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New Zealand Mail, Issue 770, 3 December 1886, Page 10

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Saturday morning, Frederick Arnold was charged with having assaulted one Thomas White, in Willis-street, on the evening of the 26th. Messrs G. S. Graham, J. R. George, and E. T. Gillon were the presiding 1 Justices. It appears from the evidence of Inspector Browne that the man Arnold, who is an old offender, was engaged in “ pummelling” White, surrounded by a crowd of admiring spectators, when he, with the help of Acting-Detective Walker, took both the prisoners into custody. The case was dismissed on the charge of assault, their Worships being of opinion that the charge should have been one of breach of the peace. An amendment to that effect being made, the prisoners were charged with having acted in a manner calculated to provoke a breach of the peace. Both the accused pleaded not guilty. Arnold deposed that on the 20th, as he was leaving the Brunner Coal Co.’s yard, White came np and hit him in the face and kicked him, and that what he did on Friday night was in retaliation. The Bench fined Arnold, he being the aggressor, £l, or in default 48 hours’imprisonment, and White 10s, with the alternative of 24 hours’ imprisonment. Francis W. Peterson, a pitiful looking little abject, about Beven or eight years old, was charged with being a neglected child. Constable Reddell, who took the boy in charge, states that he found him lying asleep in the open air with only an old sack covering him, on the section next to Mrs Walker’s millinery shop in Lambten. quay, and the boy told him when questioned that his father lived in Taranaki-street; that he had a brother and sister both younger than himself; that having nowhere to sleep at home except on the floor he preferred sleeping out; and that for the past four nights he had slept in the open air, and had eaten next to nothing for a whole day. The case was remanded till the next Wednesday. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning, before Messrs Halse, Greenfield and Lachman, Justices of the Peace, two first offenders were fined for drunkenness, or in default the usual term of imprisonment. George Jackson, who pleaded guilty to having beenjdrunk the second time within a month, was fined ss, with the alternative of 24 hours’ imprisonment. A serious case of youthful depravity came before the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, when three boys, the eldest not more than 10 years of age, named respectively Herbert Mangan, Frederick Avant, and William Jones, were charged with having stolen a box containing two gold studs, a greenstone pendant and a . number of papers, the property of one Richard Thomas Smith, who lodges at the residence of Mrs Bprns, Cuba-street. A number of boys appear to have been implicated in the affair, and it is probable that several other arrests will be made. The police received information from a boy who was implicated., but who got rather frightened and saved himself by turning evidence. The boys fin.d* ing the papers to be valueless to them, took out the studs and pendant and threw the box and papers into the sea, thinking by/ that means to hide their guilt, but the boy who gave information to the police managed to save the box before the contents uvere destroyed. The result will be found in our police news. Mr Wardell, R.M., presided at the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. James Gosling pleaded guilty to a charge of drunkenness, and was fined ss, or in default 24 hours’ imprisonment. Another charge was preferred against Gosling of having damaged a coat belonging to a man named Thomas, who assisted in arresting the accused. Gosling was ordered to pay the costa

of the damage, £l. Four little boys nam William Jones, Bertie Mangan, Frederick Avant, and James Murray were brought up and charged with stealing a cashbox containing two gold studs, a greenstone pendant, and some documents, valued _ at 30s, the property of Mr R. T. Smith, clerk. Mr Smith gave evidence to missing the articles on Saturday afternoon. On the following evening Mr Mangan came to his lodgings with his little boy, and stated that the latter was concerned in the theft of the box, along with some other boy. Mr Mangan returned a portion of the contents of the box. Joshua Murray, aged six, stated that the other boys incited him to steal the box. The contents were afterward distributed among the boys, eight in number. Mr Wardell adjourned the case till the afternoon, when he committed Frederick Avant to the Cavereham Industrial School, and ordered him to be whipped with the birch. James Murray was sentenced to four strokes of the birch, and Bertie Mangan to six, both to be kept in cuetody till 6 p.m. Later on, William Jones was sentenced to six strokes with the birch rod. His Worship, after admonishing the other offenders, allowed them to go. This was all the criminal business. In civil cases, judgments for plaintiffs were given as follow :—J. Myers v J. T. Cassin,£l2 8a 9d, oosts £1 Is; Veitch and Allan ▼ J. Howartb, £4 3s 3d, costs 7s ; Bannatyne and Co. vT. Parsons, £3O 4s 9d, costs £3 13s; J. Liddle v John Smith, £2 16s 6d, costs 6s; G. Sutcliffe vR. JiUett, £9, costs £1 Us. Immediate execution was granted in the last-named case. The case Pepprell v J. Driscoll, claim £B, value of certain timber used in the construction of the Waikanae Bridge on the Wel-lington-Uanawafcu Railway line, was adjourned in order that the assistant clerk of the Company might proceed to the spot aud measure the timber. Judgment for defendant was given in the case ©£ R. Martin v Henry Tyer, claim £6 11s. Mr H. Travers appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Charles Pownall made his appearance as a barrister, appearing for the defendant. In the case William Staaden v Frederick Martin, claim £3 4s 6«S, judgment was given for plaintiff for £2 18s, amount paid into Court, and the plaintiff wao ordered to pay tho coats. Mr Menteath appeared for the dofendant, A woman named Jessie Walker applied to the Magistrate on Wednesday for o protection order. Mr Wardell informed the applicant that the law already provided protection for her earnings which she desired ; and as she had no children for whom she required assistance in maintaining, his Worship did not consider it necessary to make the order. During the hearing of a ease of larceny at the Resident Magictrate’s Court on Wednesday, awitness, assistant named Metz, stated that he had taken certain articles from a boy of about 8 or 9 years. Mr Wardell called the witness* attention to a section of tho Pawnbrokers Act, which states that a pawnbroker or hie- assistant taking goods- in pledge from any person under the influence of liquor, or who is apparently under tbe ago of 14, ia liable to a heavy fine. Mr Wardell remarked that the attention of the public end pawnbrokers should be directed to this provision of tha Act. Inspector Browne intimated that tho police were about to prosecute the pawnbroker in question.