IDLE AND DISORDERLY.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 271, 1 November 1916, Page 2

IDLE AND DISORDERLY.

ASSAULT ON A POLICE OFFICER. - ' MOvFrlS HAID LARF> ] T is t n tinst D hl \ iiv .Sutherland (.rant, for oeing sole and disorderly, nr.q tor assaulting ?c c He hii 1 j i i < < cuti< i ol h <lut ? II sting « is rc stir la tie \i>ie VI igi i it s ( o ut cron v ahernoon. oefore Mr. T\ . g. k- kennek. S.M.. who asked -.vrtness it he had been successful in cunng U-tI a i t in < to which the prinoriei made .□uii.v i.niddled reply in the negative. “1 suppose Counsel knew tnere was no chance or the money, re-i-anted His Tvorsnii). Thomas a. Hea’.h. licensee of the ■'-.•ov’nm.si Hotel, denosed that ac---.sed had staved at his hotel from t t O cl nth, nut, had not naid his board. He ■ ii(-nG(>m?d mat ne had sold out a niaeo in the Wairarana and led witness to believe that he had o i v He 1 tei a ted f oi ssistnn?e- and receded £2. but paid it back. Lie lett witnout any notice whatever and did not pay his account. He then communicated bytelephone and promised, to p/iy it on a fixed date. He received a letter to the same effect but the money’ had not been forthcoming. James Burdett, licensee, of the Union Hotel, Port. Ahuriri, said accused stayed at his hotel from the 21st to the 25th ins., but did not pay his account. He left without any’ notice and since then made repeated promises to pay. Detective Ward said that Grant came to Napier from Gisborne at the end of September and up. till now had done no work. Witness had received several complaints, and feeling it his duty’ to speak to him, journeyed to Hastings on Saturday and saw him enter the Grand i Hotel. Witness asked his name and! was told that it was Murray. He' told accused who he was and asked what he was doing for. a living. Accused said he was going to work, and offered to take witness to see the man for himself. Accused said. “If you come through the back and down on the next street we will find! him.’’ They went through to the back of the hotel and when near the back gate near Karamu road, accus-| viciously’ assaulted witness with his J first and his boot. This rendered witness momentarily’ incapable and accused ran off. Witness had gone there to see the. man who was going to employ accused and would have let him alone had he been really going to work. They were in the yard j alone, but later on someone came out and inquired after witness’ injuries. .Witness had known of ac-l cusod for many years. ... J Prisoner to witness : Didn’t you I catch hold of me first, and tell mei to come along. Witness: Certainly not, we were* going to see some man. | Prisoner: But you know you were' not hurt. I Witness: If I hadn’t been hurt; you would not have got out of that right-of-way. Had I knov’n you were going to assault me, it would not have happened. Bryce Henry, Constable, at Hastings, said a warrant was issued for accused’s arrest on Saturday, for a sault on Detective Ward. He i t* accused in Karamu road and told him he was wanted at the Police. Station. Accused denied being r i man, rushed at witness and ran, away. He was captured again v itl the assistance of Constable O’lu n and hand-cuffed while viciously re-i volting. 1 When asked if wished to < 11 evidence, accus'd said he bad no: friends, but His Worship intima td that if he went into the box r d gave evidence he must tell thetruth, or it may lead to perjury and : make matters worse. ■. The accused again protested that be was a hard work.ng man. > His TVor<h : p: Hard working ui h your fists evidently. . s The prisoner when in the box said be v.ms a contractor and sone i”’cs worked on a farm. He intended to go back to Gisborne,: where he had been employed by MrG. Hutchison. He also worked at’ shearing for Mr. G. Thomas. 1 His Worship here interrupted that they wanted to know what he had done recently. Prisoner said -he had not recently cone from Gisborne, but Auckland where he was travelling round with a man named Barrington. His Worship : Travelling round m the same train, is that what you mean ? Do you expect us to believe that you’re a hard working man. Touching on the assault, witness said he did not intend to do Mr. Ward any harm, but although he himself was in the wrong, so was Mr. Ward. i Mr. Ward: Where were you between April and September ? Witness: I’ll write it down for your Worship. . I His Worship: We want things straight out here. Witness (demurely): To be candid I -was in gaol. Mr. Ward: On false pretences too ? Witness: Yes. Mr. Ward: You drew out a valueless cheque and gave it to Mr. TV bite of the Empire Hotel 1 ? Witness: Yes, but I refunded it. Mr. Ward: You borrowed money from Captain TViderstorm at Port Ahuriri? ... Witness : Yes, but I think he owed me money. Mr. Ward: You hired a horse from the Hawke’s Bay Motor Comi pany Witness: But when I offered to pay they wouldn’t accept the money. Mr. Ward : And you offered them a cheque for £10? Witness: Yes. Mr. Ward: You also cashed a cheque for £lO on the bank of New Zealand at Mr. Burdett’s Hotel, and it was dishonoured ? Witness: But if it hadn’t been for meeting you I’d have had the money in the bank. ; . In summing up, His Worship stated that instead of improving His case by going in the box, accused showed that he was far from a hard working man, and had proved that he was a bad mark all round. Your assault on Detective Ward was a cowardly act, without the slightest provocation. You are committed to three months’ hard labour for being idle and disorderly and one month’s hard labour on the assault. A FURTHER CHARGE. FALSE PRETENCES. Grant was further charged with issuing a valueless cheque drawn on the Bank of New Zealand, Hastings for £lO, to Mr. Burdett, Port Ahuriri. - ■ - - Accused pleaded “guilty.” Detective Ward stated that after issuing the cheque, accused had written to- Burdett asking him to destroy’ the cheque in ' case there may be trouble over it. This mao

had a. substantial crimin«-'l record as follows :—Auckland, 1910: Acquitted for false pretences ; Christchurch. 1913, fined £3 3/- for similar offence TVe'hngton, 19i4, three months ioi Hieft ; Gisborne, 1916, six months on two charges of false pretences. His Worship said that judging bj priso’mi’s letters, ho had laid himent to go wrone and was prettx cute at it. He tried to convert a criminal affair mo a civil matter cl credit His TVorship said that where he thought there was a chatice oi a man reforming him«elf he alwavs gave it. but there did n<< seem much chance in this case. He would be committed to six months’ hard labour on this chaige. the terms to be concurrent.