed to take their trial at the coming Criminal Sessions.