CITY POLICE COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 5969, 29 April 1882, Page 2

CITY POLICE COURT.

Saturday, April 29. (Before J. Logan, Esq., and J. Brown, Esq., J.P.) Drunkenness.—For this offence James Osbourne was fined ss, with the option of twenty-four hours imprisonment. Cruelty to Animals Act.—Thomas Everett was charged with having illtreated a horse the property of his father on the Cargill road on Wednesday last.— Sergeant Macdonell stated that on the day in question he observed the defendant trying to get up his horse, which had fallen down with a dray-load of clay. The animal was very old, and in an extremely poor condition, with two large sores in its back-bone; in fact,

totally unfit for work. Th.e sores wore old ones, but had been recently exposed by contact with the harness.—John Davidson, inspector of works at South Dunedin, said that he saw the horse fall. The ground where it fell was very rough, though soft. The horse was an old one, and not fit for work. In cross-examination by Mr Callan, who appeared for the defondant, witness said that he had often noticed the sores on the norse's back; they were so large that they eould be seen on Flagstaff. The animal would not do to out up for cats' meat, because there was no flesh on its bones. The ground where it fell was so soft that it would be nothing strange for a horse to stumble there.—Defendant stated that he had not used the horse for a woek prevtous to the 26th, on which date he only used it for half an hour The sores were broken open afresh when the animal fell. As soon as the horse was unyoked it was taken away and had not been used since—nor was it intended to be used again. He promised the Bench to see that it was shot.—The Bench expressed the opinion that the animal was one that should never have been put into harness. They, however, agreed to adjourn the case for a week to enable the dbfendant to carry out hie promise to shoot it.