A PRECIOUS PAIR.

NZ Truth, Issue 110, 27 July 1907, Page 6

A PRECIOUS PAIR.

Pornic Pranks m Public.

y^_ Some disgraceful scenes arc witness- *~^ ed m the high-ways and bye-ways of Christohurch at night, acts of gross i ' -indecency being committed frequently, .within public view, by evil-.mmd-ed people, without the slightest atom of common . sense, and who arc :*jui'ce devoid of thc slightest idea of propriety. Why nymphs ofthe pavement, and allegedly respectable married women, who travel round' on the iSly, should decoy men and commit (such atrooious. acts m such close proximity to the footpath, if not actually on it, winder cover of darkness, it -is difficult to imagine ; but. done it is — a shameless act, which is deserving not only of reprobation, but *q.uod besides.. And quod it is, at-pre-sent, unless i>he presiding Magistrate exercises leniency, for the Act dealling with this class of offence -is ivery (drastic, and rightly so- A fine,-, on . •convictions isn't permitted. A concupiscent couple wlio were caught m the act thc other ni-gKt were given a chance, the other day by Bishop, S.M., tout the circumstances :were more favorah-le to the . accused (persons! than tbey 'usually are, inasmuch as they weren't known to the tpcflioe. It was tbe usual- man from •rfche country, m the.persr/n of -James He fell m with a temporary consort m Mary Riley , ; a. middle-aged .woman with a face , LIKE -AN OVERCOOKED"' TART, . jThey had started- to canoodle m Mad-ras-street, m a small lane thereof, •'Avhen two minions _of the law swooped down amd turned "their lights on f;_tbem. The result was disconcerting. -.'lt was aftei* ten- o'clock,, and the lane iJed to a private house. The pair i ;,were promptly bagged. Next morning | \ the man pleaded guilty, but tbe wom|i, -an said sbe wasn.*''t. guilty. The capital jr. crime hadn't bee© committed. % Bishop, 5.M..: What is- meant hy th c capital crim £ ? Sub-Inspector Dwyer soon informed Mm. Constable. Stoith de&ailed tbe obnoxious conduct of the precious pair, and said tbaA he and. his brother constable just arrived m time. The couple were only a yard from the road. 'He had seen tbe woman Riley m the same vicinity several nights previously. This evddf mee was corroborated by the other officer. Mr Lsathain, who appeared for the .male 'accused, said that he had been working on Bullen's station, Green Hilts, Kaikjoura, and that he had just come to the city, intending to take boat that afternoon for Sydney. •He intended looking for work there. >■_.)( Ye gods ! Fancy a Maorilander ' ■ having to £o there to look for graft— amd. away from a station namod Green ; Hills, too !•) If distant hills look , greener than those what he has left well .those around Kaikoura, or Blenheim', or whexever it is, must, be very dro:b-colored, indeed-. 'However, couneeO pleaded for lenilßßcy# saying that there •tf'ae nothing ;_aiji,inst the man, and asked that a ■fine should be inflicted. The Magistrate remintfod him: that •'' nothing of tbe kind could be done ; .. only imprisonahent was provided for Ihj the Act. ' Counsel replied that he had 'noticed • how tbe charge was laid. The S.M. said that a Pill which '.had been submitted to. h-im would be presented to the House, making prpivision for a fine m such 'cases ; but until that was passed, the Ccprt was emdowed .with, no power,

I To 'the male prisoner : Howi Vlid you come to get into this mess ?— lt wasn't -done m the street. But you shouldn't have done it at , all. Tbe woman accused, who was shivering, apparently from the effects of | drink, and who was holding her face m ber "handkerchief, was next questioned . ' 'We weren't guilty, of anything," she said. But that wasn't your fault, retorted the S.M. Sub-Inspector Dwyer remarked tbat the woman was a stranger m Christohurch : he believed that she had cqme from Wellington , and tbat she wasn't as moral as she might be. But the accused told fhe Court that she HAD BEEN WORKING AS COOK for Rutherford -at Mendip Hills. Prior to that she bad been m the Mackenzie country acting m the same capacity. The S.M. : And why don't you continue jn service instead of knocking about the streets m this way ? Why did you go m tbat lane ? Well, I -have toothache very bad, and I had a bottle of gin, and Oh, don't talk rubbb'ih. .You don't expect me to believe lies. Well, I have the bottle still. You are only making your case worse.. It wasn't your fault that'nothing -happened. You must go i%to the country and work. The street is rib place for this sort of thing. The Parle seems to be the popular resort, judging from the number of illegitimate' cases I have before me. The pair of you will be given a chance. Convicted and 'discharged. Tbe lady : Ob. thank you, sir. Tbe S.M. •-• You have nothing to thank me for:; come here again, and you will go up as safe as a house,