MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 87, 6 January 1908, Page 8

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

[ , ..A,sitting of./the.:Magistrate!s~L.Court-'..was. : held on Saturday morning'bcforo MessrsEE. Baker, -E. •. Carrigan, and 'C- C-'i Ciump, J.P.'s. THEFT OF A PUKSE." A middle-aged woman named Margaret Cassidy, alias fleam,: alias Coles; appeared to answer a charge of . stealing a purse con> > Emily Morgan. Accused entered a plea i of. " ./Uii x Eniily .Morgan stated, that. she-, was sitting . in .the waiting-room at ~tho .Manawatu railway .station, previous,; to. going , to, her,.liome at Jqhrisonvifle, .when accusca.came. up-and removed, a. small hahdba'g. ;,whichwitiiess had left ori./a .table .in the ; room. Accused' had left her own. bag on -tip; handle of the door. Witness, followed, accused,, who returned-the bag and. all,, its contents. .with ■ the exception of the purse,'cdrit3ining'Bs.': 6d. Subsequently tli'j purse was returned', empty, having been found under one of, accused's arms. ; w Arthur., Ernest Pollock, , stationiuastor, deposed 'that the -.'mattcf /Tras^'asptainea ...to. him' , by. ,t-|ie previous .witness;; arid'[lie : 'approached accused and- found, her.im'a muddled, state.-' Sho would give : 110,' answer; when witness spoke to. her, Ho,found'-tiie purse, produced, . under, on? of accused 1 !; arms..:. 1 : . Constable, Johns .stated.-.that when he arrested accused shei'statQdi.tia't'sho. had, picked the piirso 'up on th'o'iraiiw'ay, platform/ . Accused stated, .that ' she' 'camei ,in from, Johrisonville .during the day;. and had a fewdrinks .before going to 'thb 1 . station:.to catch her train. When she 1 picked up; cbmpliiinant.'s bag it, was quite .a mistake; as she- had no intention, of .talcing otlicr,:.thaii: her: own property, her bag having;been': left .iii the room; Defendant asked for.a-charice, as she had' sorae'.omploymehji .to; gb ;to/-;.: -■/. . ■ .. .The: Court imposed ;.,! - sentence of one montli's.harjl.labour,.and. ordered the purse and money to be , returned) to the'owner.' SEAMEN IN THOTJBLE. / . .Two trimmers.belonging tothe 'New .Zea- • land' Shipping Company's steamer ' Kaipnra, Oscar Larsen. and ChaHe's Collins, pleaded guilty to a, charge of combining;, to, disobey tholawful commands of the master of tlie vessel.',' , ~'■ '• -' -.' '~ .. ,: . , Evidence , was given by, the officers of the steamer to .the .effect that'both accused had given a great , deal of .'trouble onboard, both lit Auckjand arid in Wellington,, and on the run. down the coast. They, hid, kejit'.to their bunks,, and, had refused to work, notwithstanding the fact that every effort had'iieen made to bring them .to: a sense .of their.: responsibilities. According to one of the engineering staff,'who had warned, one of: the accused, that he ,ran a risk.-of being sent to gaol for refusing duty, a -reply was given that gaol did not matter, as he (the trimmer) had been .used to working on a' Norwegian ship at the point of .the pistol.: Tho idea of tho men'in giving so''much, trouble, it was stated, was to get paid off in .New .Zealand so that they could remain here. ' •; ;; A sentence of one month.'s imprisonment with hard labour was imposed'ill each case, the men to return to their ship after serving the sentence'. ' V ' . MISCELLANEOUS. - ■ ' i . A middle-aged man named.' John -Smith, ' charged- with committing' an '. indecent, act, ! was remanded until Wednesday iiext.' : j Mary Wilson was convicted'and sentenced i to seven days' imprisonment with hard labour on a charge of drunkeniujsis,-.aii'd John O'Hagan and ono. first offender were convicted and discharged. ' ; " , ] '•; i A batch of-six offenders-for "drunkenness ] was dealt with by Mr. T. S. Lambert; J.P., j at the Mount Cook police station oh Siitur- j day morning. William James Smith- .was E convicted .and fined 55., with the alternative j of 24 hours''imprisonment, one 'first bffondcr ' was convicted and fined us., and four others , were convicted and discharged. ' , ' i