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New Zealand Mail, Issue 662, 31 October 1884, Page 22

Henry Thomas Eddlestone, who, it will be seen by our Magisterial report, was last Friday sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for larceny, is the individual who some months ;J 0 w Js charged in Wellington with a similar

offence, and acquitted. At that time he was arraigned under the name of Henry Ihomas Edwards. By wbat process or for what reason he has since adopted a new surname, deponent sayeth not.

John Johnson was charged at the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Saturday with assaulting one Peter Mack. He pleaded guilty, but asserted by way of justification that Mack had first struck him. The latter, on the contrary, denied that he had made any attack upon the accused ; and Mr Wardell, considering the evidence in favor of Mack, fined his assailant 20s, in default seven days imprisonment. Charles Williams was arraigned before Mr Wardell at the Resident Magistrate’s Court ou Saturday morniDg on a charge of obtaining under false pretences the sum' of 33 from William Frederick Chutterbuck. He pleaded not guilty. It appeared from the evidence that Nicholson had accosted Chutterbuck, and offered to “ tell his fortune.” The latter was willing to have his horoscope cast, and “ threw ” the sage three shillings, but not, he said, as payment for the fortune telling. His fortune was accordingly told, Nicholeon explaining to him that he had a lady who was not true to him. Detective Chrystal, called for the prosecution, gave the accused a bad character. Nicholson complained that he had been hunted about by the police. The case was dismissed, Mr Wardell pointing out to the accused that he was not adopting a course .calculated to inspire confidence in him. There is a decrease in the numbers of the transgressors of the law in Wellington, which may be considered . highly satisfactory. At Monday’s sitting of the Resident Magistrate’s Court, the only offender was a drunkard, and in the evening the sole occupant of the police cells, up to a late hour, was a woman arrested in a state of intoxication. In dealing with the case of the three lads charged at Wednesday’s sitting of the Resident Magistrate’s Court with vagrancy, Mr Wardell requested that publicity might be given to the fact that these boys, who had committed no more grievous offence than that of sleeping on private property, were in want of employment. The boys, who were sentenced to nominal penalties, are steady in appearance, and doubtless would be very handy to persons in need of farm labor.

The owners of unregistered dogs who were fined Is and costs last week may figuratively shake hands with themselves, for they were exceptionally lucky in being arraigned before Messrs Mills and Young, J.P.’s. Had they appeared before Mr Wardell. R.M., they would doubtless have been mulcted in a similar sum to that inflicted on several offenders yesterday, viz., 10s —a penalty which Mr Wardell stated he intended for the future to inflict in every case.