MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23088, 2 August 1940, Page 12

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

* — THURSDAY (Before Mr E. C. Levvey, S.M.) FALSE PRETENCES ’ Three charges of obtaining goods by a false pretence were brought against William Henry Goss, 26 years of age (Mr D. J. Hewitt). Goss, admitting obtaining clothes from Death and Company, boots from'. Pannell and Company, and a rifle from Turner and Le Brun, Ltd., in each case by falsely representing that he was related to William Goss, timber merchant. Detective-Sergeant J. McClung said the accused had till recently been at the Air Force station at Wigram. His record had been very unsatisfactory. Mr Hewitt suggested a suspended: sentence, adding + hat a period under supervision might help the accused. The Magistrate said the accused’s record showed an intention to continue in the same way. “It shows there’s a kink somewhere,” said Mr Hewitt. “We all have that, Mr Hewitt,” replied the Magistrate, sentencing ’ Goss to four months’ imprisonment on the first charge, and convicting and discharging him on the others. FALSE STATEMENTS Charges of making to the police statements which were contrary to. fact and which they, themselves did not believe to be true were brought against two young women. Elizabeth Louisa Freer and Mary Euphemia Grant. Freer also appeared for sentence for a similar offence. Detective-Sergeant McClung said on May 25 the two women, with their fiances, went to Akaroa. The men booked rooms at the, Metropole Hotel. The next morning both women reported thefts of money from their purses, one of £l arid the other of 10s. Later they made written statements to the police under assumed names. They admitted afterwards* that they made the allegations because they had insufficient money to pay for ‘their lodgings. Both had formerly been before the Court. Freer was “an impudent sort of woman” and needed a lesson. The Magistrate told the* accused’that they ought to know better and "ned each of them £2, ordering payment of costs. For her second offence, Freer was convicted and discharged. CONVERSION OF CARS Frederick Lawrence; Wigg was charged with the conversion of a car worth £235, owned by A. J. Cooper, and a car worth' £120; owned by C. R. Straubel. Detective-Sergeant ■ McClung said that Wigg had converted the cars while absent without, leave, from Burnham. He had also been very untruthful. •■- Mr R. A. Young said that Wigg was taking the blame for a whole gang. Wigg was fined £lO. in default 14 days’ imprisonment on the first cha,rge, and £5," in default seven days’ imprisonment, on the second. CREDIT BY FRAUD John McDowell, a labourer, aged 49,; was charged with /obtaining"credit, by fraud- from Hay’s, Ltd., -on two occasions. . Sub-Inspector E. ,T. C. Turner said that McDowell'had bought an overcoat worth £4 19s 6d without paying a deposit, and sold it to a second-hand dealer.for 10s. Later he had bought goods worth £1 5s sd : in the same way and. sold them, i McDowftU had; opened

the account solely to get things, to resell, said Sub-Inspector Turner. Mr J. K. Moloney said that McDowell was inclined to drink, and might have been drunk and thirsty at the time. j - The accused was ordered to come up for sentence if called on within three years on condition that he take out a prohibition order forthwith and renew it each year, and that he repay £ 1 15s sd. ■ j> ' THEFT OF RADIO Cyril Charles Newsome, aged 22 years (Mr J. K. Moloney) was charged with stealing a z - adio worth £l4 14s, the property- of, Maureen Alma Vaughan, and an overcoat, worth £5, the property ,of Alfred John Clarke. Sub-Inspector E. T. C. Turner said that Newsome, while working at Wigram, had been keeping company with the complainant, and she had given him the radio to mind while she was away. After being discharged from Wigram, he had exchanged.her radio for another radio plus £4. He had sold the second radio for 15sr The overcoat had been bbrrowed and sold for Bs. The accused was at present on licence from the Borstal Institution, said Sub-Inspector Turner. Mr Moloney described Newsome as a social misfit who had not had a good home, and was suffering from a persecution mania. Newsome was ordered to come up for sentence if called on within three years, and to repay £5. REMANDED . Reginald John Spence was remanded for sentence until August 8 on the charge of stealing a motor-tyre, the property of William Henry Paget. Leo Joseph Gates (Mr R. A. Young) appeared on a complaint of failure to maintain his wife. He was remanded until August 19, bail being allowed in the accused’s own recognisance of £25 with one surety of £25, on condition that he pay 20s a week in the meantime. THEFT* OF ELECTRIC POWER Charles Frederick Harvey, a labourer, was charged with tampering with an electric meter and wiring, and with using electricity to the value of 13s 3d, the property of the SpringsEllesmere Power Board, thereby committing theft. For tampering with the installation he was fined £2, and ordered to pay costs, and for the theft of power he was convicted and ordered to. make restitution of 13s 3d. STRAYING CATTLE Gordon Henry Macdonald was convicted and ordered .to pay costs for permitting six cattle to stray on Styx -road. CHIMNEYS ON FIRE Frederick George Morgan and Frederick William Soper were each convicted and prdered to pay, costs for permitting chimneys to eaten fire. CIVIL COURT (Before Mr F. F. Reid, S.M.) ACCIDENT CLAIM W. and J. S. Allen, farmers, of Rotherham (Mr R. A. Cuthbert), claimed £26 lls from D. S. Gibbs, a teacher, of Oxford (Mr H. W. Thompson), alleging that Gibbs was negligent when a collision occurred at a one-way bridge near Culverden on June 19, 1939. J. S. Allen was the driver of the one car, Gibbs the driver of the other. Gibbs made a counter-claim for- £9 9s Bd, likewise alleging negligGllCG. " Judgment was given for defendant on the claim, but he was. non-suited on

.V§T the counter-claim. The Magistrate saiojjj that the two cars approaching the way bridge were equidistant or near-,* enough, and that the plaintiff ran into danger by proceeding. JUDGMENTS BY DEFAULT Judgment by default for plaintiff was given in each of the following civu . cases:—P. G. Clements, Ltd., v. H. V.j-. Hayston, £6 18s 6d; C. S. O. Laurence v. H. V. Hayston, £5 12s 6d; Robert Francis, Ltd., v. Walter Kennedy, £» , ! . 17s Hd; North Canterbury Hospital Board v. F. W. Thompson, £2 2s; , Trade Auxiliary Company of N.Z., ; Ltd., v. C. E. McGlashen, £lO os; Springs-Ellesmere Electric Power Board v. H. C. Ewing, costs only;'lntemational Harvester Company of C New Zealand, Ltd., v. P. Breslin. £*■& 14s; Waimairi County v. Bertie AUstin Sisson, £3B Os 6d; same v. Geoffrey/ ;' Edward Royds, £54 Os 6d; R. D. Bell- : jamin (“Abbott Service Station”) L. Easterbrook, £4 7s 6d. POSSESSION OF RADIO SET William Henry Goss was ordered to return to Robert Francis, Ltd., one radio set forthwith, and in default,(Jj return to pay the plaintiff £l9 10s ana ; £2 for damages. ' JUDGMENT SUMMONS - ' gt On a judgment summons Cecil Har-||; old Pugh was ordered to pay WilfreoM I. Ward £l6 19s 6d. in default 18 day*#, imprisonment, the warrant suspeno«j|| while he pays £3 a fortnight, <i|:.