MAGISTERIAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCV, Issue 10919, 30 March 1896, Page 3

MAGISTERIAL.

CHRISTCHURCH. Saturday, March 28. (Before Mr R. Beetham, S.M.) Alleged Vagrancy. —James Cotter was charged with having insufficient lawful means of support. Mr Donnelly appeared for the accused. Evidence was c] ven. hy Detectives Benjamin and Marsack and Sergeant Briggs, who stated that they had known the accused for some years. He disappeared from the town occasionally, but while lie was hero he consorted with thieves and prostitutes, and in the opinion of tho police was a dangerous man to he loafing about the town. He had been in Christchurch on this present occasion for six or seven weeks, and during that period had done no work. The accused gave evidence on his own behalf. He said that he. worked from April to July last year at the Croydon Meat Works, Southland, for two months in the Waitaki Valley, came to Canterbury and got work at shearing, and after that went grass-seeding. His Worship said he would give the accused forty-eight hours to get out of the town; if he had not gone by that time, he would get three months’ imprisonment.