MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 May 1943, Page 2

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

GREYMOUTH SITTING.

! Mr. G. G. Chisholm, S.M., jiresid'cd at a sitting of the Magistrates Court at Greymouth, this morning. i On a charge of disobedience of a maintenance order made at Grcymouth on March 16, 1942, for the i maintenance of his wife, George ArI thur Carlyle was convicted and seni fenced to two months imprisonment lin Wellington Prison, the warrant to be suspended so long as defendant ■ pays the current maintenance of LI 10/- a week, with £1 off the arrears, which amounted to £lO2/2/-, the first, payment to be made on May 24. Mr. ,W. D. Taylor represented the complainant, Mrs. Ivy Elizabeth New Carlyle, the wife of defendant. Evidence was given by the Maintenance Officer at Greymouth (Mr. C. K. Morel). ' ... , Peter Hassan, of Taylorville, coal ■miner, was charged that on March W), 1943, he did permit to be main- ' tained in his private residence flexible wiring as a conductor, of electric I energy from' the source of supply to j a radio apparatus in a manner contrary to the Electric Wiring Regulations, 1935. The information was laid by the Grey. Electric , Power Board, for whom Mr. F. A. Kitchingham appeared, in the absence of Mr. J. W. Hannan.

Mr. Kitchingham said it was a case where flex had* been connected to a light point in one room and had been taken out to another room where a radio was situated. In connecting up the radio defendant_ had used the wrong wires, electrifying the earth wire/and anyone touching the earth wire would have been killed. Owing to the wrong connection, defendant used £4 more electricity than he had been using and that led to an investigation. He had • been punished to the extent of having to pay that much extra, as a result of the current going to earth. James Frederick Knight, Grey Power Board Inspector, stated that instead of two wires as was usual with modern radio sets, there were three wires on defendant’s set. He had used only two of the wires on a two-point plug, and had used the wrong ones. There was no danger to anyone in the room, but a distinct danger to anyone outside. There was quite a lot of amateur wiring of sets being done, but in most cases now there were only two wires to be connected. In the present case defendant had led the .wire through a partition and the ceiling. Defendant was convicted and fined £l. with costs 10/'-, and solicitor’s (ee £l/1/-.