THE COURTS-TO-DAY.

Evening Star, Issue 9307, 4 December 1893, Page 2

THE COURTS-TO-DAY.

SUPREME (GOUBT.-CRIMIIiIL SITTINGS. (Before His Honor Mr Justice Williams.) His Honor took his seat at 10 a. m. THE GRAND JURY consisted of Messrs J. H. Morrison (foreman), T. Begg, W. Christie, sen., DavtdXThratie, J. J. Connor, D. R. Eonson, J, Fleming, J- Fotberingham, J. B. Gilmour, W. Gregg, A.;IL tavingstone, A. F. W. Lone, J. M. M«Kay, G. Marshall, J. Mathews, 8. & Myers,;. A. Paterson, P. G. Pryde, and W, Thomscrar ,'.. HIS HjJKfJS'B OTUBea Mr Foremen and gentlemen of the Grand Jury,—The number ofeases yonwill have to consider thia morning is rather larger than iwuaL The crimes charged, however, are very much of the same class as yon have been itt the bafeH of MMideriag. There are five cases of house-breaking, three of assault a case of larceny, one of indecency, a case of anon, and a case of perjury. Uie» will you, Itbrak, find any difiiculty. As yon are jwofcably aware, your dofcy-i* to ascertain aecostd. If there

to wi»trCTytw ignore the bilk 1 donOtththk that in any -of 'the (pater any legal points "triwi which ,«iU for comment your room the bills will b+laid.befOre you. The Grand. Jury retained true hills against Joseph Bvat», Catherine Stereo-pa, William Raid, Wilhato Armstrong'Bwftojn. John Guillmot, Annie Robertson, Daniel Fogarty* Frederick Tofield, Henry Ginsberg, Percy Arthur Quinlan, Thomas White M'Lellan, and James Couper. NO BILL. In the case of William Roach, ; charged with housebreaking, the Grand Jury returned a no bill, the foreman remarking that the evidence was that of some small boys, and the jury were unable to agree upon it. AGGRAVATED ASSAULT. Joseph Evans, charged with au aggravated assault upon Julia Ann Rushton, pleaded not guilty. Accused was not represented by counsel. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr Haggitt) said that the facts were very short. On the 29th of August last prosecutrix was iu * the house of a Mrs Hayes, off King street. Prisoner went in and asked Rushton whether she would make it up with him. They had had a quarrel some time previously, as the result of which they separated. Prosecutrix replied thut she would not make it up with him, and accused struck her in the face with his fiit, her face being at once covered with blood. He also struck her a second hlow, and then went away. As he wentout of the door Mrs Hayes spoke to him, and he remarked to her "I have done for her this time, at any rate." The woman was taken to the hospital, and Dr Hogg found a triangular wound on the <iu«e which could not have been made by -a nst. It was thought that it might have been made by a ring, but «o ring was found jn prisoner's possession. A file was, however, found in his pocket, and it was supposed that it was with this that the wound ■;ras inflicted. Prosecutrix had to receive hospital treatment for some time, and was ilishgured as the result of the blow. The assault was entirely unprovoked, at any rate go far as that day was concerned. On the application of accused, witnesses were ordered out of court. The witnesses called by the Crown were Julia Anu Rushton, Annie Glossop, Dr Hogg, Constable Cooaey. The constable said in answer to Mr Haggitt that Ellen Hayes, one of the persons subpeenaed as a witness, was at that moment in a police cell, having been arrested this morning for drunkenness. l)r Hogg testified in the .course of his evidence that <Jhe wound might have been jnade with the file which was taken from the prisoner. To the best of his (the doctor's) belief tho wound was not caused by a fist. The witnesses were cross-examined bj' accused. At accused's request the evidence of Ellen Hayes, as taken in the lower court, was read to the jury. Evans pointed out that in that evidence Mrs Hayes spoke of Mrs as not being in the house when he called, whereas the evidence of prosecutrix was to the opposite effect. Accused elected to give evidence on oath. His statement aa to the occurrence was that on the evening in question he went to Mrs Hayes's place and asked Mrs Rushton to #o to the theatre with him. She rofused, M*» in doing so used an opprobrious expression jn referring to him. Accused added : * ' She dishonored me and my dead mother with that »-ord, and I struck her twice. The words carried me away, and I didn't know what I was doing." It was with his I hand that he struck her. He had no illfeeling towards Rushton, and had gone to her hou«£ to give her 4s with which to pay the rent. : In summing up, His Houor said that the I provocation pleaded was not in law sufficient to justify the assault. If there was provocation of the kind it might be taken into consideration in mitigation of punishjtnent. In order to justify an assault the person who commits the assault must either have been himself assaulted or must have committed the assault.in order to proteot himself from an assault which he believed would probably be committed upon himself. After fifteen minutes' deliberation tho jury returned a verdict of guilty of common assault. .Sentence deferred. MALICIOUSLY WOUNDING. Catherine Stevenson pleaded not guilty to a charge of maliciously wounding Eliza Tattersall. A second count charged the infliction of grievous bodily harm. Accused was not defeuded by counsel. The Crown Prosecutor said that on the 14th November the prosecutrix and accused und other women were drinking iu a house iu King street. Prosecutrix had sent out once or twice for beer, and, refusing to send for more, accused picked up a tomahawk and struck prosecutrix twice on the head and onee oa the shoulders. Prisoner denied all knowledge of the affair, but the facts would be spoken to by witnesses who saw the blows struck. Evidence was given by prosecutrix, Susan Gavin, Mary Goddard, Dr M'Adam, and Constable David Stewart. Abused, in answer to the Registrar, said she did pot wish to give evidence, and remarked that she did not commit the offence. She asked that a woman named Hayes should be called to give evidence on her behalf, but it was explained that this woman had this morning been locked up for drunkenness. It was found, however, that she was iu a fit state this afternoon to give evidence, and she was accordingly brought to the court and placed in the witneaa-box. Her evidence was to the effect that at the time the offence was said to have been committed she was asleep, and "dead to the world.'' Accused, in addressing the jury, again denied having committed the offence. If she had struck the woman she would say so., Hi 3 Honor summed up shortly, and tho jury retired at 2.35 p.m. After a retirewent of fifteen minutes they returned with a .verdict of " Guilty. HOUSEBREAKING. Annie Robertson, an elderly woman,.was charged with, on the sth November, breaking and entering the house of Sophia Barr, Upper York place, and stealing therefrom certain articles of ladies' clothing of the value of £3 10j. j Accused, who was undefended, pleaded guilty. She said she had had a deal of | trouble lately, and had been verv ill. On the day in question she got drunk, and did not know what she was doing until she came to her senses. She did not know where the clothes came from. She was sorry for what she had done, and she asked .the jury to deal leniently with her. CRIMINAL ASSAULT. John Guillmot was arraigned on a charge of having, on the 20th September, at Dunedin, criminally assaulted a girl under the , age of fourteen years. Accused, who was undefended, pleaded not guilty. ' „- After the Crown Prosecutor had stated the facts to the jury, evidence was given by the girl and her mother, and also by William Skerry, William Vivian, Thomas M'Gregor, and Constable Matheson. Prisoner, sworn, said he knew nothing about the affair. He was up on the Town Bejt on. the afternoon of the day in question, and when he came back to his shop he was accused of the offence. j. ; At 4.25 p.m: the jury retired. A verdict of "Guilty" was returned. Sentence deferred. , HOUSEBBEAKINC. Thomas WhiUM l Lennant(lS), charged with breaking into Mr Guthrie's factory inßattray street on the 3rd Ootober, was on trial when we went to press. He pleaded guilty, and Mr W. D. Milne asked that he should be placed under the provision* of' the First Offenders' Probation Act. WELLINGTON. At the criminal sitting to-day F. Philpot was sentenced to two years' hard labor for obtaining money from a girl whom he. hod promised to marry on the pretence that; 9 large sum of money was coining to him from England. - CITY POLICE COUBT. (Before Mr J. Wright, J.K) Dbpnkenness.— Elizabeth Steel, an old offender, was fined Way or forty-eight hours? imprisonment Labcbsy.— John Anderson, a yonng man, was charged with larceny, on the £nd December, at Dunedin, of one overcoat, value £4 10s, the property of Bd#ard

'tf J&%du>t teofire another important .witness <jase were engaged in the' Court,, and undei the circumstances T\e" ashed for. ai remand until to-morrow. accordingly. A Fa^t"SwAßifca-T-i/ofa .qrlinmw Proctor tras charged with using threatening language to his wife, Elizabeth Proctor, whe asked that he be' bound over to keep the peace.—Mr 0. M. Mouat appeared for tut complainant, and Mr D. D.Mtclonaldde fended.—Elizabeth Proctor stated that defendant had'often ordered her out of the house, and had two or three timet threatened to "do '\ for her, He had shaken his fist in her face and thrown s kuife at her. Last Friday he threatened tc strike her.—Percy Proctor,, son of the last witness, stated that defendant had threatened to "do" for his mother, and he (witness] believed that he intended to carry out his threat—Mr Macdonald submitted that the case should ne.vor have been brought before tie Court. Ho asked His Worship to look at the physical state of both parties and see whether defendant, an old, crippled man, could knock his wife about. She wanted him bound over to keep the peace so as she coald be master of the house,—Defendant gave evidence denying that he had ever threatened or used abusive language towards his wife.—The case wae dismissed.-