AN AUCKLAND PUSH.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 7 March 1912, Page 8

AN AUCKLAND PUSH.

Ten young men —Geo. Bradley. John Martin, Thcs. Herk, W. Estall. Alexander Jones, Geo. Jones, Henry Whiteside, Alexande- Walker Walker, Herbert Gamble, and Joseph Howard—appeared before Mr E. C. Cutten, S.M., in the Police Court to-day, charged with us in;,' threatening behaviour in Wellingtonsti:et, also with assaulting Ernest Mather and George Evans. The evidence for the prosecution wr.* that Mather was standing in Queen- t on 'a recent Saturday *night when Whites;d;- came up and asked for a [ match. Mather gave Jlim a box of matches which, after lighting his cispr- ! ette, he put in his pocket-. When Mather I asked for the return cf the matclus Whiteside struck him on the nose -and i then disappeared. Later, when Mather | reached Wellington-street, he met a i number of the accused voting men. who i set on him, punching an<l kicking him. Evans then c£\m« on the scpne and i asked for fair play, and a section cf the pang then assaulted him. One of the-n f then went for reinforcement. ■ -and i Evans, a man of fine phyique, was again set upon with such violence that i he had to call for he'D. Evans th-.-n ! went for the police, and while he wpk I awav the c-owd again turned the : r at- ; fnticrt to Mather, kickinsr and beatintr ' him unmerc'fullv. one of. the accused i holdins his head while another hit him in the face. Describing the affair Evans eaid the accused behaved "like a pack cf wolves." Constable Murphy said that when he p*<»t Mather and Evans thev were r : blv bettered about, their faces and bodi"=- bein"' a- mass of cuts an<i bruises. The defence was a total denial of nnv in two men. With rerard Alexander Jones it was pdmitted th-u he endeavoured to act as peacemakeand that Martin was not in the habit cf "mi-'-'ner with *he r"«t of tli° trailer. His WorshiD said th» chartr« Alexander .Tones would be dismiss" l Martin wouM ,be fined £5. A« to + /-fhp.rs, he wished ti make it o"'t° c'"T that- anything of the nature of th« f~" mation of innjs would be nut firin'v down, and he was to take +,l ° f".mewh°t . nnus'ta! cnur«« of . sep- r *.''" r them n TI to o-00l -~xcen f Martin. J"-"-'! ••-ould be sentenced to 14 days' hard 1;bour. The accused, when thev heard the sentence, were evident I v ..-tap-w-oj-ed few < f them treating the affair seriously.