The Courts.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1037, 15 January 1892, Page 30

The Courts.

R.M. COURT.. O Two very old offenders were dealt with at tho Magistrate’s Court yesterday week by Mr H. W. Robinson, R.M., both of them women, and charged with habitual drunkenness. One, named. MoVVilliam, is 46 years of ago, and has within a comparatively short space of time been convicted of drnukenness as mauy as 19 times. Sentence of three months’ imprisonment was passed now upon her. The other,.,Mary Miller, is 34 years of age, and having a long list of previous convictions recorded against her, was sent to prison for two months, with hard labour.

At the first Court sitting at the Magistrate’s Court after the t hristmaa vacation, held yesterday week, judgment was given for plaintiffs in the following undefended cases by Mr H. W. Robinson, R.M. J. Nathan and Co. v. J. H. Mnrpole, L 43 2s 9d and £3 13s costs ; H. C. Gibbons and Co. v. C. Mclntyre, £3 19s 6-i, costs 6s ; s?rne v. Mrs Agnes Uttaway, 12a, costs 6a ; Government Insurance Commissioner v. R. C. Morris, £33 6s lOd. costs £3 13s ; W. Powell v. A. Eventt, £5 9s 4d, costa £1 lla ; H. Vince v. A. Ingram, £2 J4s, to be paid by weekly instalments of Bs. Judgment summonses— R. Brown v. H. Wyatt, claim, 19s 7d, defendant ordered to pay amount within 14 days or two days’ imprisonment in default; OameroD and Christie v. J. Gardiner, £26 4s 2d, amount to be paid within 14 days or 24 days’ imprisonment in default of payment.

A case in which tho Picturesque Atlas Company claimed from Mrs R. A. Stephenson, a hotelkeeper, residing in Wellington, the sum of £lO, the price of copies of the Atlas ordered by her, came before Mr H W. RobinsoD, It. M., yesterday week. Mr Gully appeared for the plaintiff Company, aud Mr McAlister acted for the defendant. ' For tho dofenco Mr Mc Alister asked for a nonsuit, on the ground that tho Company had not completed their contract inthafc they bad failed to deliver the frontispiece according to the terms of the cpnfcr&et, aud were therefore not entitled to recover. Mr Gully, in answer, contended chat the frontispiece had nothing to do with the contract, bus was simply to be added to the works by the Company when put into their hands for binding. His Worship refused the application for a uonsuit, and, after hearing the abatement of tho defondant, who said she only took two numbers, for whiob she had paid, gave judgment for the Company, with £2 2s costs. The Company also sued Mrs Kato Isaacs, of the Duke of Ediuhurgh Hotel, as executrix of her husband, the late Mr N. J. Isaacs, for the sum of £9, balance due on the Atlas, of which six parts had, it was said, heen delivered. Mr Gully appeared for the Company, and Mrs Isaacs was represented by Mr Levi. The case was. after a short hearing, adjourned till the 4th of February. An application was made to the Resident Magistrate on Friday morning by the police to oommit a boy of ten years named Arthur Speed to an industrial school. The boy is, it was Btated, illegitimate, and his grandfather, a porter named John Collins, aaid the boy was seldom at home, and was utterly uncontrollable. Hia Worship committed .Speed to the Nelson 'toman Catholic School, but as tho grandfather said he could not comply with any maintenance order, no snoh order was made.

At the Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning, before Mr H. W. Robinson, R.M., a man named Louis Hook was fined 2s 6d for cruelty to a pair of geese by carrying them along the street with \ their heads dragging along the footpath. For creating a disturbance near the Pier Hotel the previous night, a man named Keiliher was, in hia absence, fined 10s or 24 hours’ imprisonment, and Grey, with whom Keiliher had had a ro v, was fined 5s or 24 hours in gaol.. Two drunkards, a male and female, were dealt with in the usual manner. A summons against Joseph Morgan, of Tewa Elat, for

failing to support his father, who is 56 years of age and unable to work, was adjourned till Tuesday, to allow defendant to show that bis father would not benefit by the receipt of money. A man named George Hall was fined 10s with 11s costs at- the R.M. Court on Friday morning for using abusive language to a Government railway official when in the discharge of,his duty, Mr R ibinaon reminding defendant that he had rendered himself liable to a penalty of £lO. For neglecting to light the lamp tho door of the Branch Hotel, on the night of the 18ch December, Richard Bowden, licensee, was fined ss.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Friday a boy, ten years of age, named Alfred Drain, was charged with stealing zinc from Messrs Stewart and Go’s premises, and was remanded by Mr H. W. Robinson R. M., to the 10th instant, for the report of the probation offiesr. Three other boys, Janies and Joseph Tobin aud Frank Hamilton, were charged with stealing fruit from the orchard'on tho Karori road belonging to Mr F. F. J. Hunt. Joseph Tobin being only seven years...of age, the charge against him was withdrawn, and the the other two, who were each ten years of age, were ordered to pay 2s 6d damage, and fined ss. Messrs T. McKenzie and J. Jack, Justices, presided at Saturday morning’s sitting of the Resident Magistrate Court. A cabman named James Herman was summoned for leaving his vehicle unattended in Wingfield street, but as he pleaded that he was seeing after a fare the case was dismissed. Two boys—John McLaughlau and Montrose Mitchelson—were summoned for throwing stones to the danger of property in Riddiford street, Newtown, on the 2’2nd December last. Mitchelson, having been previously convicted, was fined 7s 6d, and a penalty of 5s was imposed on the other boy. Bridget Lane, who has a long list of previous convictions against her, was fined £3, or 14 days’ imprisonment in default-, at the Magistrate’s Court on Monday, for being an habitual drunkard. Peter Petersen aud W. H. Westoott, sailors on the Largo Law, were each fined 10s or 48 hours’ imprisonment for being drunk and fighting in Willis street late the previous night. Mr H. W. Robinson, R.M., also cautioned and discharged two first offenders for drunkenness. Mr H. W. Robinson, R.M., entered up judgment for defendants in the following undefended civil cases at the Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning :—Catholic Times v. J. Lawlor, £3 17s, costs 7s ; Veitch and Allan v. G. t'erritt, £2 Is 6d, costs 133 ; J. Young v. IT. Be van. £3 16s sd, and 13s costs ; Teresa Briggs v. G. T. Brookes, £4 8s 9d, and 6s coats ; Eliza Orr v. S. Reid, ss, and 7s costs. Judgment summonses : - Veitch and Allan v. J. A. Persson, £3 3s <d, defendant was ordered to pay amount of debt within a month, or four days’ imprison, ment in default. Same v. T. Gies3e, £2 5a 6d, amount to be paid within a month or three days’ imprisonment. In the only defended case, Eliza Orr v. J. J. Duncan, claim £3 9s 4 for express hire, judgment was given for the defendant. The nominal penalty of Is was imposed upon a carter, named Thomas Marshall, in the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning, for driving his horse and cart aorosa a water channel in Rivers street on December 21st. Atthe same sitting two boys, William John and George Bishop Walker, nine and seven years of age respectively were committed to the Nelson Industrial School as being beyond control. As the mother is receiving charitable aid, no order for their maintenance was made against her. Mr H. W. Robinson, R.M., had before him on Tuesday morning a case in which a wharf labourer named Charles Gower was charged with assaulting a married woman named Mary Halford on the 2nd inst. He pleaded guilty under provocation, and charged Mrs Halford in return with damaging the roof of his house with a stone. The quarrel arose out of a squabble between the children of the parties, and in the result Gower was fined Is and costa 7s for the assault, and Mrs Halford was ordered to pay a fine of 2s, 7s 6d damages, aud 7a coats. At the Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning a young man named Joseph Morgan was ordered to pay 43 a week towards the support of his destitute father at Tawa Flat. John Morgan Davis, a contracting builder, of Westport, was ordered to i ay 10s weeklv towards the support of his wife, and 5s for each of his three children, commencing on the 19th inst. A commission agent named Robert Ait ken consented to an order being made against him for the maintenance of his family’—ss weekly for each of bis three children, the payments to commence on January 19. Tne wife of George Miller, u, fisherman, applied for a property protection order on the ground of her husband’s cruelty and refusal to maintain her. Mr Devine appeared for the defendant, who offered no objection, and the order was accordingly made A man named William Doff was charged with neglecting an order for the maintenance of his family, but aa be was in ill health the case was adjourned for a month. , At tho Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday morning, before Messrs E. Pearce and J. O’Meara, four boys named Chas. Smith, J. Newton, Walter Whitaker, and Richard Shakes, ware fined la each for throwing stones m the vicinity of the Education Board Offices, to the danger of persons and property. A fellmougor named Frank Bartington, was ordered to enter into a recognisance of £lO, and find one surety of a simitar amount, and pay 12s costs, for using threatening language towards Mr Fielder, furniture dealer. A charge of drunkenness against him was dismissed.