MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 40, 17 February 1911, Page 8

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

To-day's sitting of the Magistrate's Court was presided over by Mr. W. G. Bidden, S.M. Appearing after a week's remand for medical treatment, Mary Joyce, with thirty-two previous convictions, was convicted of drunkenness and ordered to pay 15s expenses, in default to spend seven days in gaol. Mary Wilson, with eleven convictions, was sentenced to a month's imprisonment on a charge of drunkennets. For a similar ofience, Michael Higgins, alias Hart, \vas declared an habitual drunkard, and sentenced to a month's imprisonment. A charge of intoxication was admitted by John Driscoll, who had been remanded for a week's, curative treatment, and he was ordered to pay 17s 6d expenses, or spend &even days in gaol. For insobriety, James Patrick O'Brien was fined 10s, his alternative being 48 hours' imprisonment. James Hanmgan was punished in the sum of 205., his option being seven days in gaol. A man named Terence M'Aiear, with a string of aliases and a long list of 1 previous convictions, admilited having been drunk, thereby committing a breach of his prchibtion order ; also having made use of an obscene expression. He was convicted and discharged for the first offence ; fined £2, with a seven, days' default, for the second, and, mulcted in a penalty of £3 for obsoeoelaaguage, his option being a month in gaol. Allegations of drunkenness and obsceue language were denied by a sea-faring man named John Bright;; he admitted a charge of indecent exposure in Jervoisquay. The evidence, was against him. on the first two counts ; hs was convicted and discharged for insobriety; penalised to the extent of £3, with a twenty-one days option, on tihe second, while, forthe obscene conduct Bright was ordered to spend twenty-one days in gaol. A driver named Leonard Gloake, forwaom Mr. A. L. Herdman appeared, d& nied having negligently driven an express at Petone. Dr. Herbert gave evidence that he was driving a motorcar to-ic-tone behind defendants express, and though he sounded his horn severa-Rimes when approaching the railway crossing, m order to pass Cloake on the right side, defendant made no attempt to fiwerv© his cart. Cloak© was driving on his wrong side. Defendant denied having heard the horn ; he had a heavy load which prevented hie looking round, aad there wae a high nor'-wester blowing. His Worship held that Cloake had not kept the look-out ho should have done ; dei6ndant was convicted and fined 20s with costs and expenses 20s, default being 24 hours' detention. A joint charge of having shown threatening behaviour in Allen-street wae admitted by 'lheresa Stevens and Walter Turner, who had a dieputo about a. horse, the female accused alleging t-hati the animal belonged to her. When Tur- ] iner denied it, Stevens struck him over i the face. Each defendant was given 24- j hours in which to pay a fine of 20s, de- I fault being seven days in gaol. Fanny Whittaker," a licensed secondhand dealer, pleaded guilty to a charge that on the 6th inst. she tailed to enter j second-liand articles in a book prescribed ! for the purpo6d by the Second Hand , Dealers' Act, 190b. The articles in question — a pair of trousers, a coat, and pair of boots — had been sold by a man named Ferguson, about whom a detective was making enquiries. They had.' been recorded only on a slip of paper. Mr.- Herdman explained that defend- ' anfc wae absent at the time, and had left a manager in charge. The failure to enter wae a pure oversight. A penalty of £2 ,with 7s costs, was imposed. Courtenay-place, near tho iateri-ection of Tory -street, was the scene of a lively scuffle on the night of the 30th January. Two females participated, and "pkturesquo" expressions are said to have^ been iroely hurled by the contestants. The outcome was tho appearance of William Stevens, Theresa Stevens, Horace Jeyes, and Stella Maslin, who we're each charged with having shown threatening behaviour whereby si breach, of the peace was occasioned. The belligerento «epaxated in pairs, <Kiidi woman engaging the other in vigorous combat ; the men doing likewise. The Stevenses were each mulcted in a penalty of £2, with wit-ncsses"s expenses 6s, default being 14 daya in gaol ; Jeyes and Marelin, who appealed to have been set 'upon at first, were fined 20s each, their option being oeven days' retirement. The quartette will have to pay Ss court costs between them