MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 10 July 1924, Page 7

MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

WEEKLY SITING. Th. e weekly sitting of the Hawera Magistrate’s Court was held to-day, Mr Barton, S'.M., presiding. THREE YEARS’ PROBATION. William Albert Reid, who a fortnight ago was convicted on twelve charges of theft, for sentence, and was admitted, to probation'for three years. Mr O’Dea, for .accused, said he_did not think it adcvisable that Reid should ■remain at home on his father’s farm, as there was net sufficient work there to keep him out of mischief. His Worship said he had had difficulty in arriving at a decision, in view of the series of deliberate thefts committed. The Act had been somewhatstrained in Reid’s favour, but if there was further trouble it would be; strain-i ed the other way. Restitution of the amount stolen was ordered, and Reid would not be permitted to. enter a billiard saloon during the term of his probation. Mi 1 O’Dea suggested that Reid should be prohibited from smoking, but accused stated that it had got a pretty good hold on him. His Worship remarked that if he could not master the habit it would be a pretty good indication of what he would be in other matters. BY DEFAULT. Judgment for the plaintiff, with costs against the defendant, was given in each of the following undefended civil cases: A. M. AYelsh and B. Buckley v. Tun gat ota, £99 ISs; AY. -SaxonJones v. P. Waller, £2 10s; New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. v. 0. F. Robertson, £lO 15s. > JUDGMENT SUMMONSES. Orders were made in the. following judgment summons cases : —Mortloek and Co. v. G. Epai, £3 8s 6d, in default four days’ imprisonment; W. O’Callaghan v. Te Awa Pepe, £3l 18s 2d, in default 34 days’ imprisonment; A. H. Shaw v. L. Hardgrave, £5 10s, in default 7 days’ imprisonment; AV.' Hawkins v. E. J. Bourke, £8 Os fid, in default 9 days’ imprisonment; A. H. Shaw v. FT. Yeates," £4 14s, in default 5 days’ imprisonment* L. Lelievre v. Henrv Torfy, £4 14s 6d. in default 6 days’ imprisonment, warrant to he suspended on the payment of £l. per month. BY-LA AV CASES. A charge of driving a car across the intersection ol High and Princes Street at a speed greater than six miles per hour was preferred against AYae Wae Tamahiri. The police estimated defandant's speed at 25 miles an hour, but Mr Gibson, for the defence, stated that Tamahiri’s speed was very little more than six miles. If he were travelling at 25 miles an hour he could not have pulled up at the C’ourthduse. His AA'orship did not agree, and inflicted a fine of £2 10s, with 12s costs. James McKenna was fined 15s and 7s court costs for riding a bicycle without- a light. For driving a rpotor lorry in Princes Street without a rear light. Chas. Sturzaker was fined £1 and 7s court costs. J. Munro (Air Brcidie) was fined £1 5s and 7s court costs for allowing five head of cattle to stray on Wailfi-Road. • Alexander C. J. Welsh was charged with carrying 'refuse in a motor lorry in Union Street, such lorry not being constructed so as to prevent an offensive smell arising from its contents. He was fined £1 10s and 7s costs. On a further r\.-*rge of leaving a motor lorry standing unattended for more than 15. minutes, AYelsh was fined 5s and 7s court costs. AN UNREGISTERED RIFLE. Alfred Froggatt was charged on three counts with procuring a firearm without a permit, with haying ail unregistered firearm in his possession for a period of more than seven days, and with delivering possession of a firearm without a permit. Out of the same set of facts Charles Davidson was charged with procuring possession of a firearm without a permit. Mr Gibson, for the defendants, pleaded ignorance of the law, he stating that the day after Davidson obtained possession of the rifle he took it along to the nolice in order to register it, and so fell into the train Tt so turned out that Froggatt, the man from whom he had obtained the rifle, had registered it. His AA'orshin treated the case against' Davidson as a purely nominal, one. and inflicted a fine of 2s'fid and court costs 7s. Froggatt, however, was fined 10s and 7s court costs on the charge of procuring possession, and was ordered to nay Court costs 7s on each of the 'flier two charges. MAINTENAN'CE ARREARS. For disobedience of an order under the Destitute Persons Act, Norman I .ewer was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment with hard labour, he to be released on the payment of arrears totalling £ll 4s 6d and solicitor’s fee two guineas.