RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3934, 16 June 1877, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Friday, June 15. (Before R. Stuart, Esq., IJ-.M.) DRUNKENNESS. John Golding, charged with being drunk and disorderly, was fined 10s, with the alternative of 24 hours' imprisonment. TARCENY. Frank Hyde, alias Brown, was charged with stealing £2 from the Tvhare of William Phillips, at Karemu. William Phillips gave evidence to the effect that he and the prisoner went to Hasting last Tuesday. At that time he had £3 in a match box. He took £1 out, and on returning from Hastings he put the box containing the £2 under his mattress. He then went out, and on his i*eturn he discovered that the money was gone. The constable who arrested the prisoner deposed that after receiving information of the robbery, and of the suspicions against the prisoner, he learned that the prisoner had changed two notes. The constable then went after the prisoner and came up to him on the road at Havelock ; cautioned the prisoner that whatever he might say would be used against him, and then prisoner said he was extremely sorry he had got into such a fix, and added that he would rather have lost £3 than it should have happened. The prisoner was sentenced to two months' imprisonment with hard labor. ASSAULT. Peter Furs appeared to an information charging him with having assaulted at Olive, on the 9th hist., William Orr. Mr Lascelles was for the complainant, and Mr Rees for the defendant. William Orr deposed that on Saturday last defendant came by where complainant was standing in his own field. Defendant, who was on horseback at the time, shouted out that he would soon come back and cut down complainant's fence. Complainant waited the event, and in the meantime a mate of defendant came up. Presently defendant came along with an axe on his shoulder, and boldly entered into complainant's field. Complainant thereupon stepped up and put himself between defendant and the fence which the latter was wanting to cut down. Defendant then caught complainant by the waistcoat and raised his axe. Complainant held up his whip threateningly, but eventually, seeing that defendant was inclined to resort to violence, complainant stepped back, as he did not wish to have a fight with the man. Defendant then went and cut down the fence. Two Scandinavians came up, and complainant remarked that defendant ought to be locked up. " You ought to be locked up," said the Scandinavians, "for blocking up the road." In cross-examination by Mr Rees, complainant admitted that he had put up the fence again when it was broken down. The place was not a road ; it was a street, but it did not become a street until it was proclaimed. What defendant had done was not in asserting a public right, but oiit of malice because complainant had impounded defendant's horse. Complainant did say that defendant oiight to be tied up and brought to Napier and put on the hill. James Nicholls, who was present jvhen the affair took place, related what he saw of it. According to his account, the complainant put his hand on defendant's collar, as if to stop him from going to the fence to chop it down, and thereupon defendant pushed complainant away, and did chop down the fence. Mr Rees was addressing the Bench, on the point that as the matter related to title to land the case was out of the jurisdiction of the Court, when His Worship intimated that the Bench regarded the case as a trivial one, and would dismiss it. MOORE V. BAXTER. Claim for £7 5s Id. Defendant did not appear, but a letter was read from him to the Clerk to the Bench, in which defendant offered to pay the debt by monthly instalments of 10s each, commencing on July 9th. Plaintiff agreed to the terms proposed, and judgment to that effect was accordingly given, with 34s costs. JESSOP V. HASTINGS. Claim for £1 5s 6d. Defendant did not appear. Judgment by default for the amount claimed, with 12 costs. SAME V. CARTWRIGHT AND "WILLIS. Claim for £3 for horse hire. The debt was admitted. Judgment for the amount with 9s costs. HAWKER V. SPENCE. Claim for £18, the alleged value of some galvanised wire converted by defendant to his iise. Mr Lee for plaintiff ; Mr Rees for defendant. The evidence of the plaintiff was that some seven or eight years ago he was living on some land he rented at Wharepanga from a person named Warne. There was then some galvanised wire on the ground that had at one time been ship's wire. Warne had told plaintiff to take the wire away, and on leaving the land to go to the Thames plaintiff put the wire on the beach handy for taking away. When, however, plaintiff sent for the wire defendant took possession of it and would not give it up. It had cost plaintiff £20 a ton, and there should be 16cwt of it. It M r as George Herbert that went for the wire. George Herbert stated that he went with a boat for the wire. Could not have taken it all in one boat. After he had got some of the wire into the boat Spence came down and asked if the witness knew lie was committing felony. Spence said he had taken Warne 's land and the wire belonged to it, and that witness should not have the wire unless he was a stronger man than Spence. As witness was not the stronger man he let Spence have his way, and helped to take the wire out of the boat. George Spence gave evidence to the effect that the wire to which the last witness referred was wire that he Spence had put out of the way off his land when he was ploughing the paddock. He (defendant) took no wire but what was inside the property. His Worship said that the evidence was of a contradictory nature, but the balance was on the plaintiffs side. He would give judgment therefore for the plaintiff. There was some argument on the question as to the amount of damages ; ultimately, after hearing some evidence as to the value of wire, his Worship fixed the amount at £12 ; costs, £2 18s. GRAHAM V. ANDERSON. Claim for £3 15s. Defendant did not appear. Judgment for the amount, with 9s costs. GILLESPIE V. TRACEY. Claim for £3 11s 3d. Defendant did not appear. Judgment for the amount, with 17s costs. Mr Lascelles for plaintiff. LANGLEY AND NEWMAN V. BUTCHER. This was a judgment summons on a judgment for 275. Defendant did not appear. Ordered that defendant pay the amount, with 7s Gd costs, within one week, or in default that he bo imprisoned for one month. There was no other business before the Court.