POLICE COURT.—This Day.

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1496, 26 November 1874, Page 2

POLICE COURT.—This Day.

(Before Thomas Beckham, Esq., 8..M,). TtJMBLEES. ; J. D. Johnstone, John Wellington, W Alexander Bean were fined 10s. each and drunkenness.

BILLY SAtJNDERS. Wm. Saundera was charged with dro^k' enness and vagrancy, also with usuig obscene language in Queen-street last night-

Prisoner pleaded guilty to the charges. Mr. Inspector Broham said the languag9 used by prisoner was of a vile character. Prisoner was ordered to pay 10s. for being drunk, and 40s. for the bad language, or suffer a term of imprisonment.

THE BIGAMY CASE. .Xi Richard Rathbone, a respectable looms man, again appeared on the charge of having two wives—Agnes and Mary. . . ■, Mr Broharn asked that defendant uagP* be discharged, as his first wife was already married at the time of the contract, anaa* had not seen her for seven years.

Discharged accordingly. /',,■ . A SIMPX.E HAN. „ John Wendover was again brought up » a charge of being drunk on the whart, ou night of the 24th instant. ~jj Prisoner was remanded yesterday on • charge, as he declared that he was no idruM, only weary with labour, and he °ml%? TJ t a witness to prove it. The witness did appear, and according to prisoners wiwt was again remanded until to-morrow-Catherine Heaton was charged with .a* enness and vagrancy on the 25th^ aId .0 Prisoner, who was an old offender, / she had tried to get a situation, B» . failed, consequently she got drunfc , Three months' imprisonment wiw labour. iT)ll ,, ff THE UNFOKTUNATE BABMAN. _ $ . John Gillanders appeared in MgJ oft he summons charging him «t » J ;jl ,t' Licensing Act, withi hatngon theW being Sunday, supplied James W»»»,

W nout navin S a license to I SfJS pleaded not guilty. I J^B for defendant. I O'Reilly, member of the Armed I °f hulary, deposed stopping Brislin with I (JonetaP j Q Greyhound yard, on I*a the Istinst- at a cluarter past eight Si»W'. £j, e morning. He interrogated 9<c ■ n the subject, when he told him he rJ' s'i° beer from'the bar, and pointed out H^ sent defendant, as the man who had him with the beer, and to whom he Is 4d for the same. H raes Brislen, who trembled, with agita- • cave his evidence in a nervous style, t10?' ° a nn derstood to say that he knew detot as M* Corcoran's barman. He lived nd waS yis^e^ by tnree thirsty bona £ travellers, who were dying apparently "beer. He was prompted purely by benefeelings in the matter, and rather I the men should die in his house, if beer old save them, volunteered to fetch four The defendant served him and took pints. *■"■ Michael Corcoran, deposed that he was the hodJord of the Greyhound Hotel, and that pendant had been in his employ as barman, Lsixanda half years. He ordered him jima months ago, not to sell beer or any jther liquor on a Sunday.^ When the beer •as sold, he himself was in bed and knew jothing of the matter. Mr BTesketh said that Mr Corcoran was ,oi aware of the sale, and he could show by fitness that the barman had a narrow es--pe of losing his situation.

His Worship said that somebody was responsible, but it would not be right to convict ]Ir, Corcoran, if the barman stole the beer, lliich was not disproved, as Mr Corcoran did not take any money out of the bar that jay. He should like to see such an alterajjon in the Act, as would allow publicans to open for a short time for the sale of what is ailed dinner beer. By such a concession a pest deal of perjury and wrong-doing would ie avoided. This was a matter of great importance, not only to publicans but to the mblic generally, he would therefore look jirefally into the case, and give judgment at (Bother time, --ft He must say that he had been perfectly astonished at the difficulties to be met with in the carrying out of the law in respect of Sunday trading. He hoped the law wonld be plain upon the matter ; he believed the least of two evils would be to allow publicans a limited time on Sundays for supplying the puolic with beer. He would give JlrHesketh notice of the day when he should Is prepared to give judgment.

CITY RATES. A lengthy list of names of persons who lad been summoned for non-payment of cityutes was referred to, but which were all settled out of court. The representative dicers of the City Council are extremely Ibbj in making up rate-paying defaulters just WH, and in issuing summons.

This was all the business