CITY POLICE COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 9708, 17 May 1895, Page 3

CITY POLICE COURT.

(Before Messrs J. B. Thomson ami J. P. Jom •, Justices.) Drukkknnesk.— James Feirlcti was fined .is, in default twenty-four hours'* imprisonment; a first offender was convicted and dhchared ; and Mar;/ AFPmial'.t- (fifty-ei-dit previous convictions) was u-ntenced to fourteen days' imprisonment.

Assault with Intknt. —Ji-viminh <>'i:,'i-,> Ihtviil Miir-ri* and Jawx Ki r pleaded i y. ' guilty, and were defended -O'Brien liy I.lr I Solomon, Morris by Mr llanlon, i.ii.l | Ker by Mr Olia;inait. The pros.pcutii\, J Annie Widely, a married woman whose ] husband is in the Benevolent Institution, .-aid in the course of her examination by Sergeant O'Neill that while she was walking up Hope street on the evening of the 11th hist., after dark, in company with a farm laborer named Thomas Jerome, who works at Outiam, she was forcibly seized upon by some young men and dragged to a section opposite St Matthew's Church, and there assaulted. Sin; thought that there were three who took part in knocking her down, Vint O'Brien was the only one she could identify. Cro'j--examined l>v Mr Solomon, this witness confessed to over fifty convictions for drunkenness, also that she had been drinking during the day, but she denied the imputation that she obtained her living by disreputable means, though, lK'iug closely pressed by Mr Solomon and Mr Chapman, she admitted that she wa« not immaculate. —Thomas Jerome gave evidence as to an as : ault by three lads, of which he professed to have been an inactive spectator. He recognised O'Brien as the leading hand in the affair; the, others he did not know ; and he added : " That is not the three of them. I have not seen the other men. and I do not fee them now." Jerome -further said that the hoys did not pull the prosecutrix on to the section ; liU- account being that he and the woman were sitting there w> en the lads came on the scene. Neither he nor the woman was drunk, he said, but she was worse than he was, and had been refused drink at all but one of the hotels at which they ciiled. He was intending to see her in a tram that would take her towards her home at "Woodhaugh.—Henry D. Finh said that on hw wav home that night he heard aud saw part of the affair, but could not identify any of the principals. Daniel M'Donald's testimony was to the elfect that he saw the three accused together in AValker street at about nine o'clock,—Serjeant Mackay said that he saw O'Brien in the ant of assaulting the prosecutrix. O'Brien ran as soon ns ho saw witness, and the latter pursued with a successful result. /. nother young fellow who had been near Mrs "WLifcely also ran away.—Constable Adam Patterson saw the second lad running, and he got away, hut O'Brien was caught.—Constable Broberg said: I and Constable Cooney arrested Ker on Sunday in his father's house in Manor place. The nature of the charge wa3 explained to him. He made no reoly. His father asked him if he was there. He said "No " ; adding that he knocked off work at 6.30 that evening and went home ; that later on he went down George street and had a look at, some pigeons in Bills's window ; that whi'e going home he met Morris, and that when they got a3 far as the XYZ butcher's shop they met O'Pirien in custody. In answer to a rjuestion as to where he was at nine o'clock he said "In George street." Witness continued : "We arrested Morris the same night in "Walker avenue. He wanted to argue the point. "We explained the nature of the charge. He asked Constable Cooney ''Did O'Brien say I was there '?' Constable Cooney said "He did." He started to argue the point, and I told him the best thing he could do was to keep quiet.—Mr Chapman said he supposed it was not even pretended that there was any evidence against Ker. 'I he evidence concerning him was that he was s : en at nine o'clock in the next street. —Mr Hanlon presumed that the Bench would not want to hear any defence of Morris either. Jerome said that neither Ker nor Morris was among the persons present.—The Bench agreed that there was no evidence against either of these lads, and they were forth wirh exonerated and 'left the court—On behalf of O'Brien, it was urged by Mr Solomon that prosecutrix was a consenting party, and that her evidence had hem so shaken in crossexamination that, in compliance with the doctrine laid down in Johnston's ' Justices of the Peace,' the Bench would be jus "fl in dismissing the case.—Mr Thomson said "■'.?.' the Bench were much impressed by what i,lr Solomon had said, but at the same +ime they did not like to take the responsibility cf the case, and O'Brien would be committed for tria l . Bail would be allowed, accused in the sum of £SO, and two sureties at £25 each. (Before Mr J. Hyman, J.P.)

A Family Squabble.—Margaret Crawford charged her husband, Jnmos Creirford, of Green Island, with assaulting her on the sth inst., and she asked that he he bound over to keep the peace. This case was adjourned from last week to give the parties an opportunity of coming to an agreement. —Mr C. M. Mouat, for the complainant, explained that the case ha 1 been settled, and it was arranged to consent to a withdrawal provided that the defendant paid lis costs. —Mr Hanlon. for the defendant, offered no objection, and the case was withdrawn accordingly.

We are glad to learn that the Hon. J. M'Kenzie is improving in health. Mr M'Kenzie leaves for his home at Shag Point to-morrow, and will there indulge in much-needed rest for two or three weeks. Read Braithwaite's advertisement on the value of advertising.—[Advt.] An entertainment in aid of the Missing Fishermen Fund has been arranged by Mr F. W. Simms to be given on the 29th inst. at Port Chalmers.

At the Kaikorai football ground to-morrow afternoon the match Pirates v. Kaikorai will he played. The Kaikorai Band will be present. A new entrance to the ground has been opened on the Bishopsccurt side.