POLICE COURT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 60, 11 March 1915, Page 6

POLICE COURT.

| (Before Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M.) DRUNKENNESS . Three first offenders were fined 5/ each, and two forfeited hail. James Thompson (44), for getting drunk when prohibited, wa* fined 40/, in default seven days. CAPTAIN OF "THE CUTTER." John James Smith (27) admitted being, a person of vagrant.life, and Chief Detective MoMahon stated that this: young man, who was able-bodied and strong, had for some time past occupied his energy in carrying beer to houses of j ill-repute to which he attached himself. In other words, he "ran the cutter." , Smith was sentenced to three months' jhard labour. THE COST OF LEARNING. I | Alfred Barnett (18) was charged with 'having disturbed an .entertainment at the Windsor Theatre on the night of | [February 17, aud with having used I obscene ianguage. .A lad of schoolboy size stated that he I I was a ticket collector at i the theatre lon the night in question, and Barnett, ' with some companions, was making a I distuTba nee. The witness went along, I and asked him to keep quiet, whereon i Barnett wanted to know if he was "the chucker out."

The manager of the show also stated,' that Barnett was making a disturbance by calling out to the performers, and getting over the seats.

-Barnett stated that be only got over one seat when the vaudeville part of the entertainment was over, so as to be' further back when the pictures started.; lie denied having used the language stated, and brought a companion, -who said he did not bear any obscene language, but admitted he did not see the boy speak to Barnett.

j Defendant protested, in reply to the Senior-Sergeant, that he was not one of a gang of hoodlums that frequented Ponsonby and Freeman's Bay. "Remarking that he supposed theso .youths would gradually learn the folly lof such behaviour, his Worhip awaited the defendant to the path of wisdom by I a fine of £2 and 14/ costs- .Payment |by instalments of 10/ a week were allowed. ..'; ', | THE OPEN DOOR. William A. Peachy, -butcher, of College I Hill, was charged under the cjty by-laws I that on February 24th be failed to keep tbe external doors of his shop closed I except fox the purposes of coming in and going out, and a City Council inspector stated that when he called at | tite shop on the day in question he found the shop door standing open. Defendant waa fined 10/ and 7/ costs. Similarly charged, Robert A. "Wheeler, of Queen Street, admitted that he had the- door of his -butcher's shop pinned 'open, but complained that he did a large shipping business, and it was very inconvenient to have the door continually on the swing.

Mr. Haynes, the chief sanitary inspector for .the City Council, stated tlwt defendant was a frequent offender, and had been fined previously. Remarking that defendant would have to find some other way of getting over his inconvenience in some way other than pinning the door open, the Magistrate lined defendant £3. and 7/ costs. A WARM ARGUMENT. Tony Simlcii (37) was charged that yesterday he assaulted William Ferguson. Ferguson stated that yesterday afternoon he went and -got a -room at Simich's house in Swanson Street. He waa pretty full,' he said, and sat down on the sofa in the kitchen and began reading the war niews, when he said something to Simich about his being a German, and Simich "gave him a clout." He was singing' when he was there, he told Mr. Lundon (for Simich). "Some good old song, and he was a pretty good singer, too," he said. He irasn't hurt very much, but he admitted lie went and got a policeman, and that he had some blood on -his face.

The constable stated that conspicuous features of the kitchen after the scuffle were beer bottles and blood.

' Slmich's explanation was that the man was drunk and making himself a nuisance by singing and insulting witness, and refusing to leave the 'house. He pushed Ferguson down and then ejected him from the house. He admitted that drunken men had caused trouble in tbe house once or twice before this. After hearing further evidence, his Worship convicted Simich and fined him £2. MISCELLANEOUS. " Manaki Kapa (42) and Waka Horkura (25), who had provided the crowd in Customs Street last night with some diversion by Saving a pugilistic encounter, in which the fistic ways of the pakeha were provided with Maori variations, were fined 10/ each. John Robertson, for leaving a home and cart unattended without chaining the wheel of the cart,.was fined 10/ and 7/ costs. For riding'a bicycle that Had. not the registered number painted on it, Harry Clark was fined 5/ and 7/ costs. Wm. Halliday, for permitting four heifers to wander "at Ptl Chevalier, was fined 10/ and 23/6 costs. The luxury of cycling on footpaths in I the Mt.' Albert district was made painfully, apparent to Jack McLeod,, Wm. Page and Ernest Warwick, each of whom was fined a/, and 17/6 costs. William H. Bradshaw (47), a waterside worker, who was arrested yesterday on a charge of having stolen a number of pairs of socks, value 27/, from the s.s. Westralia, was remanded till Monday. Bail was allowed in one surety of £100.