MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Grey River Argus, 30 July 1940, Page 10

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

SITTING AT GREYM.OUTH Mr G G. Chisholm, S.M., presided at the sitting -of the Magistrate’s Court at Greymouth yesterday. Sen-ior-Sergeant G. F. Bonisch represented the police. 1 Two statutory first offenders found on licensed premises after were each fined 5s and 10s, and l~s costs, respectively. Graham Maxwell Wise, who made a voluntary, appearance, was lined 10s, with 3s costs, for cycling on the footpath in Mackay Street. Roy ' Cyril Ivan Wahrhch and. Ernest Edward Hughes (Mr E. B. B. Taylor) were charged with disorderly ‘ behaviour in Mawhera Quay on June 13. , Senior-Sergeant Bonisch said that the Magistrate would recall that Loth men were before the Court on Jui v 13 charged with disorderly behavioui I and wtth wilfully damaging a window ! valued at £l5. The charge of wilful i damage was withdrawn, on the un dS&lng that aefetdante wou k , damape He (the iviagis Se) understood that the solicitors appearing for defendants now had the I money in hand. lin nAr the The Magistrate said that, uncer - i circumstances, each defendant would I be fined 5s with 10 3 costs, on the i charge of disorderly behaviour. ! On a charge of allowing five calves ! tc °Xdei on the State Highway, at i Ngahere, Robin Philip was fined 10s ■ with 12s’ costs. On the information of ' th e County Traffic Inspector <Mr E. Sloss), John Meyer was fineo 10s with i 12s costs, for using an unlicensed motor truck. The Inspector said that defendant made the expianation that the truck was used only on the far , and that, he had brought it on to the roEdl for an urgent trip to the railway with a visitor. Thomas Coll was charged with operating an unlicensed; goods service vehicle. Inspector Sloss said that defendant carted a load of coal from Dobson to i Inchbonnie. It was the first occasion I that he had so used the truck. I Defendant was convicted and ordered to pay costs, 10s. I William Milligan Gibb, who did not appear, was charged with failing to give way to traffic on the right, in a motor-car. Transport Department Inspector D. D. Burdett said that defendant was involved in a collision at the section of Bright and Cardwell Streets, Cobden. It was quite clear that the accident was due to defendant not keeping a look-out. Defendant was fined £l, with lUs costs. , 1 „ James Piner was charged, on tffi. information of Inspector Burde with driving a public motor-car,, without being the holder of the necessary driver’s license. Inspector Burdett said (hat he saw defendant driving a service car witn miners, from the Seven Mile to Rapahoe. Defendant had a license to drive a private car, and it had since ' been amended to cover service car defendant was fined 10s, with 10s costs. On charges of driving motor vehicles without drivers’ licenses, William Gordon McKay, William Gordon Bishop, Cyril Douglas Doyle, Ronald Wesley, Allan Thomas Cormack and John Harry Radford were each fined 10s with 10s costs. Jbhn Harry Radford, Arthur H. Birss and George McIntosh were each fined 10s with 10s costs for not having current warrents of fitness for motor-cars. / DANGEROUS DRIVING Thomas Patrick Ryan (Mr C. R. McGinley) pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving, on the Grey-mouth-Hokitika highway, on June 28. Inspector Burdett said that he followed defendant from Camerons to Paroa. He passed the Gladstone intersection at 60 miles per hour and continued at the same speed to Paroa, where he slowed down going over the bridge, passing the school at 45 miles per hour, where witness stopped him. Defendant admitted that his speed was too great. Mr McGinley said that fietendant was hurrying to keep an appointment in town, and admitted that he was travelling very fast. However, the road was very wide, and defendant was on -his correct side. The Magistrate said that there 1 were a lot of private entrances along the road, and it.was a stretch where 1 care should be taken. Defendant I would be fined £1 10s, with 10s costs. Fahey’s Transport, Ltd. (Mr A. M. i Jamieson) pleaded guilty to charges I of having no rear vision mirror on a truck, on June 4, no blue light on the i truck’drawing a trailer on June 4, no I tail-light on the trailer, and having | no rear vision mirror on a motor | truck on June 13. Inspector Burdett said that the offences on June 4 occurred at Brunner at 6 o’clock in the evening. Defendants had been previously warned regarding the truck and trailer equipment. In regard to the offence on June 13, the driver had been warned on three previous occasions for not having a rear vision mirror. Mr Jamieson said that ordinarily, the truck involved in the’offences on June 4 finished work at 4 p.m., but had been delayed owing to the rough state of the road. As far as the mirrors were concerned, his instructions were that six had been ordered from Christchurch, but the firm had been ; unable to supply them. Owing to the nature of the work of the trucks, the mirrors were frequently broken. The Magistrate said that he would accept the explanation regarding the mirrors, as he cotild not believe that the offence would have been continued wilfully after warnings had been given. On each of the four charges, defendants would be fined 10s, with 10s costs. MINES INSPECTION BREACH On the information of the Inspector of Coal Mines (Mr W. Parsonage' William Hodgson, who did not appear, was charged that, on March 7, 1940,’ being a fireman-deputy at the Liverpool mine, he did fail to carry out his inspection with an cil safety lamp. Inspector Parsonage said that it was defendant’s duty to examine the working places in the mine. He entered the mine at 6 a.m., carrying an electric safety lamp and two oil lamps. One of the oil lamps he left eleven chains back from the working place, and the other 30 yards back . from’where he was overcome by gas. Evidently he lost the light from the

second cil lamp and did not know, oi else he was negligent, and attempted to complete the examination with the electric lamp. He suffered physical pain and lost his job in the mine. Ho (the Inspector' thought that the occurrence would prevent defendant from getting a position as a mine official. The case had been brought as a warning. , ~ l The Magistrate said that the case would serve as a warning, and defendant would be convicted and ordered to pay costs 10s. On a charge of disobedience of a maintenance order, Thomas Shadbolt was sentenced to three weeks imprisonment, the warrant to be suspended as long as he pays 2s M a week off the arrears of £lB 12s 6d, m addition to the current maintenance of 7s 6d per week. THEFT OF COPPER Leslie John White and Thomas Hector Mathieson pleaded guilty to charges of the theft, at Kaiata, onj June 28, of a copper boiler, valued at £2 the property of Frank Faulkner .■ Detective C. Davis said that complainant was the owner of a small! farm at Kaiata which had been untenanted for two months or more. On July 2 he found that the bricks round the copper boiler had been broken away and the boiler removed. Defendants had the use of a horse and cart and had been roaming the district. On June 28 they took the copper away. When interviewed regarding the matter, they were truthful. They had not attempted to sell the boiler, but had been feeding the horse out of it. They gave the explanation that they had thought the boiler was no good. Both defendants were about .19 years of age, single, and were at present unemployed. Nothing was previously known against them. In reply to the M3.gistr2.to, the defendant White said that the copper was half-way out of the bricks when they found it. They did not know whose property it was, and just thought it would be useful. Mathieson had nothing to say. The Magistrate said that he could not quite understand defendants’ attitude in the matter, as they must have known that they had no. right to take the boiler. It was not a case he could overlook. Each defendant would be fined £1 and placed on probation for 12 months. An order was made for the return of the boiler to the owner.

The defendant White applied for the suppression of the names. The Magistrate said that he could not see any reason for an order for suppression of the names, unless theie were some special circumstances. White said that his mother had just ccme out of hospital, and he had not told her of the matter.

The Magistrate: I do not think that is sufficient reason why I should make an order.