WAS IT FRIVOLOUS.

NZ Truth, Issue 166, 22 August 1908, Page 7

WAS IT FRIVOLOUS.

Gross Brutality— if Trde.

If a Papanui person named Richard Reynolds were guilty of the horrible cruelty to a prad alleged , against him by Inspector Zouch, of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty, to Animals, he is

'a most inhuman monsteri but a Bench of Christchurch Justices declared him to be not guilty,, on Lawyer Donnelly's earnest advocacy, and the prosecution goes for nought. Zouch stated m the witnessr box on Friday that a week previously a complaint was made ; to him that Reynolds had been brutally jagging his horse under the tail with a metal-pointed stick, and. on the same evening the intelligence reached the official \ . ; THAT THE 'HORSE WAS DEAD,having 'been shot by its owner. Examination of the carcase showed it to be m poor condition, -a»d there was a sore . on its back as from harness chafing. The worst injuries were under thetail where some iron instrument on the ' . end of a stick had been used' to prod the animal. There were olft and new punctures and abrasions m the orifice, and ,the injuries were, festering with matter. Spoken to on the subject, Reynolds surmised the injuries must have been inflicted on barb.wire, but the* lnspector rejected this notion, .as the outside portion of the ; tail was uninjured.. A willow stick m the cart was pointed out by Reynolds as the rod used to chastise the neddy, and Zouch examined it. It had the appearance as though a .spike had been driven into ft, but there was no metal visible ; thewltness, however, pointed put a microscopic drop of blood on. the wood/ He also produced^ a crupper ipund, on the premises, which, had' marks of blood on it. ;ln reply to Mr Donnelly, Zouch said that the blood .of a horse, could be distißr, guished from human gore, a statement' characterised as absurd "by counsel. Bayhe, J.P., said he had read considerably on. the subject,, and knew that the; 1 blood of a horse could be distinguishedfrom human claret. In an unguarded moment, Zouch surmised that the spike or Whatever it was. bad been • , A BLUNT CHISEL ORv A BRADAWL, and he Was pursued by the insistent; Donnelly to give reasons for his selection of these- tools to represent What was merely 1 a- suppositious metal instrument' tbjat nad been seen' by; np one.. Moreover the .worried; witness assumed- that .the chisel or bradawl , were broken ; ; . , ....... Counsel : How could a ;broken chisel or bradawl, make an abrasion ?, The Inspector (hotly) : : If you had it m yours you would know it. . . .'..,; Mr Donielly protested against this istatemeht, hinting that he might say something unpleasant about the ♦Inspector. ' :.■ .'.'.:, .'■ ■■ ■' "•" '"."''•'.'■ ■'■:'■■ ' . . Barrett, J.l*. V The, Bench, didn't hear ,th»> 'remark. •:;'_ '..' v; .; : „ Mr/ Donni&liy , (warmly), ■■: it.;was a dirty, rude, remark, . yolur Worsnips, and tliaf acte'nstic of the man. ; v ,' "■"■■> . "In, reply. , to Solicitor Kitchener t n <? 4?" .spectpr,>said', Iw^re , .mar^ks' , on , tSie. crupper which showed that the metal ;point~had been^used contmßibusly brnqne side,' and by a right-handed' person. " ; : A: Papanui constable gaye evidence res-, pecting. the i injurieis^ tb/»fchfe moke. ' ■•'. .Anidressirig the Bench, for. the 'defence, Mr;. Donnelly remarked that this! case hadxbeen instituted by a society, comprised of ,iairee . "or . f Our men presided over by Zpuch^ *. arid > any person, with a, sick ' cat the. circumstance to the august bedy: 'If this' Was T the sort of case brought ■by the society, which went round canvassing" for subscriptions for that purpose, it would be better if such prosecutions; were left in' the" hands of the police. Counsel coritended that a man : ' who swore that he : cpuid tell human frpm ordinary , animal ;ijiqod; -i : .-•■"■■ :■• ;■";■.;■.., : '■■■' . . - DENSE IGNORANCE, Counsel* bad been- m many Supreme Court cases m which blood was the subject; of evidence, and knew what he was talking about. ■ The" ppirited "but that the lnfepeetbr's., testimony was .based upon mere theory,, and . the alleged, blood was a rusty mark. .Counsel wag traversing the eyK denoe concerning the" animal, when .Barrett, " J.P., said they had heard enough about the horse. Cruelty hadn't been proved to. the satisfaction of the Bench,, and .'the information was djsnnssed.-

'. 2 lnspector Zouch, asked .if they njight hot 'have, a re-hearing, a. suggestion ridiculed by Mr Donnelly, who asked for 1 and obtained costs against the Society. ;.."It is the most if rivplouSv case 1 have ever' heard," commented Barrett, J-.PY