POLICE V. SHAREBROKER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 305, 23 December 1896, Page 9

POLICE V. SHAREBROKER.

A SINGULAR CASE.

awbb we wenb *° prBBS yeßfcsrdayaffceriLb, the Poiico charges against George South sharebroker, of drunkenness and di.ofderly conducb, and ef obstructing Lfi_t-.bla Timothy McCarthy in the B jrtC«tlot> of his duty, on bhe 18th jßß.ant, wero continued, before Mr Northcfaft, S.M. (Joastablo Clarke, wateh-kousekeeper at {be police-station, deposed bhab South acted In an excited manner ab tha guardroom, and witness put bim out. Tho noaused smelt very strongly of drink, and one would have thought h« bis manner thab he was mad. Witness saw Sonth lying oa the floor, while hia clothes were beiag taken oS. He was lifted up again: He was nob quiet, bub was - cru cjgliHg, The accused was drunk and excited, bub waa aob incapable. Constable McCarthy must have heard South say be panted te lay a complain* against the constable. Soubh was not brought in roUK hly by Gamble aud Quirke, although in was nob taken ia " genti. as a lamb." Thomas Quirke, plain-clothes constable, gave evidence corroborative of the preceding. He deposed tbab South was excitably drank- The facb of his being able to write in a notoboolr. did nob necessarily prove his sobriety. He (witness) had seea a man with fif teoa drinks in him write oub 9 telegram of a hundred words. (Laughter.) There were ditforent stages of drunkenness. Bo.li the smell of the liquor and the conduct of the-accused proved to witness's jatisfactioa that ho was druak. Witness considered from the Bmell bhab the liquor wag a mixture of spirits and beer. (Laughter.) South did nob use any bad language. Thia concluded bhe case for bhe police. THE DEFENCE.

Whoa the Courb resumed this merning Mr Theo. Cooper opened the case for the dafeace. He said in appearing there to dofesd Mr South he was not only defending him, but was also representing the cause of the law abiding and peaceable pnblic againsb an irresponsible police. During His Worship's tenure of the bench here no similar case had come before bim, and be ventured to say thab no .acta case would come before him again. He fslb that a gieat wrong had been perpetrsttd on a respectable man, which, unless corrected by the Beach, would place the citizens at the mercy of irresponsible police. The power thab tho police held was a very great one. It was a power that ehould be safeguarded and administered with every cars! He would bo bhe lasb to suggest interference with the police, but as a citizen he fslb thab a power was placed in the hands ef the police which, unless discreetly used, would become a terror te every citizen. In ths present instance the power had been .tyraaically used. (" Hoar, hear.") Hia Worship : Silence in tho Court ! I'll cot allow that.

Mr Cooper, con tinning, said ho would not) bs doing his duty if be handled the case with gloved haads. While he might, newaak for a dismissal, he would prefer te call evidence for the defence. Mr South was a highly respectable citizen, against whose character no word bad previously been suggested. The police would not brook interference with their privileges, and this case showed thab if a man went up who was not well known and remonstrated with the police he was practically knocked down like a common felon tod dragged to the poiice cells. Ir was Mr South 'a good nature in befriending a strange child which brought bim there in tho first place, and secondly bet.u.o he had dared to criticise the conduct tithe police. Mr Cooper then proceeded ,W criticise the evidence of the police. He commented on the fact thab Sergwoti AfacMahon, who was in the euardroem at the time, was not called by the police as a witness, neither was the mother of the child, Mrs Stack, who waa also there, called by the police. Even if Mr South bad been drunk —which was nob the case—the conduct in ... police in dealing with him was very rough iadeed. He charged Sergt. Gamble with lining his temper, and with jumping to conclusions hastily without making due inquiry ; and he charged him and Quirke with being rough and brutal to South. When be would show His Worship that South was sober, he felt he was justified in characterising tbe treatment ot the man as a gross ratraee and a scandal. ("Hear, hear.") 9a would call a number of reputable iitizena to speak as to Mr Souths sobriety >n the occasion in question. Finally he

jaerted that every police witness in tbe u» waa as much on his trial as was South, 'bey had to swear that South was drunk

order to justify their conduct.

Mr Cooper referred to the bringing in 1 Mr J. M. Shera's name in the police evidence, and said thab in this way an unwarrantable slur had been cast on an jitimable citizen by the police.

Is regard to the charge of interfering 'ith Constable McCarthy in the street, the '»nch said tbab it would appear that oath was quite justified in asking the 'liceman to lake charge of the child, as the ilnbion Army woman to whom ho gave it >the drat place was anxious to get home.

sowth's statement. Tha first witness for the defence was the "Died, George South. He deposed "t he was a sharebroker carrying i.bntiaesa ia Auckland, and he had been tvieuely in the insurance business. " the evening of the 18th inst., after king charge of the child Stack, which f loab in the street?, he saw Constable imotby McCarthy in Queen-streeb, and | Mra Sellars to hand the child to the roemao. The Constable told him to W hia own business. A crowd had colMid by this time- Witness asked the '""table- to take the child to the Police .tion. Witness further aaid, "If vyou 'ttake it, I shall take it myself and rotj you." The policeman did Rot tako '.child, bub walked away. He (South) W up the child himself and Btarted for •Sfation. He met two policemen near v» music shop, one of whom thought was Sergeanb Kelly. pha entrance to the station, he !j eonatablo and a woman carrying a % The constable said "Hallo, here's lyonngater," and asked him to give ib to aa she was the mother. Witness '"No," that he was going to take it J the station, as there was something iflvf '° "** done before no delivered it. "Wb aay to the constable " I'll take 'Mice of you or the likes of yon. He ■-the child into the guardroom and pnb Pie table. Witness moved a book on «bla fc o mft ij e room for thQ c hild, ■6«Pod Constable Clark said, "Don't ■distarb my papers. Stand back." WW apologised for disturbing the *•»• and said he had come te A W-oplaim, againsb Constable Mc|n y» pointing to him, for nob taking the in.?? **im in Queen-streeb when he SMi) had requested McCarthy to do so. .*• »aid, " \y e d on ' b wani) any 0 f tbat -•I Ihiag here; gob oub of this." .'"» *raa Immediately run oub of the bj Clarke. He (Soubh) went back T ■• thou^bb it was a public office, listl hsd a r 'Shfe fco b« tneroMt th" 1 Se'Zßd witneßß and Pub him I 0 • door' <*>n wikneßS comine ■J V«irke again pub him outside led ? a' ley*way. He (South) re•\,u°. the door of the guard-room ml !■ for tha Inspector's office. •*Tfh. olng h6 Beked for the nameß of Mrf» ?_"'_' lnfcho guardroom. They m■ r jname8*aßd he took fchem |&i»fc B'rdlng » man Beated in the P fc, !aV d t0 witneßß, " He'll be no Nta »«V I? 6' 8 • Innatic." On going -' W had tha Inspector's office h«

knocked ab Sergeant Gamble's door, thinking ib waa tbe Inspector's. He tapped wibh bis pencil ; it was nob true that he kicked the door. Tho Sergeant was in plain clotheß. Oa witness inquiring Gamble's name, the latter having asked if he could do anything for witness, the Sergeant said, " I've heard about this before ; get out of this." Gamble and Quirke then seized witness, who was hustled to the top of the stairs and fell from there to the burn in the stairs, some six stops down. They followed witness down and seized him by the legs, and pulled him to the bottom of the stairs on his back. He did nob recollect how he gob into the guardroom. He was searched bhere and stripped of his coab and waistcoab. He recollected being on his back in the guardroom when they ware taking his watch away. He waß lifted on to his feet, and he asked them to leave him alone aod he would take his coat off for bhem, and not tear his clothes about. They took his braces away and pub him in a cell. Half-an-hour later Detective Bailey passed the cell-door witk another man. Bailey said, " Hullo ! what are you doing here ." Witness replied thab be didn't exactly knew himself whab ho was there for, and asked bim to let some of witness's friends know. Subsequently Sergeant Gamble came to the cell and said, " Well, how do you feel now?" Witness said, " None the better for the knocking about you gave me this afternoon." Gamble said, "If you don't keep a civil tongue in your head I'll keep you here all nighb." Witness said, " That'll cause mo some inconvenience but ib won't worry me." ©amble then said, '* You've been doing some ef the J. M. Shera business to-day." The Sergeant then lefb and locked the door. Five minutes later he was released. Witness was ao. a teetotaller. Ab eleven thab morning (tbe 18th) he had a brandy squash at the Imperial Hotel ; half-a-pint of beer at lunch-time at the Thames Hotel, and at 4.30 p.m. a small glass of beer ab an hotel with Mr Wm. Waters, legal manager, aad Mr Ryan, sharebroker. That was all he had tbab day. lie was quite'sober atlive o'clock aad later on. Cross-examined by Sergeant Gamble: The Constable refused to taks the ch.ld from the woman at witness's request. Witness took the child into tbe guard-room in order to lay a charge against the Constable. Sergeant Gamble : Yon wanted to take the child into the guard-room in order to manufacture evidence, didn't you ? Witaess: No. Mr Cooper (to bbc Sereeant): You don'b manufacture evidence, do you ? There was some demonstration amongst the crowd in courb ab bhis, whereupon Sergeant Gamble said: «• Your Worship, thore's a man hissing in the ceurb behind me."

Sergeant Gamble (to witness): Have you seen me before . Witness : I think I have seen you about twice in the Stock Exchange in plain clothes. In reply to another question witness said when he wenb upstairs he " thought he was going to see a gentleman—the Inspector." After the luncheon adjournment the cross-examination of South was continued. In answer to Sergeant Gamble he said he did not think tbe Sergeant was actuated by malice, bub rather by hastiness and error. He did nob feel the wane of his clothes while in tha cell. It was a very warm night.

Sergeant Gamble : Is ib true thab you have told everyone you have met that in the event of this case being dismissed you are going to enter an action against me for £500 ?

Witness : I did say yesterday that I was going to enter an action against you, but I did not say the amount. It rests with my solicitors. I have expressed such an intention.

F. H. Templar, manager of the Bank of New Zealand, Newton, said he considered South quita sober on the occasion in question. He did not see him acting improperly towards the police. Julia Stack, wife of Mr John Stack, tailor, *aid she lost her child, two and ahalf years old, on the day in question, and waa near the police station entrance when she met Mr Soubh, who had the child in his arms. She went into the Police Station with him. Mr Soubh wanted to explain something to the police about the child, but (hoy wouldn'b listen to him. They wouldn't bear any reason or hear anything from him. Mr said, "If you won't bear mo, I'll go to tho Inspector." Sho said the police put bim out of the room very roughly. Mr Cooper : Did you see that done more than once? Sergeant Gamble objected to tho question being put in that way. Mr Cooper: l'tn not going to loam my profession from you, sergeant. Tbe Bench said the question was a perfectly fair one. Witness said Bhe only saw him put out once. South wenb upstairs. Subsequently Bhe saw him with two or three policemen behind him ; they wero very rough with him all tbe time. The accused seemed ao if he had been stunned. He was lying on the floor, and the police were feeling his pockots. She did nob hear him say anything ; he was lying there as if he were ill. Witness lefb shortly afterwards ; South was lying there quite helpless when she lefb. He was very respectful to the police; he never said an angry word at all. By Sergeant Gamble: The constable in the guard-room said to South, "Clear out of that or we'll run you in." The constable was Clarke, who was behind the table. Ib was two of the police who were " running him out." Sergeant Gamble : Who was taking the wntch and chain off tho prisoner ? Witness : lo was some of the bobbies. (Laughter.) In whab way was he looking ill ? His*head looked very heavy, and he was quite helpless, as if he had been shoved and knocked aboub. He appeared as if he couldn't speak. Some discussion arising as to the examination of this witness, Mr Northcroft said he thought this woman, who was one of tbe two only civilians in the guard room (and the other one was a lunatic), should have been called by the police to give evidence.

Sergeant Gamble said the police were practically on their trial and be wanted to tesb the credibility ef the witness now, and bring all tho truth out. John Mowbray, sharebroker, ewore that he saw South on the evening in question in the Insurance Buildings, aboub 10 minutes to five, and conversed with him. South was perfectly sober. There was nob the slightest appearance of excitement or insobriety about bim.

The case was proceeding as we wenb to press.