THE HAYDN ST. ASSAULT.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 163, 23 July 1901, Page 2

THE HAYDN ST. ASSAULT.

COUET PBOCEEDINGS.

At the Police Court yesterday afternoon, before Mr H. W. Brabant fe.M., a young man named John U'llespie was cbfrged that he did on the bth Zl assault one Charles Bellet so as to cause him actual bodily harm. Chief Detective Grace prosecuted ana Mr J. B- Lundon appeared for tne Parkes deposed to attending Bellet at the Eoyal Mail Hotel about 1 a.m. on the morning of July 6. He was bleeding profusely under the left eve his nose was broken, and he had a contusion on the forehead. He appeared to have been severely handled. He attended to the injured man who was suffering from shock. Witness had attended him up to last week. He noticed no smell of liquor about Bellet The wound under the eye could be'caused by a boot, but it was not consistent with a fall on the kerbing or on a railing. Charles Bellet, who gave his evidence through an interpreter, said he was a native of France and residing at 67, Vincent-street, having his meals at the Koyal Mail Hotel. At about a quarter past eleven on the evening of June 6th he left the Koyal Mail Hotel to go to his lodgings. In Haydn-street three men accosted him* and asked him for a match. He replied that he had none and then one of the men asked for a "smoke." Witness replied, "I've no smoke." One of the men remained with witness and spoke to him further, but witness could not understand him. He asked the man to go away, but the man beat him and took his umbrella. Witness then went along to the end of the street and saw four men there. He pointed them out to another gentleman as the men who had beaten him. Witness then caught hold of one of these persons and the other then beat him (witness) and knocked him down. Witness was kicked in the face under the eye and on the head. The men were all strangers to him. He could not say that accused was the man who assaulted him. Accused did not hit him at all, and he believed that he saw accused for the first time on Monday last in Court. When he got up all the persons had disappeared. , Robert Scott, licensee of the Eoyal Mail Hotel, deposed that Bellet left his hotel at about ten o'clock on the evening in question. Alexander Morris, carter, residing1 in Haydn-street, deposed that on coming out of his brother-in-law's house on the night in question witness saw Bellet, who complained that somebody had attempted to rob him, and that he had lost a gold-mounted umbrella. Witness, with some of his friends, accompanied Bellet to the top of Haydn-street, to protect him. As soon bs they got to the top of the street they saw four men on the opposite side of the street. Bellet then darted across the road and caught hold of the biggest man of the four, throwing his arms around his neck. Witness then saw the four mem rush Bellett, and two of them either drag-g-ed or rushed him across the road near St. James' Church. Witness distinctly saw the men hit Bellet. The other two men walked towards witness and his friends. Witness said he saw accused (Gillespie) come away from the fence where Bellet was lying, and witness heard him say, "I'll kick you again, you ." The whole four men came up near witness and one of them said Bellet' had stabbed him in the hand. The men then went down the street and when accused left he said to witness, "Now, mum's the word over this."

Cross-examined by Mr Lundon: Witness told the men to stop kicking Bellet, and when he said thJs they came over towards him. One of witness' friends went for the police. The Court then adjourned till this afternoon.