RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, Thursday, 29th October, 1868. (Before T. W. Parker, Esq., J.P.)

North Otago Times, Volume XI, Issue 360, 3 November 1868, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, Thursday, 29th October, 1868. (Before T. W. Parker, Esq., J.P.)

George Newey was summoned for permitting drunken and disorderly conduct in his licensed house, the Empire Hotel, oa_the iJ7th inst. Air O'Meagher appeared for the defendant. Sergeant Bullen, sworn, deposed, that while passing the Empire Hotel on the 27th inst., he heard a noise of cursiug and swearing. Saw a man ejected. He did not see hands laid upon him, but he came out backwards, as if forced out, and from what the man said afterwards, as well as this circumstance, he inferred that the man had been forced out. Requested him to go away, but he appealing reluctant, and seeing him marked and cut about the face, feared a, breach of the peace and apprehended him and handed him over to the charge of Constable Hanlon, who came up at the time. Ci oss-examined by Mr O'Meagher. —Did not hear the words made use of. Constable Hanlon stated. — On the afternoon of Tuosday last, at about 4 o'clock, I was at the Police Camp in charge of prisoneis, and hearing a noise as of quarrelling in the bar of the Empne Hotel, secured the piiaoners and went over. I baw a man named Tewnsend come out of the bar. He came out backwards, as if put out. The Seigeant airiviug at the time, Townsend was given into my custody. From the time I left the Police Camp till I arrived at the Hotel, the noise was going on. I saw the defendant, he was standing at the comer of the building. I saw him there before I left the Camp. 1 did not see him do anything. The noise was going on in the hotel at the time. The prisoner left in my charge was drunk. Before leaving the Camp I saw the prisoner and other persons outside the hotel. 1 saw them go in and out of the bar. When the man was ejected 1 heard him talking very loudly to some person inside the bar. Crobs-examined. — When I was at the Camp I was at the back of the building. 1 believed the sound to come from the bar ; seeing persons I knew to be disorderly going in add out of the bar. led me to believe that the noiae came from the bar. The bar is close to a passago on the north side of the building. Some of the noise

might have proceeded from that passage. I supposed that the man was ejected because he came out backwards. When I got to the bridge I satf Sergeant Builen coming down the street, at that time the defendant was standing at the corner of the building. There was another person standing with him. I could not say -whether either of them had a stick in his hand. Sergeant Sullen arrived before me and as soon as I got up the prisoner was handed over to me. I heard no conversation between Sergeant Builen and defendant. ' " Sergt. Builen stated that the passage-way at the side of the Empire Hotel was si portion of the premises of the hotel (Mr O'Meagher objected, that this was a ques* tion of law, there was no evidence to show that the passage was a part of the licensed premises.) The Magistrate said if it was shown that the passage referred to gave access to the house, that was pnma facie evidence that defendant had a right to the use of the right-of-way. Sergeant Builen said the passage was part of the premises in the occupation of the licensee. His object in bringing the case forward was not to get the defendant fined in a heavy penalty, but only to show publicans that they were responsible for the maintenance of order on their premises. Mr O'Meagher refered to the evidence adduced, which he said, was very inconclusive. The defendant could not be called to give evidence for or against himself, or he could show that both the man Townsend > and the other man referred to had been ejected from the house by himself, before Sergeant Builen arrived. James R. Jeffreys, sworn, deposed.— About 4 o'clock on the 27th I was standing at the comer of the ri"ht-of-way next the Empire Hotel. I saw Sergeant Builen coming from the Courthouse. The defendant was at that time standing at the corner of his house There were two men outside the bar. One walked down the right-of-way, and the other stood at the top of it The one who went down the right-of-way was calling upon the other one to come down to fisjht. They were about four or five yards from Newey's house when it was first called out that Sergeant Builen was coming. Thev then turned round towards the hotel. Towi.seod, one of the two, was standing at the threshold of the bar, the other man went mside Thev were talking to one another rather loudly. I did not see them fighting. When Seigeant Bullen came up he told Townsend to go away. He (Townsend) was muttering to himself, he did not make much attempt to go away. When the cry was first raised that Sergeant Bullen was coming he (the Sergeant) was just at the corner of the fence opposite the Oamaru Hotel. I heard Sergeant Bullen and the defendant in conversation. I heard but little that took ? ,?'* Sergeant Bullen express his surprise that he (Mr Newey) should allow disorderly conduct in his house. When Sergeant Bullen was coming up Townsend was doing the principal talking, the other man, who was lnsifle the bar, was quiet. Townseud was just standing at the door. When Constable Hanlon came up I was standing at the corner of the house Cross-examined.- From where I was standing I could not see into the bar. I had been standing at the corner but a very short time before the two men came out of the bar and one went down the right-of-way I heard no conversation between the men in the bar previous to this. I had only just^arrived. The challenge to fight was not accepted. The defendant came out from the bar shortly afterwards. It is possible that Townsend's refusalot the challenge might have been heard in the bar. When Townsend would not go down the right-of-way to fight, the other man came up and said he would fight him anywhere. Tne defendant was then present with me. Sergeant Bullen was then seen coming ; both men then turned towards the bar, Townsend stood at the doorway, the other went in. While I was standing with Mr Newey we were looking over a book together. I heard the other man call Townsend a coward. 1 did not hear any bad language. I was taking very little notice. When Sergeant Bullen came up Townsend was standing two or three feet from the doorway. I did not see him pushed out. He might have been pushed out without my having seen it. Just before Sergt. Bullen came up I heard the man who was in the bar say, " I ' will knock your head off," addressing Townsend, who was outside. The defendant, who was standing with me looking at some pictures in a book, did not make any attempt to suppress' this disorderly conduct. The conduct of the men was rather disorderly. Re-examined by Mr O'Meagher. -I thought there was going to be a fight. Tho Magistrate, after commenting up*on the evidence, stated that he considered the case sufficiently proved Fined 10s., and 5s. (5d. costs. George Quarria was charged with unlawfully seizing and rescuing certain cattle from the Inspector of Nuisances, who was taking them to the public pound, on the 15th inst. He pleaded not guilty. After some little enquiry, absolute proof not being foithcoming of the defendant being implicated in the matter, although be was shown to have been present when the cattle were rescued by his boys, the case was after a severe caution from the Magistrate, dsmissed.

Feidat, 30th Octobrb, 1868. Several debt cases were disposed of.

Saturday 31st October, 1868. Peter M'Kenzie was charged, on the information of one David Adams, with assaulting and robbing him of the sum of LI, on the night of the 30th ult. Sergeant Bullen stated that from enquiries he had made into the statement of the prosecutor, he found several discrepancies, and no evidence whatever to support the charge, and from the known good character of the prisoner, and the equally well-known had character of the prosecutor, who his Worship would recollect was convicted from this Court on a similar charge to that now preferred by him against the prisoner, in January, 1867 ; he (Sergeant Bullen) would, with the permission of the Bench, withdraw the charge of felony, and substitute that of common assault, to which the prisoner pleaded guilty, and stated that he struck prosecutor on finding his hand in his (M'Kenzie's) pocket. The facts of the case appear to have been as follows : —Prosecutor and 'prisoner, who have been acquainted for some years, but had not met until the night in question for a long time past, had been spending the evening together in the usual convivial manner, and both were, on leaving the hotel, the worse for liquor, but prisoner, who was the more unsteady of the two, and was staggering, remembered prosecutor putting his arm through his to steady him ? After proceeding a short distance along Tees-street, prisoner, finding prosecutor's hand in his pocket, resented the liberty by knocking him (prosecutor) down, and beat him rather severely. Several persons coming up, among whom was a constable, M'Kenzie, fearing that he sgiould be apprehended, ran away, when his friend made* the* charge against him, upon which he (M'Kenzie) was apprehended. The prosecutor bearing the marks of having 'been severely handled, his Worship remanded the case until Monday, in order to see in what state he would then be.

Monday, 2nd November, 1868. Archibald Martin was charged with being illegally on »i pr /?? usea of Mrs Jolmson » ° n Saturday night last. Mr O Meagher appeared for the prisoner, and pleaded —Not Ouilty. Thomas Johnson, sworn, deposed.— I live with my mother. She keeps a tea and coffee shop near White, the bootmaker's. I know prisoner by the name of ' Archie." He came to my mother's house on Saturday night. It was between 10 and 11 o'clock, I think. He was kicking on the floor of one of the rooms, and making a noise. Mother was sick and could not attend to him ; she was in bed. There was no one there when he came but myself. T told him he had better go home He was drunk. He refused to go ; he did not iay he wanted anything. He was in the house about half an hour, making a noise, kicking on the floor and at the table. My mother told me to go for the police to take prisoner away. I went for the police, and shortly before 1 went, Mrs Raymond came to the house. Prisoner does not board at my mother's,— he does not sleep there- he has a house of his own. I told prisoner several times to go away. My mother heard the noise he was making and told him to go away. Prisoner made no answer to my mother. I do not know whether prisoner knew my mother was sick. Cross-examined by Mr O'Meagher.— My mother sells tea and coffee. I did not sell any coffee or tea that day no person came for any. I sometimes sell it. Prisoner never had any tea or coffee at our house ; he did not enquire for any one. The door was not locked. I never saw anyone have coffee in the house after 10 or 11 o'clock. I do not know what takes place after I go to bed at 10. I have heard prisoner called "Archie" by my mother and Mrs Raymond. Mrs Raymond did not speak to Archie. She was in the kitchen, and prisoner was in another room. Sergeant Bullen, sworn, deposed. From information received from the last witness on Saturday night last, about 11 o'clock, I accompanied him to the house of his mother, Mrs Johnson, in Tees-street. The last witness showed me a room, in which I saw the prisoner. I also saw Mrs Raymond present. She said, " I wish Sergeant .you Trould take Archie away, he has been here for some time annoying Mrs Johnson who is very ill. The prisoner was sitting on the floor. I spoke to him and endeavored to make him understand that he must leave the premises, but he was too drunk and I had to lift him on to his feet, and take him out. I took him to the Police station. Mr O'Mengher submitted that the case did not come within the meaning of the section of the Ordinance under which the information was laid ; the' house being according to the evidence of the principal witness, a place of public resort. The Magistrate thought it was possible prisoner might have gone to the house with the intention of obtaining

refreshment,' but having refused to leave the house 1 when requested to do so, and having made a great aoiio —to the annoyance of the occupant* who was ill— ho thought he then became a trespasser* and having baen so drunk as not to know what he was about, must submit to the consequences. Fined 30s. The next case of the kind would be punished by imprisonment. Peter Mackenzie surrendered to bail on the charge of assault adjourned from Saturday last. The prisoner made a statement to the effect before noted, viz., that prosecutor had put his haud into his (prisoner's) pocket, and that he, supposing he wanted to take his money, struck him, and being the worse for liquor, went farther in punishing him than he would have done when sober. He was sorry for the injury prosecutor had sustained. The Magistrate remarked that his (prisoner's) running away was a circumstance that told rather against him. Prisoner stated that hearing a number of persons coming up, and being stupid with liquor, he ran away to hide from the police. He lay down among some 1 stacks of timber on the Esplanade, and slept until about one o'clock in the morning. When he awoke he remem-» bered nothing about the assault, and went to his house. On reaching the door he struck a match, and going in, found a policeman in his bed. He asked him what was up. The policeman told him, and he then began to remember the assault, but it seemed like a dream. He could then have evaded the police but did not do so. As he came to himself in the police station he remembered the whole transaction clearly. The Magistrate asking if there were any witnesses as to character, the prisoner called Sergeant Bullen, who stated that he had know prisoner four years ; he had filled positions of trust, and his honesty and integrity were unquestioned. He occasionally got the worse for liquor, and had then a very awkward temper. The Magistrate cautioned the prisoner as to indulging in liquor, and dismissed the charge. David Hood was charged with furious riding in Thames-sti-eet. He pleaded guilty. Fiued L2 and costs, 20s. 6d. John Birraclough was fined 2s. 6d. for allowing a horse to wander in Severn-street.