PORT CHALMERS POLICE COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 6481, 24 December 1883, Page 4

PORT CHALMERS POLICE COURT.

Saturday, December 22. (Before E. H. Carew, Esq., R.M.) Diseased Cattle Act.—/. .Burt and Mrs Burt were charged on the information of R. H. Johnson, an inspector under the Diseased Cattle Act, with landing a dog from the steamer Tongariro without a permit from an inspector. Mr J. F. M. Eraser appeared in support of the information ; Mr Crooke for the defendants.—A similar charge was preferred against George Simpkins, one of the stewards of the Tongariro. —Mr Fraser stated the informations were laid under the regulations issued on November .8, I#B3, under the Diseased Cattle Act 1881. Defendants had brought out .wi.fch them in the Tongariro two dogs. Mr Bart was informed they would be quarantined. The fee was paid on one of the dogs, but not on the other. The dog was removed from the vessel, and was next seen in the care and custody of the defendant. The defendant had express notice of the law. J. G. Douglass, veterinary surgeon, swore that amongst other dogs on board the Tongariro he inspected two belonging to the defendants. One was a collie. He could hardly tell the breed of the other. It was a little pug-nosed mongrel, without any breed about Ft—a sort of dog easily trained to do any •mount of things. -R. '{Vinson, a subinepeetor -under the Aefc, stated that he had feoarded the Tongariro and laspected the dog*. Mr Bmi, nad two-i collio and a . mongrel liver-eolored spaniel. Witness told the defendant the law about the dogs. Mr Burt paid LlO for quarantining ■ the "%aoiUe, and examination fees...for 90th. i Mrs Burt. ?aid she would have #e jramU flog destroyed rather than pay the WY.

TftexF day when witness went on board j 'she' gave the dog to the steward (Sirapkius), and witness told him he would have to keep it on board. Three or four days afterwards witness went on board again, but the dog could not be produced.—Mrs Lewis, stewardess of the Tungariro, stated the detcndants had a dog in the cabin with them during the passage out—a commonlooking little dog, for which she would not give sa. She never saw it play any tricks. It was called "Tommy"; sometimes "Mr Thoma3 "on Sundays. It was left on board when Mr and Mrs Burt went on shore. Simpkins, the steward, got it. Witness saw Mrs Burt once on board since the ship arrived. The dog was there then.— Cumming, a waiter at the Criterion Hotel, Dunedin, stated that the defendants arrived at the hotel last Thursday week. Next day he waited on them. There was a little brown dog in the room. Witness heard a gentleman call it " Master Thomas." He saw it on a chair with a handkerchief or napkin round its neck. He could not say to whom the clog belonged.—Mr Eraser informed the Bench that two of his witnesses had missed the train from town, and asked for an adjournment until the arrival of the next train.— Eventually the case was adjourned until January 3, at D lined in. Thomas Maycc was charged on the information of Inspector Johnson with allowing two fox terriers to be transhipped from the Te Anau to another vessel without permission from an inspector.—Mr Denniston said under instructions from the Union Steam Ship Company he appeared for the defendant, who is master of the Te Anau, The steamer was away to Melbourae,_ and the witnesses with it. In the meantime there were some law points which, if settled, might prevent the necessity of taking evidence. The first one that occurred to him was that the regulation under Which the charge was laid was ultra vires. It was so worded as to include not only imported dogs, but all dogs, so that a shipmaster was punishable if any dog left the ship. No power to frame such a regulation was given in the Act; the whole regulation was accordingly bad.—lt was agreed that this case should also be adjourned until January 3 at Dunedin.