THE COURTS-TO-DAY.

Evening Star, Issue 7333, 4 October 1887, Page 2

THE COURTS-TO-DAY.

SUPREME COURT—IN CHAMBERS.?

(Before Mr Justice Williams.)

Re Henry, Brown Murray, bankrupt.-f-Motion for order closing bankruptcy, and that day be fixed for application for order of discharge. Mr Stuart appeared to move.' Order accordingly; and first sitting in bankruptcy fixed to take place after expiry of fourteen days. Re George Hallt, bankrupt. —A similar application, and Mr Solomon appeared in support.—Order accordingly. Re Joseph Glass, deceased, and the Trustee Act of 1883 and the Administration Act of 1879. —Motion of order in terms of petition of administratrix, Mary Ann' Glass. Mr W. Macgregor appeared to move.—No order made. divorce and matrimonial causes act. Bradmore v. Bradmore and Galbraith. —Motion for directions as to service, etc. Mr Sinclair appeared to move.—Order made as to dates. PROBATES AND LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION.; Re Robert Johnston, deceased..—Motion for probate (Mr A. Adams).—Order accordingly. Re James Richmond, deceased.—Motion for probate (Mr A. Adams).—Order accordingly. CITY POLICE COURT. (Before Messrs T. M. Wilkinson and F. Wilkinson.) Drunkenness.— Mary Rennie was fined ss, in default twenty-four hours' imprisonment. 111-treating a Child. Augusta Margaret f'ofvell was charged with having assaulted,'wounded, and' i|l;trea£ed Powell, on or about the 9th day of September, at St. Clair. The charge was laid under section 44 of the Offences Against the Person Act, 1867. Inspector Weldon conducted the case for the police ; Mr Denniston, instructed by Mr Hislop, appeared for the accused. Eliza Anscombe, wife of Mr Anscombe, storekeeper, deposed that she lived next door to accused. On Friday, the SJJrd of last fponth, accused sent for her, and when she went in she found accused's baby in a fit. Prior to that witness had seen nothing wrong with the child. Did all she could to bring the child round by bathing its legs and feet with warm water, and after it came out of the fit put it to bed. Was in the house about half-an-hour. Was called in three times altogether —once again on the Thursday following the day of the fit, and again on the day afterwards. The child was in a fit each time. Never saw the child ill-treated. Mrs Powell had showed witness the child's body. It had marks on its back and face and armß, which Mrs Powell said were caused by the child falling. Would take the child to be about two years old. Mrs Powell said the child had fallen from its cot, and also down the steps and in the house. Had no recollection of her accounting for the marks in any other way. No'vef saw Mrs Powell strike tpe child, and had not heard it' cry much 1 ; Crossexamined : There were two children in the house. The boy appeared to be well looked after. Mrs Klabn was sent for as well as' witness on Friday last. Mrs Powell seemed anxious to get the child restored. Mrs iftowelj yolimtarily showed the marks on the child. There is a flight of steps at the back of this houge. Did not think the child's arm was broken. The arm was swollen, but Mrs Powell said she had bathed it, and was sure it was not broken, as the child had pipked up a ball with it. Mrs Powell said that she had been chastising the child by slapping it, so as to break it of an objectionable habits It was a hard slapping. Witness advised Mrs Powell to send for a doctor. Re-examined : The bruises were apparently fading when witness saw them. Mrs Powell said she had used a strap to chastise the child with.— Jjdmnnd A na GQmbe, fourteen years of age, son of the last witne§s, said that about three weeks or a month ago he was looking through the fence into Mrs Powell's yard, and saw the baby walking from one fence to another. It was being made to walk by being thrashed with a strap by Mrs Powell. The baby fell down, and was thrashed to make her get up. Witness was there ten minutes. The thrashing was going on when he first looked through the palings, but it was done when he went away. Witness tola accused to let the child alone. She replied that it was more able to walk than he was. The child's fape was all over blood. Witness went and told his mother what; he had seen. Cross-examined i Had never seen the child thrashed previously. Never saw the boy ill-treated. The child was not orying j he thought it was afraid to cry. It might have been less than ten minutes that he was looking through the fence. By the Bench : The child got up of its own accord. Mrs Powell hit the child once across the face with the strap. The strap was like the one produced. Sergeant Macdonell went to accused's house last Sunday about three o'clock in the afternoon, and told her he had come to see how the child was. She said that the child was all right; it could not be better. She also remarked " That is Dr Martin's work " referring, witness understood, to his visit. Accused said the ohild had some dirty habits, and she had beaten it. She said she would defy anyone to have a dirty child and not beat it. Asked to see the ohild, and saw that it had faded blue marks on both cheeks and both ears; a mark also on the nose—a fresher mark. The left arm, from the wrist to above the shoulder, was all black and very much bruised. Bruises also, but lighter ones, were to be seen on the back of the shoulder and on the small of the back. The left hip and thigh were very black and bruised, The seat on both sides was also bruised, and the thighs and legs aB well. The left leg had three or four small wounds, and the ankles showed marks of old wounds or sores. Accused remarked as to the marks qn t&e ankles that they had bran caused by mustard haying b.een applied when the child was in a fit, On the inside of fche right thigh there was a fresh mark. Regarding the large bruise on the right arm, acquseg said she did »ot know how that' it might have been caused by her. lifting the child up. The small mark on the back of' the head accused said was oaused by a-fall. She said the ohild had had fits; that Dr Martin, who had attended the child, had said that the harsh treatment had caused the fits; and she'haJ -promised Dr .Martin not to beat the-iflhild again'. In order to show that the child was not hurt, accused made: this child walk slowly;up and downther floor for about ten minutes, and it did ao in a manner that caused witness to think the • child had been trained' to' that exercise J

A'aousedSfflld that she then believed she had child, but she had Martin said that he i»4 first the child on the 18th Sepfembefy jandtleas informed that it jday was then a sinillinayk on its nose and oppeij lip} asd to hi&e peek caused by a fall whenjjiu a jfit;; Wttnepsj considered that was quit* possible, ,Jtty&va& tse child was belter no; furtherJpjatrnent was required. beinfj™pf if the' child had any more 6tfH^^j^^^^fia.y ;s4ast was called again, '-Mid'"observed Wue J and black marks on the chtidk asking the cause, was told it was a fall the child had had the day before. Seeing bruises on the other side of the face, he doubted that statemeat, -»and child. There were black marks all over the child's body, more especially on the left side—on the arm, leg, and thigh. Asked the cause- of-the marks-,-and ac<resedsaid she had had..tq beat-the. to dirty habits. She said" that' some of the marks on the thigh were done by her, but the other marks she could not account for. Did not notice any marks on the head, but it was so marked all over that it was hard to find a place where there was no mark. Had seen the child again this morning, and found the left fore-arm had been fractured at no distant date. Blows would produce the marks he saw. The effect of these injuries was that the child was extremely nervous; very probably the beatings were the cause of the fits. Cross-examined: Other causes, and other causes alone, might account for the fits. The arm might have been broken by a fall against some hard substance. But for this injury there was no grievous bodily harm. By the Bench : The child was well nourished and fed. —Dr Roberts deposed that the child was brought tojthe Hospital yesterday afternoon, when het examined lt.> sbrjiises all ov&cJtfaV-xboi&riitmi, more concentrated marks over the arms and thighs. Found also a fracture of one of the ibopes of the arm—a decided fracture of one and a doubtful fracture of the other. The fracture might have taken place about three weeks ago, but the "anion was fairly good. He thought the fracture was caused , by- direct violence and not by a fall, and the bruises were caused by violence applied to /the surface. Cross-examined : A fall from a height might account fpr the fracture. By the Bench: The bruises! not permanently injure ,the..child's ,health., This clqsed the 'case tdf the prosecution.—Mr Denniston submitted that this was npt.a case for the" higher Court.' "The"Bench were npt bound down tprtbfi particular iprm' in which the indictment was framed, but could, if so disposed, take ; the ehargtf under the Justices of tha Peace Act and deal with it summarily. He contended that the only "grievous-bodily harm" sustained by the child was the fracture of the arm, and there was no evidence cto show that this was caused by the accused, nor to show any directfviolehce on her part,' nor to , show that she had any ill-will towards the child or any desire to dolt an injury. All that was disclosed by evidence was that Mrs Powell, in"trying to cure'the child of an objectionable habit,- had.injudiciously whipped it with a strap. That, however, was not direot violence. was evidence that the child had had fits.—(The Bench: Dr Martin said that the beatings had caused the fits.) That was only put forward as a possibility, and no jury would convict on a mere possibility. There were dozens of ways in which tits might be caused. Further, another poin* in accused's favor was that she openly called in the neighbors and voluntarily stripped the child for their inspection. If she had wished to do the child an injury she would .not have acted in * that 'manner. ' been'' shown that the child was well nourished and fed, and he submitted that the annoyance, I expense, and publicity Mrs Powell«had already suffered in themselves a severe lesson for her Want of judgment in her tod severe correction of the child. If a reprimand were not" deemed adequate', a fine would certainly meet the case; His point was this: that there Wft&,no evidence that the child's arm was broken by Mrs Powell, and that the bruises were simply the result of an injudicious amount of correction; and therefore a reprimand or fine would be ample punishment.—The Bench,afterafewminutes' deliberation, said thatthey had decidedto take the charge under section 181 of the Justices of the Peace Act, 1882. They found that the child had been very grossly ill-treated, and would fine the accused L 5 and order her to find sureties—herself in L2O, and another in the same sum—for her good conduct for six months. —Inspector Weldon applied for costs which were granted.