POLICE COURT NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14807, 10 October 1911, Page 5

POLICE COURT NEWS.

MILK AND WATER.

NEARLY RESULTED IN THE D.T.'s., A Torso man, described by the police as a "first offender," when charged with drunkenness at the Police Court s yesterday, j before Mr. E. C. Cutten, S.M., protested that he had not taken anything stronger than milk and water for five days prior to his arrest. The police stated that tho man was bordering upon delirium tremens when; arrested. His Worship, addressing the accused, remarked: "You say you had had nothing but milk and water for five days;: but when you were first brought before me after your arrest you were not in a state that was brought about by milk and water. Appearances are against you. You are convicted, and you will bo fined 2s 6d for drunkenness, and costs 17s 6d."

DRUNKENNESS. Four first offenders were fined ss, or 24 hours' imprisonment. ' A kanaka named Lui Ramaki, and a negro named Charles Johnson, were each fined 10s, or 48 hours. ' Similar penalties Were imposed upon Walter Humby, Charles Hawks, and Charles Hull alias W. Barry. An old-age pensioner named William James Yandle pleaded guilty to a charge of having committed a breach of his prohibition order. Mr. Cutten said that as the man _ would lose his pension he had been sufficiently punished. ■ Ho ? was convicted and discharged. ■ | Win. Bartley, for being drunk and committing a breach of his prohibition order, was fined £2, or seven days' imprisonment. David Johnston, who, while drunk, had travelled in a tramcar and refused to pay his fare, was fined £1 3s. A middle-aged woman named Ellen Cairns, for a breach of her prohibition order, was fined £2, or seven days. William Betts, charged with being drunk, and while in that condition interfering with a Salvation Army street service, was fined £2, or three. days' imprisonment. COMMITTED FOR SENTENCE. An ebony-hued New South Wales aborigine named Kiri Romano, alias Christopher Rynan, a blacker black fellow than is usually met with in any part of that State, and one whose face, apart from its colour, has .no feature resembling the Australian aboriginal cast of countenance, pleaded guilty to a charge of having stolon a skirt valued at 20s from the residence of a Greystreet boardinghouse-keeper. He sold the skirt to a secondhand dealer for 2s, and got gloriously drunk on the proceeds. It appears he has been 10 years in the Dominion, and has already been convicted on 17 separate occasions. Ho ; was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.' ' BREACHES: OF THE PEACE. Two stoutly-built young sailormen, John Maddocks and Frederick Fraser, admitted that they had quarrelled in their cuds on Saturday, and proceeded to settle their differences with their fists in Customs-street. His Worship could not see that one man was more in fault than the other, and they were treated alike — or 48 hours.

Joseph James Saxon, a big burly man, pleaded not guilty when charged with having been drunk in Spring-street and assaulting a young law clerk named Frederick Matthews. On the charge of drunkenness, accused was convicted and discharged, and he was fined £2 for tho assault. A young fellow named Angus McCallum, whose appearance was not very prepossessing, was ordered to be imprisoned for 43 hours for using foul language in an eatinghouse in Wyiidnam-strcet. It appeared that he entered the restaurant, which is kept by Joseph Brodie, a man 78 years of age, and demanded a meal, for which he refused to pay. When the food was taken away he wanted to fight the old man, and used the language complained of. When he went out he threw a stone, which went- through both the front and back windows of the shop. Defendant was fined ss, and also ordered to pay £1 15s damages and costs.

* , ■'. VAGRANCY. , Norman John McLcod, who has previously been convicted on; charges of theft, vagrancy, and being an idle and disorderly : person, was,sent to gaol for .two months on a charge of having /'no: lawful .visible means of support.. '• • v ■•■;»•• -a ■ Myles Spinuott] pleaded not guilty to aninformation charging him with being an incorrigible, rogue and vagabond. He was sentenced to six months', imprisonment with hard labour. This is one of the men a» rested on suspicion of being Powelka, the escaped convict. , MISCELLANEOUS. ' ' A middle-aged man, of respectable appearance named George Broadhurst, who follows the occupation of a wharf-labourer, and is said (to vbe a teetotaler and strenuous prohibitionist, pleaded not guilty to a charge of having wilfully behaved in a grossly indecent, manner in Symondsrstreet. The Court was cleared during the hearing of the case. His Worship sentenced defendant to six months' imprisonment, with hard labour John Smith admitted that he was found drunk in Karangahape Road on Saturday, but had no recollection of having indulged in any improper language He was convicted and sentenced .to three days' hard labour. -'.... , A first offender was fined £1 for language of an objectionable character, and convicted and discharged on a charge of drunkenness. An elderly, named Hugh Morland, who was only recently discharged from the Avondale Mental Asylum, was found Wandering along Karangahape Koad on Saturday talking to himself, and using some* very offensive language. He offered no explanation of his behaviour other than to , say that his language was not addressed to anyone at all. Forty-eight hours' imprisonment. .* ' " v/: