MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 September 1944, Page 2

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

MISCHIEF CHARGE DISMISSED. ;

Clifford Boyd Ogilvie, 27, bushman, appeared on remand in custody in the Magistrate’s Court at Greymouth, this morning, charged with wilfully setting lire to the Theatre Royal Hotel, Kumara, on Sepember 2, 1944, and also with, wilfully damaging clothing ana a portion of a door to the value of £5, the property of Margaret _ Veronica Hutchinson, thereby committing nf is " chief. Senior Sergeant G. H. L. Holt represented the police and withdrew the first charge. Mr. W. D. Taylor pleaded not guilty to the second charge on behalf of accused. Mrs. Margaret Veronica Hutchinson, licensee of the hotel, said she lived 'on the preprises with her three boys. 1 Her husband was overseas. She retired between 11.30 and midnight on September 1, and slept upstairs with her boys. She did not occupy the bedroom office on the ground floor. Prior to going to bed the last time she saw accused was about 10.30 p.m. He usually slept upstairs. He had had spirits that day and when she saw him about 10.30 p.m., he was slightly under the influence of liquor. She had no conversation with accused regarding the fire. She was called downstairs and found a fire behind the door of the bedroom office. The fire consisted mostly of her clothing. . To Mr. Taylor: Accused was a mirly heavy cigarette smoker, and had a habit of flicking his cigarettes out. Edmund Power, a boarder at the hotel, gave evidence of discovering the fire about 3.30 a.m. He broke the lock of the door with an axe and found the fire behind the door and accused lying on the single bed. Accused told witness he had set it going and wanted the place “to go up in smoke. ’ He left the room but came back later and said: I’ll set it going again where you won’t find it.” Accused was not the worse for liquor when witness went '.o bed. Robert John Adams, a boarder at ■.he hotel, said he saw accused oiter Ihe fire outside the window of the ■oom listening to the conversation mdde. He did not have a conversa-

tion with accused after the fire. Constable L. Studholme said he was called to the hotel about 5 a.m. Accused denied starting the fire. Witness arrested him, and at the watch-house at Greymouth accused said: “If I do get bail she will know what to expect. I will finish it off.” Witness produced portions of the clothing which had been on fire. To Mr. Taylor: Accused was under the influence of liquor when arrested, but not sufficiently for him to be arrested for drunkenness. He was depressed and cried all the way to Greymouth. Mr, Taylor submitted that there was no proof that any wilful act on the part of defendant had started the fire. No motive was suggested, and in these circumstances, coupled with the fact that accused himself was in danger in the fire, he submitted that the charge should be dismissed. It had been shown that accused was in a very distressed state of mind, and he submitted that the evidence showed he was incapable of forming an intention. The Magistrate said he was not satisfied that the evidence was strong enough on the point raised by Mi. Taylor. ~ Mr. Taylor called accused, wno said, in evidence, .that he had had a failamount of liquor during the day and had been drinking whisky alter tea. He knew spirits had a peculiar effect on him. He must have gone to sleep for a while because woke up about 12 3() a.m., when everyone else had gone to bed. He took the money from the bar to lhe office room and had a few whiskies. He distinctly remembered having a cigarette, and thought that cigarette might have caused the fire. Power woke him in trying to get into the room. He told Power he thought the place would go up m smoke, as he thought there was nocning they could do about stopping the .He had never made any previous threats about the place and was on good terms with the boarders and

the'licensee. _ A T -r To the Senior Sergeant: He got oh the bed when awakened but could not aet near the fire. He was not lying on the bed when Power came in. He didn’t remember saying anything to the constable in the watch-house at Greymouth. He had no reason, to. say what the constable said he had said. The Magistrate said there was no doubt about accused being responsible for the (ire, but there was an entire absence of motive, and his own file was endangered. He could not hold that accused had wilfully set fire to the building and in the circumstances the charge would be dismissed. FOREST FIRE. Ogilvie and Company Ltd. (Mr. J. W Hannan) were charged that on or about November 19, 1943, at Woods Creek, in a State Forest, they did operate a log-hauler without an adequate spark arrestor; and further thac on or about the same date they tailed to report a lire in a State Forest to the nearest Forest Officer. Mr. F> A. Kitchingham conducted the proceedings for the Crown, and withdrew a charge of failing to report the fire laid against William Ogilvie, junr. MrHannan entered pleas of guilty. Mr. Kitchingham said that defendants operated a bush-hauler whicn had been considered sufficiently protected, under the old regulations, without a special spark arrestor. When the new regulations were gazetted in 1943, copies were supplied to all sawmillers. The new regulations made spark arrestors compulsory and did not give the Conservator power to give permission to any sawmiller not to use an arrestor. Ogilvie and Company had been given such permission under the old regulations. Only a small area, about an acre and a half, was affected by the fire, ana the rue was not known to officials of the company until it was discovered by the F °On the first' charge defendants were convicted and ordered to pay costs 12/-, and on the second chai.ge weie convicted and fined £1 with 10/costs. Solicitor s lee, £l/1/- was ai lowed in each case.