LAW AND POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5632, 4 December 1879, Page 6

LAW AND POLICE.

BANKRUPTCY. Re Hen-ry Clakexce Hoyte.—The debtor is a settler at Tauranga. Tne liabilities were set down at £570 lGs Gd, and the as=cts at £1190. Iu explanat on nf liis bankruptcy, and the large a3-*et sent in f it was stated that the debtor had m-rtgaged a piece of land to secure a loan of £120. The land was worth £900. Ho found that the land had been sold, and that by some mistake he had signed an actual transfer of the land to the mortgagee instead of the usual mortgage deed. Mr. Thomas Macffarlaue was elected trustee. lle James Harris.—The deb'.or was described as au auc'.ioneer. The liabilities were set down at £7SG 14s, and the assets at £1401), consisting <>f stock in warehouse £500, stock in bona £137, land £532, book debts £93. Mr. Thomas Micffarlaue was elected trustee. Re Wiiliam John Suiter. — (Deed of arrangement).— The creditors in this estate met f-r the purpose of considering whether they would assent to the de<d. The liabilities were pet down at £4015, and the assets at £7159. But the assets must be considered in part nomina', for it was stated tint the estate would probably realise n-»t much in excess ofGs in the £. The creditors by a majority iu number and value assented to the deed.

POLICE CO U RT.—W ed x e -1> Av. r Be'ore ,1. E. Mic'linald, Esq , R.M.] Drunkenness.—-Thr -e persons were fined in the usual amounts for having been drunk. A Rogue and A Vagabond.— John Shiers Was charged with being a rogue and a vagiboud. Tho prisoner wm found guilty, and sentenced to G months' imprisonment. Bkeakinu a Mirror.—George Camp was charged with maliciously and wilfully breaking a mirror, worth £15, the property of Michael Gallagher, at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Mr. T. Cooper appeared for the defence. Mr. Pardy stated that the prisoner had beer in the bar, having an altercation with the barmaid, and throwing tumblers and other things at each other. A glass waterbottle which was thrown by one of them— the barmaid said by the prisoner, and the prisoner asserted it was throivn by the woman—broke the mirror. The prisoner, however, paid the value of the mirror, ami as there was no evidence whatever to prove who threw the bottle, perhaps his Worship would allow the case to be withdrawn. His Worship accordingly discharged the prisoner. Throwing Stones.—Patrick O'Brien and Robert Allan were charged, on summons, with throwing stones in Lorne-street to the danger of persons passing therein, on the 22nd ultimo. The boys pleaded guilty. One of them, Allan, had been previously before the court on a similar charge, and had been let off, aud as the police were constantly complained to about this habit of the boys, his Worship ordered them to pay a fine of 10s each and costs. Assault.-—Robert Allan was charged with unlawfully assaulting Robert Brown by kicking him on the body, on the 2nd instant. As the defendant apologised, the complainant asked permission of the court to withdraw the charge, which was granted him. Breaking Glass.—Charles Murray was charged with wilfully aud maliciously breaking a pane of glass, the property of Thomas Stewart. The complainant stated that as the boy, Charles Murray, had paid for the paue of glass, he had withdrawn the charge. His Worship told him, that he, the complainant, had no power to withdraw the charge after he had once put the criminal law into action. Ho could only ask permission of the court to withdraw the charge, aud it rested with the court to grant it or not as it seemed right. The case was remanded till next day, and the defendant ordered to appear then in person. Unlawfully Landing Cattle.—Thomas Logan was charged with landing tame cattle from the steamship Hero, on the Queen-street wharf, without having obtained the permission, in writing, of tho Harbourmaster or Piermaster for the Port of Auckland, contrary to the Harbour Regulations for the Portß of New Zealand - — Mr. Hesketh, who appeared for the defendant, said that, under his advice, Captain Logan pleaded not guilty. Captain Logan, tho defendant, was a shipmaster of long standing, and well knowa iu Auckland as the Oaptain of the Hero. He has been trading here for many years, and for the past 11 yeais ho had never been made aware of the regulation requiring him to obtain the permission of the Harbormaster or Piermaster, in writing, before he could laud cattle. For 11 years, he had never obtained any such written order; that he had, numbers of times, landed cattle on a mere verbal order. Ou the occasion complained of, tho Piermaster was actually present, and saw tho cattle landed, and, from his miking not the slightest objection, he concluded naturally that he tacitly consented, and Captain Logan had not the slightest idea that there was any objection, until hi was informed of this information being laid against him, without a word of warning having been given. Technically he had no answer to the charge, but lie thought that, considering it was against Captain Logan, who had done so much good to the port, and to the people of the port, the least that the Harbourmaster coull have done would have been to have gone to Captain Logan and drawn his attention to the necessity of his obtaining in futurn a written permission, and it would have been attended to. It was entirely at the discretion of the Harbourmaster, Captain Burgess, to have done this, and all the ends of justice would have been amply satisfied by such a warning. Bat instead of doing this he laid the information, without giving the defendant the slightest previous notice or warning. Mr. Cooper, for the prosecutor, said that the landing of the cattle had frightened so many persons on the wharf that a report had been made to the police, and by them to the Harbour Board. Captain Burgess was the only person authorised to lay these informations. He did not witness the matter, but the case having been reported by the polico, and by them officially to the board, Captain Burgess was instructed by the board to lay the information, and would not have done his duty had he disregarded tho instructions. He had no option but to lay the information. He (Mr. Cooper) was not instructed to press the charge, and fully endorsed Mr. Hesketh's remarks with reference to the good Captain Logan had done to tho port.—Mr. Hesketh said that, by what Mr. Coopor said, this charge had been brought againßt Captain Logan simply because people were frightened, and if they had not been, and no complaint had been made to the police and to the Harbour Board, there would, he supposed, have been no notice taken of the case. —His Worship said that, as Captain Logan had been acting in the samo way for thepaßt 11 years, and thero had been nothing said in all that time about his not having a written permission, ho would simply inflict a nominal fine of Is and costs.