A STRANGER FROM SEATTLE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 16, 18 January 1913, Page 11

A STRANGER FROM SEATTLE.

—_ius-cd otjt of aucki——td. hint; of vthite slave traffic lnterir-'vn with evidence given in the Police Court yesterday afternoon by i"wnmings. Hammond and We'll?- •' " re "»otne \ery plain hints of ■ recent cxii-tence 1:1 Auckland of a !--- ; fr- oi white slave traffic, with indirat'OUe th.it th" head and front oi it v\ J iu»t the grip oi the law by •Vein* the ■*'" >iirl " r -'- I* came in a case in n-hi~h Lad mc Dallageov-nna (aged ■>i ir!?:- chained that lie habitually consorted vnth persons o; no _wful visible —em~ cf support, and that, he kept a C. u je ;.: i ; curne >trei t. Mount liden. frequented hy persons having no lawful v>ir>'e mean.- 'f support. The case was precede.! V" a_-_inst three Hei- '_.,-, *-->rii>"!. : '-"- , ' > French women, and -.(--• 71.1. c H;_-!.in- iDevillr and Duhoisi. -■'-■-, !;.»d '--en ar-'-.-t c -i at "soft drinks" ■c. P in »;. :.-->V.- street and Hrrbson t-.reet. in .. hich the accused admitted th.'" '-he r-'iji e= in which they were arr? -;e,' iv,',j :u_ a.s houses of ill-fame, aad -jTretd. a- the price of probation, to !e_*"* i.-" •' -ci-'Tr - }- aid remain away from .;• *["}-.« •■ • men and several of the ■~ vjii-s v - -<- the i-'impanions with who - . was charged with consertins. :>-' pleaded " not guilty." and ir. ( < repr- -cited 1-y Mr. R. A. dinger. \ man \mi<> disappeared. Detective Hammond gave evidence as t-i hi'-*ir.g first -.'served Daliageovanna aho'-.: two rnnnths ago. and stated •-_- ----<-cu»ed hi a taken over a house in M-.it-it Eden di.-tnrt from a - renchr—in who *v„ a oon.-tant associate of the women mentioned. For a time j->eviUe and D 'S*ij< lived with him, and they pi-i a-so-*!-; ted -.v;rh the— two women. (' ians=e .i:id Mart ins. from the Symonds -tree' sr.or-s, while two other women. B'lT-T! ir.'i Dupont. paid the house visits. m-->t -rimr there late and staying overnight. ' in three occasions, also, he

■xas s een in the company of a man •nam-d Ajf'' Berr=dra. who had been flogged in South Africa, and had been -ervorte,; from Lc.n-acn for participation io white rlivr tr.irhe. Berreira. who had be?" regularly associated with several oi '.he worn"- in the previous case, had left Auckland on December 15. but one of :'ne women, when arrested, had money order receipt.* showing that she bad since bis departure sent £127 to j._i>ourne to birr-. Detective* Hollis and Cumrnings gave similar evidence, the latter specifying dates and occasions when he had seen accused at the places of the women and in the company of men associated with them. SALOO.V-KJ_"PER FROM S*_ATTLE. Accused, in "riving evidence in his own defence, stated that he was an Italian by birth, a Parisian by education, and an American by adoption, and that he had for a ninn-ber of years conducted a saloon bar in Seattle. Speaking English haltingly, and more or less unintelligibly, he explained that he had left Seattle on account of the action of a political firebrand named Matthews, who. in an attempt tn reiform the liquor -traffic of the city, had retained the services of the famous American private detective Burns, with the result that a number of prosecutions of saloon keepers had followed inree indictments had been sworn against him, that he created a nuisance, and he had fought them, and got a dismissal. But it had been a costly fight, and he had had to realise on his business. Wiui the result, that he started for a world trip with something approaching 10,000 dollars. He had looked in at Auckland w»»j the object of starting in business here and had paid a deposit of JioO in connection with a business here, while he had commissioned his agents to oDtain particulars concerning a residence he wished to purchase. He had met a number of business men in the city, and protested

that he knew nothing of the repu —-ion of Dartis, and did not know of the association between Deville and Dubois with the women. Two women had visited bis bouse twice, but he had no otner assoctation with them, being practically a ?tranger to them. Cro«-e_—mined by Chief Detective Macilahon (who conducted the prosecution' he disclaimed any knowledge of Berreira. When Mr. McMabon said that Berreirx .vi, known as Alec Courrier. and had a s-hnp in Shortland Street, tbe accused admitted that he had known that man. He did nor remember who nan introduced him to Courrier, but he though; they had picked up an acquaintance on the racecourse track. He disclaimed any knowledge of Courrier's past histor;-. - If he no good, why you not 'pinch' him?" he inquired of the Chief Detective. T'"'n:RESTED IN " FOLIIICS." " Is it not a fact." asked the Chief Detective, that you absconded from Seattle -. that y>u cleared out from a bond." "Cleared out? 1 went first-clas*." • *f Thief-Detective pert-isted on the ffi-U.-r of the bond. "Oh, I expi—n thai. Tait'e politics." re-Lied Dallageovanna. Ar<j }t? n-ert into an explanation of local pontics la ;lie city of Seattle, in which ne eri'e-avo-red to make it clear that be ".'.l playel a considerable part in the in;reite nn-er-currrats of influence that F'-ycd round the municipal privileges of Seattle. He .had secured the privilege ■throujh the o-ood office- of a political DOfrs" of running a dine* hall —"t-he best dance ball in "be State." but later ate Slayer had the place of giddy amusement closed because he *-,=.' ; t v . ( - . rr . o f.-ap." "too open." la? icc_e<l con tin ued in a statement which proved rather difficult for his Ecg-j-»h vocabulary. v : :h the result that it "s doabtful if. at the en i of the explanation, the Court knew where the skipping oi the bond came in. The impress-on left *»* that American municipal life is full •"'(-irk and devious ways, and those who ™ af) tried to follow the explanation were ready :._, give cveilcn.ee to an incidental Previous remark by accused, when he •aid he did not understand New Zealand *ays, which were much more strict and Vtite d'.fer-'nt from American ways. In concluding his evidence under crossaccused s:i ; d that he and Dabols had cc— c to .New Zealand by **-* sa - rn '' bout, he finst-clafe and Dubois ' 6 **ond-ola_=-. INVITED TO GET OUT. Mr E. r. i utten. S.M.. said that the 'a :s.- s 0 f the Ac: under which "jtcj-e-i wj, charged made a n-et intende-i [ iOT person* agraine*. whom specific wines of various kinds could not be P[ o *'ed. bat who wpre undesirables. ■Oters rras not the slightest doubt that we e-rfaence brought accused within the ■Jrtioite of the Act under which the were laid. lie had had fre"Pjenttng his house both men and women . ao Lad admitted to running houses of ffl-fame, and he had also been spending * great, deal of time with them- The given by iccused in his own j7*®ce amply proved the charges against ~*o. It sJ-owed that he had got himself _ in _h>—er -part of the world **ffi_h she, sail—_c_ss-of offence. The

evidence showed that be was indicted in Seattle for a '•nuisance," which w_i much the same in cot—iron law as the present charges, and-be 'himself stated th_ct his offience consisted in having run a dance hall in too open a "way, which was, in effect, that he was running it as an immoral place. Reading between the lines of the evidence put before him, Kis Worship was &?t.isrfied that accused -was a in est undesirable person to have in the com—unity. "'So anxious am I that he ■should not inflict 'himself on out community,"' corrt—lied his Worship, "that I am willing to a!low Kirn the same privilege* us -was given the others. If he clears oat of -the country, the matter will stop at that." Mr Singer asked that the accused be allowed time to get- evidence from America that would clear the stigma from his name, but his Worship declined, stating that he had formed his op—ionAccused accepted the terms, and the magi«tr_-te convicted and ordered him to ec-me up for sentence when called upon, remarking that if accused came before him for sentence he would get the full term all-owed for the offence.