POLICE COURT THIS DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 79, 2 April 1895, Page 5

POLICE COURT THIS DAY.

(Before'Mr R. S. Bush, S.M., and Captain ' ."■' . Harris, J.P.)' '

Drunkenness. — One firsb* offender was ■ fined ss, with the usual alternative. Larceny. — Frederick Rimmer-.was charged'with having, on.bhe.l9bh mbimo, | sbolen.a quantity of clobhing, of bhe value J of £1. bhe property of Samuel Lewis.— Sergeant .Gamble said* the case had been already heard, bub had been adjourned bo give the accused an opportunity of clearing out, and the police had nob seen him since. —The c/ise.waa adjourned till Saturday. Alluded Desertion. — Arthur Henry William.B was broughb np on remand on a charge of having unlawfully absented him-' self from H.M.s. Katoomba. —' Sergeant' Gamble said tbab when. the. case was adjourned previously ib was understood that i the Kifjtoomba had only.gone outside Tiritiri fr/r practice, bub ib had been ascertained since/thab she had gone bo Wellington.— The/case was accordingly further adjourned for B days. .'.-'" "V - SuEßious Charge. Against a Fruiterer. — Jib the Police Courb this morning, before Mr. R. S. Bush, S.M., and Capt. Harris, J.P.. the police book proceeding's againsb Win. Morrison, fruiterer.on a charge of having on or aboub the4bb/pf March, being the behanbofcerbain premises situated in' Wel-lesley-street west,' knowingly permitted each premises to.be used as a brothel., The cjase had been palled on on Thursday last, out owing to the late hour when the other /cases heard on that day were finished, it was adjourned till to-day, at the request of Mr O'Meagher, who appeared for the defendanb. The case appeared bo have created a great .-deal of interest, for both on Thursday and to-day, the Court was crowded when/to came up for hearing. At Sergeant Gamble's request, however, the court bhis morning was cleared • of; the public before' the case was proceeded with.— t&IT O'Meagher appeared for bhe defendanb, Y^ho pleaded nob guilby.—There was also a /charge againsb bho wife of the accused, of ■having assisted in the management of a brothel.—Sergeanb Gamble Baid ho would have no objection, if Mr O'Meagher would consent, to allow the two cases being heard as one.—Mr O'Meagher objected to this course, and ib was decided, therefore, bo allow them to be heard separately. —Mr O'Meagher said ho would ab the outseb make an objection bo bhe indefiniteness of the time stated in bhe information. The accused was charged with having dono something on or about the 4th of March. The police should state a definite time when the offence was supposed to havo been commibted.—After a groab deal of discussion bebween Mr O'Meagher and Sergeanb Gamble, the Bench decided bhat the prosecution should confino their evidence to what occurred during a weok,— Thomaa Quirke, plaiu-clobhes constable, deposed to knowing the accused William Morrison. He (the latter) professed to bo carrying on the business oi a fruiterer. The room at bhe roar of bhe shop was a parlour, and had a piano in it. Upßtairs thero wero three or four rooms (containing doublo beds) partitioned oft by partitions about 6 or 7 feeb high. Besides the fronb enbrance from Wollosley-streeb there was a back entrance from EUiobb - street. Witness knew .the house to he frequented ab all times of bho day and nighb* by girls who were reputed prostitutes. —Mr O'Meagher objected to bhis evidence oh bhe ground bhab ib did nob refer to the weok they had agreod upon.—Witness, continuing, said ho had seen prbstibubes going into the place, but he could nob give any names. He had also seen men going in, bub they did nob remain very" long. — Sergeant Gamble:- Whab is the reputation of the house?— Mr O'Meagher objected to the question. Evidence ns to reputation, would ittvojye hearsay, and. would be irrelevant to the charge". The objection was allowed. Mr O'Meagher: Do you know the difference bebween a prostitute who ia respectably dressed and any other woman ? Witness : If I did nob know that thoy wero prostitubos 1 would not, bub in this case I know that they are.—Witness, cross - examined by Mr O'Meagher, said thab he had nob seen any of bho girls who frequented Morrison's commit an uct of indecency. He had nob been insbruefcod to wabch the place on any particular date, bub in face had been watching it fpr months past. .Qn /the 28th February ho had stood in a doorway opposite, from hall-an-hour to three hours. On sevoral consecutive nights about'that date he had done likewise. From his position he . could see girls going into bhe shop, and could recognise them, although he did not know their names, — The witneaa was again questioned ab some length as bo his way of detecting a prostitube from a respectable woman. After some time, Mr O'Meagher nob getting an answer from the wibness as ho wished, said : . "If you think you are going to talk to me in that way you will fiud, me a rough customer."—Sergeant Gamble eaid he objected to bhis mode of treatment of a witness. He .asked the Bench to give the witness some protection.—Mr O'Meagher: Do you carry handcuffs about with you 1 — 'Witness :" I do.—Mr O'Meagher : Did you take oub your handcuffs bo a certain girl who is bo be called in this case, and shake them in her face ?—Witness said he would explain to bhe Courb what bhe question was •referring to. He had an interview wibh a jjirl named Kate Casaidy on a certain date with the objecb of getting a statement; from her'with reference to the defendant's house, Sho gave him a statemenb, which he subsequently found to be untrue. Wibness wenb to her a second time, and told her sho had told him lies. Ho took his handcuffs off his braens, and bold her that any person committing perjury would go where Bowdon had gone. — Mr O'Meagher: Did you nob threaten to run her in if she made a contrary statement? —Witness : 1. did not.—Mr O'Meagher : Could you not have impressed her with the enormity of telling a lie without taking onb your handcuffs and shaking them in her face ?—Witness : I .did not shake them in hor face. I merely took them oub. -Mr O'Meagher: Well, then, book them oub. Do you suppose any reasonable person to believe thab you did nob moan thab to be a threat ?—Wibness : I did not.—Mr O'Meagher: Sho did not faint?— Witness : No. —Mr O'Meagher ihen questioned the witness as bo whether he (the labter) had been coaching up some of his witnesses outside in the lobby jusb before bho caso came on. Witness -aid he had, bub thoro was no harm in doing that. Two of his wibnesses had asked him to allow them to see the statements they had made, with a view to refreshing their memories, and he had taken oub hi_ note-book and showed bhem.— Sergeanb Gamble said bhere was nothing extraordinary about thab. Ib was the same thab Mr O'Meagher might have done, and had the liberty to do himself. The police had an equal privilege.— Alfred Ashton deposed to being the agenb of the shop occupied by the accused in Wellesiey-streeb West. The latter had taken the place in September last, and waa initon March 4th.—By Mr O'Meagher: The witness had notrheard anything againsb bhe conduct of the house under the accused's occupancy. By Sergeanb Gamble: But he had given notice to. the accused to quib. Thab was after he had heard of the presenb information having been laid.— Edith Eayre, a single woman, said she had been living at the bouse of - the accused from sometime in January up bill bhe 11th of March. She was there between the 28th ..February and the 4th of March. Witness gave evidence in detail supporting tho charge, and alleging thab she had paid bhe accused sums of money for the use of a room. She alleged that Jen-mo Graham and Polly .Walsh

wero also bhere on the night of bhe 4th of Maricb. Witness did not see Graham, bub knew she was there from whab Morrison told her.. The names of the girls who were in . the habit of visiting the place were Mary Turner, Kate Cassidy, Bella Molioy, Mary Warner, Susy Cassells, Nelly Swanberg, and Lily Irwin. Morrison and wife were in the kitchen when they (wibness and Polly Walsh) went to bed. In cross-examination ,witness refused, to give the name of a man to whom eho had referred. She had left on the llbh of March ab 10 o'clock at night, bub ib was nob owing to any charge of dishonesby. There was ,a. row in the house and Mrs Morrison said she would noo have witness in the house again. Mr O'Meagher: How long have yon known Detective Quirks;?—Wibness : What do you want to know that for?—Mr O'Meagher,: Never mind thab; you bell us how long you havo known "him. It's a delicaeo subject,' bub ,1 am going: to enter upon io, — Witness declined* to givo any reply, and; Mr Bush uphold her objection.— AVitness, continuing^ denied that Detective Quirke held up any' handcuffs' .in ,- front of her _ face and threatened her. When she was leaving Mrs Morrison refused to give hor her box, and told her bo call next) morning. She wenb bo the police about the matter and gob a' policeman, to go' wibh her to the place and demand the box. When she gob the box she found several articles missing, which wibness enumerated. She had endeavoured, to geb' a search warrant, bub.for some reason .she did nob geb it.—By Sergeanb Gamble: Witness said Mrs. Morrison had nob charged her wibh di-honesby. Thero was no till in bhe place, bub a few coppers wore kepb in a, jug, so that she had no oppoirtuniby. of being dishonesb. The letter she had writ-.. ten to Mrs Morrison after she. lefb the place was in reference to some money wibness had lenb to Mrs Morrison, and nob to the missing money. The case was proceeding when we went to press.