Placed an Obstruction On Railway Line

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 250, 23 October 1935, Page 3

Placed an Obstruction On Railway Line

FEILDING YOUTH REMANDED FOR SENTENCE.

Found guilty of placing an obstruction on the railway line, lan Bruce Cossar-Miller, aged 19, who stood his trial before Hon. Mr. Justico Smith and a jury of 12 in the Supreme Court at Palmerston North yesterday, was remanded for sentence till Thursday.

Accused, who pleaded not guilty and was represented by Mr. D. C. Cullinaue, was arraigned on two counts: (1) That he did wilfully place an obstruction, namely, a boulder, upon the railway line; (2) that he unlawfully and wilfully, in a manner likely to injure and endanger tho safety of persons on a railway, did an act —namely, place a boulder on tho railway line—likely to interfere with or cause damage to any engine, carriage or other vehicle on such railway. The following jury was empanelled: Messrs. G. Geckie D. R. Brougham, J. Fox, L. Tucker, K. C. Ivilsby, T. E. Sim, C. Jones, J. Kay, L. M. Seymour, P. G. Brdokie, P. J. Guthrie and H. Sandford.

In outlining tho case to the jury, Mr. H. R. Cooper (Crown Prosecutor) said that, had the boulder not been seen by tho driver of tho general manager’s rail-car, a serious accident might have occurred. The stone was big enough to have caused tho derailment of any train. The Limited express was due to come through that night, and if the stone had not been discovered beforehand, tho result might have been disastrous.

In evidence, Leonard William Evans Mardon, of Wellington, locomotive driver, said ho had been driving the general manager’s rail-car on July It had left Auckland at 7.55 a.m. that day and about 4 p.m. it passed through Pending. The general manager and his secretary were on board. Shortly after leaving Feilding, "witness saw an object on the lino which he took to bo a dog or other animal, but as it did not move he put the brakes on. Thcro was not enough time to bring the, vehicle to a standstill and it struck the boulder while doing about .15 miles an hour. Tho rail-car went on about 20 or 25 yards before stopping and witness then made an inspection of tho ear, finding that a mudguard had been damaged. The locality was just before reaching the Aorangi bridge. The Limited express that night was the next, train due to go over that section. Derailment or other damage could have resulted, depending on the angle at which the cowcatcher of the train struck tho boulder. Cross-examined witness admitted that the main road from Palmerston North to Feilding was only two chains away and that there was nothing to obstruct the view of anyone on the road.

David Findlay, statioimiastcr at Feilding, said the boulder weighed 37:}lbs. Had tho derailment of a train occurred, tliere was a danger of some portion of it leaving the bridge and falling down to the riverbed. Sergeant M. J. Angland, of Feilding, said lie had ashed accused on August 3 for a statement of his movements on the afternoon of July 2S. Accused made a statement which was taken down on a typewriter and signed. In it he said that, in company with a younger boy, he had been out at Aorangi that afternoon They had seen a big boulder and had decided to put it.on the railway line. Accused said he knew that the rail-car was due to go through. On August C accused called at the police station and said he wished to make a further statement. In it he said they placed the stone on the railway line for the purpose of smashing it, but their attention was distracted by a rabbit, which they went after. After that they forgot about the stone.

Cross-examined, witness said he was not altogether prepared to say that accused was sub-normal, although ho knew ho had suffered from epileptic fits. He had passed the competency examination at .171 years of age. This closed the case for the Crown and Mr. Cullinane intimated that he was not calling evidence. Addressing tho jury, Mr. Cullinane said that, for there to be criminal offence, not only had there to be an act, but there must be wilful intention to commit the act complained of. Accused had had no intention of obstructing the railway lino or causing damage, and his act was foolish, stupid or inadvertent, but not. criminal. Had accused and his companion been trying to wreck a train, they would not have chosen a spot so close to the main road to do their work. Their explanation of why the stone was on the lino was thatthey had been trying to break it, and when their attention was distracted by a. rabbit, which they chased, they forgot all about it. In summing up, his Honour said verdicts of guilty could be brought in on both counts, the first of which was the more serious. The placing of tho boulder on the line was not disputed; the only question was whether it was placed there wilfully. The jury retired at 1.10 p.m. and returned at 2.30 with a verdict of guilty on both counts, recommending mercy on account of accused’s mental state. Mr. Cullinane asked if his Honour would defer passing sentence to enable evidence to bo called as to accused’s character and condition.

“Yes,’’’ replied his Honour, “I would like to have that." Accused was remanded till Thursday for sentence. The question of bail was, at tho Judge’s request, discussed in chambers.