LYTTELTON NEWS

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16584, 25 July 1919, Page 8

LYTTELTON NEWS

MAGISTRATE'S COURT. | At tie Magistrate's Court yesterday mom- Hi ing, before Captain B. Hatcliwe-U and Mr a ]?. G. Norton, J.P.'s.. Thomas Beeves woa 3 charged with using obscene* languog® and «j with damaging, to tho extent of 10s, tho £! glass in the door of a shop occupied by Mm m .onkor, London street. Accused pleaded not H guilty. I | The police gave cridenoe that Kccvca hnt ■ f entered Mre Baker's shop on Saturday night , B last, end, lifting a hand-bell from Ui» ■ counter, nad thrown it at the shop door, : | damaging a pane of glass. "When subsequently arrested by Detective-Sergeant QuarI tcrmaia and Constable H. Joyce, he maua uao of a stream of obsccne esprcosionß, iu the presence of a large number of people gathered in oonncxion with the peace oelobrations. In the vicinity were a number of ladies, including somo_ Rod Cross nurses. A ship's fireman, standing near-by, becoming infuriated with Beeves for using disgusting language in the .preeonoe of women, caught I accused by the throat .in an attempt to Btop vs(' ! the flow of obscenity. Reeves, a man of f'j ' about BO years, was an old offender, having • I . hud forty-eight previous convictions nsooxde'J ' against him, a number of which were fdr using indccent language. On the last twi» chdigcs ho b&d been ocntonoGd to six months imprisonment respectively. The Bench decided to oGnviol or* each of tie present charges. Accused was ordered to pay for the damage done to the door, with tli? alternative of ono month's • im- ; prisonmont, and for using obscene language 1 he was eentenoed to twelve months' impruioßm«nt —without tho option of paying a fin* ; —the maximum penalty for the offonoe. . j HARBOUR LIGHT PICTURES. I The programme now showing at the hji- - 1 to)ton Harbour Light Picture Theatre includes an excellent Paramount dram en- i ! titled "What Money Can't Buy," fj-atunn .' I Jack Pickford and Louise Huff. There wU ,be & complete change to-morrow, when j Charles Ray will appear in a stirring pw I turo-play, "The Hired Ma*." I SCHOOL COMMITTEE. A Bnecial meeting of the Lyttelton Die- [ trict High School Commmittee w» held laai ! i evening. Present—Messrs G. Carson (cliaix- \ i 1 man), A. Amcseni R. Fenton, F. G. Norton, T. Bowden, w. Bush, P. Knights, i.. R, Curtis, and Dr. Upham. The ohairmr.". stated that the pweent allowance from tlio Education Board for incidental expenses waA quite inadequate, iu< view of tho present liifjrn cost of coal, stationery, etc. Tho committee had for some time been working on an overdraft, and there was now an outstanding debt of £20 and two months' salaTy duo to tho janitor. A letter sent to the Bdg- • oation Board requesting fnrther financial av I sista-noe cJicited a reply that the Board oi not in a position to grant additional assist: I anc© in view if the fact that it bad already allocated £1000 over the amount allowedJ>V I tho Government to schools nnder tbo Board s | control. Mr F. G. Norton said that Jt w I grossly unfair that n new committee, doing 1 its best to o«sist the public, should be j treated no shabbily by the Government. On the motion of l>r. Upham it w»S decided ! that the members of tho committee should ) act personally as guarantors for th» debt* ! incurred. Mr R. P<*nton mcrred tM/t a ter be forwarded to the Education Board, ana ( ! also the Minister of Education, statinj? what steps the committee had taken* The mo I tion was agreed to.