RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 15, Issue 2013, 13 December 1870, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

>BIDAY, DECEMBER 9.

'^iM^'i-ni-i^m^^^-^ : j --■•{-';,; -.-:: ■ .---'7; -=,v " H^i \ ::(^tpre &ingletqif Ebohfort, Esa., E..M.) >,^:A^AtoT ANDTHBEATENING TO SHOOT. ■'-',-. : S-.- ;V: -i ■".- jT;\--. -'.•Üb/-'". .; -■ •».- '•;--- - y'M'W*tsftys&ffis(fow.^ThtejWM * charge :^;Aa^iiwtKtVe^dfefehdant--to\the>eflfecfc':tbat-.-he_ ? iJi^f otfthe 25th l^Oyeinbe^ atKohinerakati, ; X-;.V^la*f^y'f^ault : ; : Sj9^uel\.^^i3on,'; by < V l|p?ioi^\liinC l^t^ei^^^nd' pointing a >- ,-~ .-Sir. Lee i appeared for, defendant. Wilson^ being Bworn, deposed :—- --f I live at Mr. Lowry's,station,nearTaradale. •"- vXam'.a.^aborer. I iave known defendant .•'!■: labgut 'five Vor six weeks, not more. I was [the^ in: the employ of Mr. Couper,. at JCohinerakau. Defendant was one of the • shearers there; About 8 o'clock p.m. on . the 25th November, I was playing '~~ ; "a^fgattKP of ■'drafts i with one Mackenzie, a '■/-^ t ||rf atft'ijbh. ;Mr. Couper's station, in the v'-"- ; -^^^.r^.:tfhfewy;-were.preßent7-»Wiliiam '.'■■ -i ;firoly£ -William Horn, the cook, and I o^^erjjSk iMackay, besides Mackenzie and V -^Jselfltf "-W-hile we/were playing drafts, the -die^nd&nj iehtered tie kitchen, caught me fby?iVe <arn>j 'and told; me to come with him, 1 'giyipg /th|t he 7 wanted me. ' I asked him : l^mte'd-vA^:' n! ( c !>'^ n^ 9 a "* w °uld *nqt^v|? t ßEej4^9 pointed a revolver at the side r Jtf jny head ariii again said I must go ,wi%|iint" :T^enl went'withhim, because /'^'^i^lfrail^ft^eing shot. He forced :*"..: i^W^^^^ithe river bank. He told ;\;^^. i jge^ji^6'A:.ppnt_that was lying there, .and^|ptgo._aißrpss the river. I did not go, the punt was not • fafe.^^ej&en? wanted me to wade through thej^nve¥.-r i;: :r v did A ijot'do so." William "':■; ; < Br6iyr-:an [ d i JWlliain ■ Horn followed us to ■ r ..;■ ,fth&,-klveWr"^ 9^h?y were there when we got ..^'•• rt to^'t£e/jr|y(|r.":' i bank.' : . , M'Mahon put the : . jeyoj veWtpr m y iiead . again at the river " /bank," Ipffottie i me to cross. He then sat - downj .and we „ went "back to the kitchen. ~jßgm 'm}l^jsr6fy_ ljad tried to dissuade him fi;om, 'jjfctjiigj /as. he was acting. M'Mahon come tijp.to:, the kitchen after us. He struck me. He was not working at the . Blearing {on the 25th November. He had ble#ri;Bh^ariiJjp;|a few days before. He was jperfecUy sober .when the assault was commiite r d.>s'Preyious to this occasion he had fcbad "feeling towards me in various ways ; by using insulting language, for f instance; r jßy^ixvLee. 1 — I beard that M'Mahon had been at Qobper's before me. My work was to pick Tip: . fleeces, and to -do odd jobs in . the shed., lam not aware that M'Mahon was in charge of the shed. I believe that "detendarit'Cbinplained to my employer that T shirked my work. Defendant never charged me, 'with -doing so to my face. I gave Mjv Couper a' week's notice to leave. He did not give.it me; Mr. Couper never charged me wjth * idleness*' I did not no|[qe 'tbsfl' i 4 e /? n^ ant ' 8 clothes were wet . when he.came into the kitchen on the 25th itiOvjember;^: I.did not know" whether defendant,had: forded the river or not. He. did'^notctfellice what he wanted me to go oVer the river for. " He did not say it was r'tp'-'.binngl-'dieV.b'oat to Mr. Scully. The place, where he struck me was on the sbotflder v It was hot a. severe blow. I baye^.had- some ; conversation with Mr, Scully; about this matter. I did not tell Mri Scully.tbat I -did , not ■ care about this njatjer, but thatjt was on account of an old quarrel that I brought it before the Court. Aftsr/poming kway from the boat he called me'^ crawler, ; ; He. forced me to aid in emptying the boat. He told Horn to look ,gut that;?! did not go away. I did not know that Mr. Scully was in the neighbor- . hood when ; we were at the boat. I knew t^tMM^honvwasaway from the farm on r . " f&e |S9s£-'? -I knew $hat he had gone to shear >>rat!iMr^Dbuglas's^ \ ■• ' "'--': f-i^y^tbe Court-^-M'Mahon said to Horn ; j^lv^ant^qu^alsp," When he first came into : T ; ije did not present a revolver : .^J&ny one bnt •ine.v ,When he came into rthejkifcchen the second time, I did not •notion whether defendant had the revolver ""orVq£ : -""~/^v" '_ ."■.';•' ■ ' ;--; waiiam '. Brofy, called by the complainant, being sworn, deposed : I live at Mrl:Cqtiper'B quttstatipn. lam a laborer. I have known the complainant for a fortnight past. : I have known the defendant . for aborit six. months past. I know one Mackenzie. I" was present when Mackenzie and Wilson were playing drafts. About 8 o'clock 'M'Mahon entered the kitchen and said .to; Sam Wilson, "Sam, I want you." >,He said at the same time to Horn and to me that be wanted us also. Wilson . did^nqt:%aht to come till he knew what it .: .". .-was-*rifor^(t-;We were eager to go, thinking some of the escaped prisoners might be there. Nothing occurred between M'Mahon and: Wilson ' in~ the kitchen either time we were there, except this request to go. I could not' Bee distinctly what went on as I was standing half inside the door and half out, as it was rather dark. I did not see M'Mahon touch: Wilson with his hand at all. I was outside the door when M'Mahon came up first from the river. The house 'is about 3so yards from the river bank. We iefjti the boat at the river, after emptying it, 'and^returned to the kitchen. - M'Mahon dame' there about a quarter of an hour ;;. r .;,-.. k /: To the i plaintiff.— l did not see a reW "^vptv^ m iihd^p'srhwad > on the evening =of tbe 25th, November. " vTbere- was^aome- : ;itbixig; ; io bis band ; I ,did not see what it :%iSsT-i- : 86 '"--.'one i bos spoken., to me with the :■. idety/of modifying" my views in this case. /"■ ■ 'i-'JZjJ&v: Lee.-ri-I saw?M'Mahon strike the .""•"-^^co'^pi^iaift/qn" the shoulder when he re-«j^-^4y>«if-jrojfl ihn Koflt.>Hg^aid, there'wa's nothing on Mr. Couper's station but a lot of, crawlers. This was nqt made the ground -' of- a ; :quarrel with therest'bf us. It was ■ supposed that M'Mahon was at the head of theshed.^ . I did not bear any- _ a -jj;r^^r e - cn -"Wilson and? M'Mahon., r I have heard M'Mabon . . "■" '-:- -telL'Wilsqii;that Le was lazy. / , WJlia^i liorn, called by the comv . plamiißX; -being swofn, deposed . — I live on j Mr« •iObuper's, station; lam a carpenter. : r-.i :;I;;h J a*eiknbw^v plaintiff about a fortnight, ~:-_i/}. and for seven years past. On -; ■':.; -\ : 'the ; S^th^Jovember I was in Mr. Couper's >; S -M^hfegi^bout 1 7*30 p.m. The defendant 'K^k.""^^^^e^|to_He;nV* : and called on me to Ji:;rV^me : "&^:tn"aVHvet,"'' to:. bring Mr. Scully i ;^acrq¥s^(|te; c&ljed also on Brofy. When <ibme outside, I went I jto r^he.river^BO.that:! did not see E | 'Vo||hiLt;Mentibli afterwards. M'Mahon bad S^|£TOm|i^gli&.:hiß-hand; I could not say . was waving the |#S^h^fffin^il|nand aboiitr not pointing it at : sio^^niGUm.% not hear any

some others, returned to the kitchen. M'Mahon came there shortly after. I cannot say whether defendant laid hands on plaintiff or not. By the complainant, — M'Mahon was a little tipsy when ho came into the kitchen the first time. He said that you were lazy, when he came inti> the kitchen the second time. By Mr. Lee. — We had no fear from what" M'Mahon was waving in bis hand. M'Mahon and I were first at the river. Wilson must have heard M'Mahon say that Mr. Scully was waiting to be brought over. Henry Shears, called by defendant, being sworn, deposed :— I am cook at Mr. Couper's station. I was in the kitchen about a fortnight ago, when Mr. Scully came there. I sawM'Mahon that evening. He called on two or three of the men at the same time. He was moving his hand ,at the time, with something it which may have been a pistol. He laid his hand on defendant's shoulder, and said "I want you, and I want youj Bill Horn," in the same breath. His clothes were very wet. He was fearfully excited. I heard cooeying from the other side about a quarter of an hour previous. Macmahon spoke to all the men in the same manner, telling them to come to the boat. He did not say what for. When he came back from the boat he said, in a jocular manner, "Who will fight now?" Then he struck Wilson on the arm a very light blow. M'Mahon is a powerful man, and a boxer, and could have hit a harder blow if he ba'ol "liked. M'Mahon is not a quarrelsome man, very much the reverse. There was a good , deal of ill-feeling between the two men, because, to my knowledge, the plaintiff shirked his work, and the defendant chaffed him about it. By the. complainant.— You used to come up to the kitchen about half an hour before the other workmen. There is no regular hour for stopping work in shearing time, as the wool must be out of the way before next day. . Thomas Scully, called for defendant, being sworn, deposed (by Mr. Lee) :-— A little after dark, on the 25th November, I and M'Mahon arrived at the river near Mr. Couper's station. I had "met M'Mahon at Havelock, and he said that we could get the prisoners that night at Mr. Couper's station. I made enquiries as to M'Mahon's character for knowledge ot the country, and for veracity, and was satisfied. He refused to accompany me without being armed. I borrowed a revolver for him at Mr. Reynold's. We went through Mr. Foster's gully, which took us two hours longer to get through than we calculated on, as it is very intricate. We left our horses at Mr. Couper's fence. We went down to the river on foot. We saw a light at Mr. Couper's house. M'Mahon said that there was a punt at the other side, and that he would cooey, and some men from the station would come and bring us across. After cooeying some time he went across himself. After some time I heard voices on the other side. I heard one of the men say that the punt was not fit to go into. Then M'Mahon shouted to me to come acrocs on foot. I said no, I would stay where I was during the night. After a little time he came over again, and asked me to get on his back, and he would carry me across. I declined, thinking he would likely fall. He then brought the punt across, and towed me across in it. He then went to the house, I after him. I heard voices in the kitchen as of men settling some dispute. I met Mr. Couper at the door, and he brought me to his room. Hy the plaintiff. — I cannot say that the . revolver was loaded ; but I think it was. The witness further stated that he and Mr. Couper had endeavored to persuade the plaintiff to agree to an arrangement of the matter put of Court — the basis of the arrangement being that the plaintiff should pay the defendant £2, or, if the defendant did not wish to accept it, that it should be given to some charitable institution. Plaintiff -had then said that his reason for bringing up the present case waa to pay off an old grudge. The Magistrate, after observing that two months' hard labor would have been the punishment for an offence such as that with which defendant was charged, had it been proved to the extent alleged, said that an assault of a minor character had certainly been proved, and he would inflict a fine of ss. with costs. The costs amounted to the very unusual sum of £3 18.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12.

DRUNKENNESS. William Quigley was fined ss. for drunkenness. HARBOURING PRISONERS. The case of Miller ». Grant and Beckham was again brought up. Authority having been sent from Wellington to remove Williams from the gaol to the Resident Magistrate's Court, he was put into the witness box. He was then duly cautioned by the Magistrate that any evidence which he might give, now might be brought forward against him on a future occasion to prove the fact that he had broken prison, and that he was at liberty to refuse to give any evidence which could have the. effect of thus criminatuig>hioiself. The witness/h aving stated that he fully understood the purport of the caution, was sworn and deposed as follows : — I am a prisoner at Napier Gaol, undergoing sentence of penal servitude for ten 'yeftrs. I was sentenced on or about the 19th November, 18G9. . I know Alexander Grant; I know William Beckham. I have known Alexander Grant since Saturday the 26 th 'November last, I have known William Beckham for about 10 months past. I know a whare in which Grant lived. Ido not know Beckham's whare. I was in Alexander Grant's whare. The Magistrate explained to the witness, both before putting this last question and after receiving the answer to it, that it was a question which he might fairly refuse to answer. The witness stated that he was giving his evidence partly from the desire of avenging himself on the prisoners, who had first, no doubt,' befriended him, but subsequently betrayed hiu. as he had reason to believe, and partly to exculpate himself from a charge of stealing clothes belonging to one of the prisoners, which he believed had been preferred against him. The Magistrate informed him that no such charge had been preferred against him, and asked if he wished to be allowed to withdraw his last answer, to which he replied in the affirmative. It was consequently withdrawn. Messrs. Miller and Scully were recalled to confirm certain portions of their former evidence, which they did. The decision of

tba Court was adjourned to next sitting day.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 12.

HARBORING PRISONERS. The Magistrate gave judgment in the case, William Miller v. Alexander Grant and William Beckbam, as follows: — This is a preliminary inquiry upon an information laid by the informant against the defendants for the commission of nn indictable offence. The venue is laid in the Province of Hawke's Bay, and the charge is to the effect following, viz. :— " That Alexander Grant and William Beckbam, of Raukawa Busb, in the said Province, on or about the 28th day of November, 1870, at Raukawa Bush aforesaid, did, feloniously and unlawfully, assist one Henry Williams, a prisoner in Her Majesty's gaol at Napier, to make his escape from the said gaol, by harboring and maintaining the said Henry Williams." This charge is laid under section 16 of The Prisons Ordinance of New Zealand, passed the 15th October, 1816, which section is of the tenor following :-— "If any person shall convey, or cause to be conveyed, into any gaol any mask or other disguise, or any instrument, or arms, proper to facilitate the escape of any prisoner, and the same shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to any prisoner in such gaol, or to any other therein, for the use of such prisoner, without the consent or privity of the keeper of the gaol, every such person shall be deemed to have delivered such mask, or disguise, instrument, or arms, with intent to aid and assist such prisoner to escape, or attempt to escape. And, if any person shall, by any means whatever, aid and assist any prisoner to escape from any gaol, every person so offending, whether an escape be actually made or not, shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted thereof, shall be transported beyond the seas for any term not exceeding fourteen years." This section of the Ordinance is a reprint of section 43 of the English Act — the 4 Geo. 4 c, 64, the Act for consolidating and amending the laws relating to prisons in England, except that the word " vizor," used in the English Act after the word "mask," is not introduced. The 4 Geo. 4 c, 64 was repealed by the " Prisons Act, 1865" of England, and the provisions of s. 43 were re-enacted in s. 37 of the latter Act ; the punishment for aiding a prisoner to escape being reduced to a term not exceeding two years' imprisonment. That repeal does not however affect s. 16 of the Prisons Ordinance of the colony, which continues in force notwithstanding. The words in a. 16 of the Ordinance are the same as those of s. 43 of the 4 Geo. 4 c. 64, and the words of s. 43 of such Act are very similar to those contained ins. 1. of the 16 Geo. 2 c. 31, an Act repealed nearly in whole by the 4 Geo. 4c. 64. There is a decision of the majority of the judges respecting this Act of Geo. 2., to the effect that it does not extend to cases where an actual escape is made (Rex v. Tilley, 2 Leach, 662.) The words in the " Prisons Ordinance " under •which the information is laid, are .of the tenor following: — - " And if any person shall, by any means whatsoever, aid and assist any prisoner to escape from any gaol, every person so offending, whether an escape be actually made or not, shall be guilty of felony." This provision applies to" the case where a person aids one in prison to escape from it ; but it does not apply to the case of a person who, after the escape has been effected, may give food or clothing to the person so having escaped, and who is no longer in prison. It appears that Henry Williams, as is alleged, escaped from prison on the 21st November, and was at large until the 29th or 30th of the same month, when he was brought back ; and it is not pretended that either of the accused had anything to do with the escape of Williams on the 21st. Holding the office of District Judge as well as Resident Magistrate, it is doubly incumbent on me to refrain from expressing an opinion on any of the matters connected with these proceedings, save upon the question immediately before me, and which I must decide. That question is, whether the evidence adduced on this enquiry warrants me to send the accused for trial upon the charge, before the Supreme Court. I find it does not ; and I discharge the two prisoners, Alexander Grant and William Beckham, as to the information und er enquiry.