POLICE COURR—Saturday.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4489, 3 April 1876, Page 3

POLICE COURR—Saturday.

[Before E. C. Baratow, Esq., B.M.] i •DxuiTKBifNESS.—Two -persons, >for- this! of: J fence, .were punished in-the l usual manner,' and one forfeited her bai£ ; rather than appear before the Courts ' .ilri I Vagrant Act.—Annie Reilly pleaded breach-of this, Act. by-being- an incorrigible > rogne and- ivagabond,: s and l • an habitual drunkard, 0 been • thrice previously convicted of dirmkeim'es's : withni the 1 preceding twelve months. Sergeant O'Cencor gave evidence as T to : arresting the prisoner.! His Worship considered the caseproved, and

! ordered the accused to'imprisoned for one - I month,- with- hard- labour.—A ntonio-Some--irock was charged with another breach o£ ! this Act, by creating a disturbance at the I bar of the Railway Terminus Hotel. Inspecj tor Broham stated the facts of the case, and '■■ informed the Bench that the landlord of tbn ; hotel, Air. Fernandez, did not desire to pre i; • the charge. The inan, when not under the influence of liquor, was a peaceable and law- : abiding uian. The man was then discharge with a caution.

■ Licensing Act.—John Carroll r Seccombe was charged with a breach of the above Act by selling two hogsheads : of ale toTWilliam Adams on the 25th March, without a licence.; Mr. Hesketh appeared for the defendant, and stated that his client had a brewer's licence under the Distillation Act, which he' considered gave him ample power for. all tho purposes of his business. Mr. Rees, who appeared for the plaintiff, said the question was simply whether a person holding Ol licence'under the Act of tho General 1 As- 1 sembly was compelled also to obtain a licence under the 4th section.of the Provincial Act or not. After citing numerous authorities, the learned gentleman contended that if tho provisions of the 4th section of the Proviroial Act were in any way inconsistent-nltli, or repugnant to, those of the Act of the General Assembly, tho latter would overrule the former. He then proceeded to show that the two Acts did not clash, and that the provisions of the Provincial Act coutemulato licences being held under both Acts at\"the same time by the one person. An affirms- '■ tive statute of the General Assembly dia hot negative or repeal a Provincial one. ~ Mr.' Hesketh thought it was a disgraceful thing that his'learned friend and himself should have to look .through so niany statutes in order to arrive at the answer to a simple question, as to whether a brewer holding a licence under the Distillation Act was also compelled to take out another under the Provincial statute. His-Worship, in arriving at a decision, would have to go through every section of no less than eight statutes bearing upon the subject. Mr. Hesketh cited an analogous case tried at the Dunedin Police Court, where judgment was given for the plaintiffs, but an appeal was granted, and on being heard at the Supreme Court, the decision was reversed, the Bench considering that the General Assembly Act quashed or repealed the Provincial one. The Provincial Act said in. effect that, unless' you take out a licence under its provisions, you cannot conduct business in the province, while by taking out a licence under the General Assembly. Act persons were authorised to conduct the business of brewer at" any part of the colony. The Act of the Provincial Council could not be co-existent with that of the General'As-. sembly. Mr, Rees replied at' some'length/ His Worship said he would deliver judgment on Tuesday morning.

Indecent Assault. —Thomas Mulvaney was charged on remand with iudeoently assaulting Fanny Bowman, on the 31st March, with intent to ravish 'her. Before proceeding with the case, the court was cleared. In order to allow Dr. Goldsbro' to attend the inquest at the hospital, his evidence was taken first. He deposed that he had examined the woman on the preceding day (Friday). She stated she felt a pain in her chest. There were marks of violence.bn the neck in the shape of slight abrasions of the skin. Fanny Bowman, a widow, residing at Air. Watson's house, Nelson-street, near the gasworks, deposed: She remembered on the night of the 30th ult. going down the wharf a little before midnight, in order to meet her brother-in-law, whom she expected by the steamer from, Poverty Bay. The steamer did.not arrive, and witness was returning home as fast as her feet could carry her, when, at the bottom of Wyndhaui-street, she observed She prisoner following her. On - reaching the Herald office, she turned and asked what he was following her for, and said she would give him a slap in the face. He then put his arm round her waist. Witness pulled off her boot and hit him in the'face, and immediately afterwards ran up the street; into Mr. Dignau's paddock. She had lived there for ten months. Prisoner, followed witness into the paddock, and, catching hold of her by the waist, threw her to the ground. He held her by the neck while he committed the assault. Witness was se.-eammg all the while, but then became unconscious. •• She next remembered Constable Revell arriving and handcuffing and taking away lier agreasor. She had never seen the prisoner previous to that time. To the prisonerIt might have been 12.20 a.m. when I first observed . you following me. I cannot say how long I wis in Mr. Dignan's paddock. A stay of five minutes more wonld have made me a dead woman. I never said I had broken my leg or put my ankle out of joint. Constable William Revell deposed : He remembered being on duty in Hobsou-street on the night of the 30th ult., near its junction with Wyndham-street. About one a.m. of the 31st, while near the corner of Wyndham-street, he heard someone calling out for help in the direction of an enclosure in Hobson-strec-t, belonging to Mr. Diguan. Witness went to the enclosure, inside of which, a few yards froni the gate, he found the prisoner and the last: witness. They were on the ground. The prisoner had one hand on the woman's neck. Though she was struggling with him, she was much exhausted and at first speechless. After "a few minutes she recovered sufficiently to tell witness-that the man had followed her from Queen-street, and had - pulled her about. She said she .had taken off.her boot and struck him with it. She then had fled to Mr. Dignan's paddock, hoping to reach the house before the prisoner, or obtain the aid of a large dog. She said the prisoner overtook lier, threw her down and com-

tnenced to ill-use her. She charged the prisoner with attempting to commit a rape, and with assaulting her. The prisoner told her to be".very cautious as to what she was

saying, and that it was a very severe case, or words to that effect. He did not, how-

ever, deny the charge. To the prisoner: I was 45 yards distant when I heard the first

cry for help. It scarcely took me a minute to reach the spot. The woman said ?hc was living at Mr. and Mrs. Hunter's, in Lorndstreet for a few days, but was then on' Her way to Mr, Watson's, This was the case for the prosecution. The whole of the evidence was then read over to the prisoner, and having reserved his defence, he was committed to take his trial at the next Criminal Sittings of the Supreme Court. This was all the business.