DISTRICT COURT, AHAURA.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1902, 10 September 1874, Page 2

DISTRICT COURT, AHAURA.

Friday, Sept. 4. (Before his Honor Judge Harvey. %*~— Frances Bennett (47)j was charged with feloniously, assaulting William Newton Meredith, a constable of the Nelson Police Force on 28th June, at the Little Grey. The prisoner pleaded nob guilty, and was undefended. Mr S. M. South prosecuted on the part of the Crown. .-:.-.. ;-., A jury having been been empanelled and sworn, Mr James Cunningham, of Half-Ounce, merchant, was chosen foremanj and the following evidence was taken : — " William Newton Meredith : 1 am a police constable, stationed at Ahaura. I remember the 28th Junej 'lß74.7 I. was sent from Ahaura on that day to Antonio's Flat. I got as far as Devery's Terrace, and went to Lardi's house. I saw the prisoner outside. I got off my horse, attd went into the house. Prisoner/ followed me in and wanted me to fight. I had known him previously, asjl- had' him in my custody about six months before. , He was then charged with assaulting a person with a stone. When prisoner came into Lardi's, he said to me, ." You r^-, you lumbered me once, and I have got it ia for you." He theri'struck me with his fist on the headland breast, and a fight ensued between us. 1 got the prisoner down and put handcuffs on him. He then ran away. I went after him and receivled a blow oh the head with a stone., I don't know how it was thrown^ No one but prisoner was present. 1 felt the blood pour down my forehead and run into my eyes, I got out my handerchief to wipe my face, and whilst doing so I was struck in the face "and on the --nose by another stone. I saw prispnte'ii'Krnnning away. I did not see ; him ;v throw the stone. I ran 'after, overtook him, and knocked him down. He then began kicking me;rl managed to get him back to Lardi's house; I saw Mrs Jago at Lardi's, and I asked her for a rope, and got it. I 'then tied him to a horse trough outside the door 1 , and asked Mrs Jago to bind up my head, which she did. When I got outside I found prisoner again making off, I followed him, and got him back, he kicked at me, and tried to bite my legs. I struck him with a whip I had in my hand, when the head of my whip came off. He was very violent, I called to Mrs Jago to give me a poker, if shejiad one, to defend myself with, and she g£3l me something like a gridiron. I tried to make prisoner come with me to Ahaura, he refused to walk, and used very bad language. I tied him to ray stirrup-iron, intending to make the horse bring him in; but the leather came out of the saddle, and he got away again. I got off the horse and caught him, and took him back to Lardi's house, and kept him there until Walter Atkin, M'Hardie, and another person came. Mrs Jago lent me a horse ; I got prisoner on it with difficulty. We went a quarter of a mile, when he threw himself off and tried to get-away. The horse prisoner was on got away, and the man who was with M'Hardie and Atkin gave prisoner his horse to ride, but he threw himself off the horse two 6c three times ; on the last occasion he got a stone, weighing eight or ten pounds, and was in the act of throwing it when I drew my revolver, and told prisoner if he threw the stone I should fire. Prisoner dropped the stone, and then with persuasion went to M'Hardie's. I there got another horse, put him on it, and tied his legs under the h orse's belly, and brought him into Ahaura. I know of no reason prisoner had for assaulting me, except that I had arrested him ouce on a charge of assault. Caroline Jago stated that she saw the prisoner throw the stones at the constable and that the constable was afterwards covered with blood. The prisoner did all he could to resist the constable Walter Atkin, a compositor ' on the **Inangahua Herald," said : I was coming down . on horseback from Reef ton with M'Hardie and another man, on 28th of June, and when we got opposite Lardi's house we saw Constable Meredith with i his head bandaged; He called upon us to assist him to take a prisoner to" Ahaura. I then saw Bennett rise up— he* was previously sitting down leaning against the wall of the house with haudcuffs on. Constable Meredith was bleeding at the nose, and had his head, which was cut and bleeding, tied up in a comforter. The prisoner was very much cut about the head and fact, and was bleeding from his wounds. Constable Meredith wanted him to walk, and I proposed he should get on a horse that was running about belonging to Lardi. We put him on the horse without any saddle, and he rode for about : a : quarter.^ ;a milo, but then

threw himself off. He was then again and again put on but he threw himself off about five times. He used very bad and provoking language to the constable, and said if he had a revolver he would shoot him like a dog. When within half a mile of M 'Hard ie's he again threw himself off, ran a short distance, and picked up a stone. Meredith dismounted, and prisoner raised the stone to strike the constable, who was about 6ft off. The constable drew his revolver, pointed it at the prisoner, and told him to drop the stone, but he refused. The constable then walked up to Bennett with the revolver pointed at him, and when the revolver was within Gin of his forehead he let the stone fall. We had great difficulty in getting him to walk to M'Hardie's, as he threw himself down several times. The constable had to use a whip to make him get up. At M'Hardie's I suggested to Constable Meredith we should get a horse and tie him on. We did so, and I cautioned the prisoner, when the constable was not present, that if he threw himself off he would, owing to the way he was tied, fall uuder the horse's hind legs and get killed. 1 was with the constable and the prisoner three hours ; they both bled freely all the time. After a good deal of trouble we at length reached Ahaura. The witness repeated a conversation that took place between the constable and the prisoner after the latter was secured at Lardi's, but the substance of it is contained in the evidence of Constable Meredith. Dr Phillips : I examined Constable Meredith on the 28th June, and found he had on the left side of the nose an incised wound about two inches long ; also, a contused and punctured wound on the left temple, which divided one of the branches of the temporal artery. There was also a bruise on the left eye. The wound on Constable Meredith's temple was a very serious one, and the next day after I saw him he was suffering slightly from concussion of the brain. Sub-Inspector Goodall gave evidence as to the condition of the prosecutor and the prisoner when they reached the police camp, and other matters. The prisoner cross-examined the several witnesses at some lengthj with a certain amount of intelligence suggesting the idea of former practice in the same line. Mr South addressed the jury, and his Honor summed up, reviewing the evidence, placing the most salient points before the jury, who retired, and after some deliberation returned a verdict of guilty. On the following day the prisoner was brought up and sentenced to three years' imprisonment with hard labor in Nelson gaol. After disposing of civil business, and at the conclusion of a sitting in bankruptcy, the Court aojourned sine die.