WAS LUCY A LIAR?

NZ Truth, Issue 198, 3 April 1909, Page 6

WAS LUCY A LIAR?

A Girl Char

A Girl Charged with Perjury. Lucy Reilly, the ' 18-year-old Christ- • church girl who *found m immoral pastures a hard row to hoe, lias got herself into serious trouble lately. The unpleasantness started when her mother was charged with keeping a bawdy house and got off on a technical point. Both Lucy and an older sister have.illegitimate kids, and as the police accused the two girls of being no better than they ought to be their sinful offspring was taken, from them arid committed to a Receiving Mornc by a, paternal Court. On that occasion Lucy • was pressed to name the father of her howling infant, and replied, with reluctance, "Billy Hutchinson." All eyes were turned, on Billy Hutchison, "Lyttelton Times" genial Police Court reporter, who >was at his usual place, and Station-sergeant Johnston, alarmed for the pressman's reputation, elicited the fact that Billy Hutchinson—who has an extra letter m his name — was a jockey, and that his mother lived m Office-road, St.. Albans. The horse-persuader was afterwards charged with parentage, and Lucy entered the box to rrove the blushful case against him, / BUT FLABBERGASTED THE COURT by swearing that Billy .was not the responsible party. .(Questioned further, she fastened the kid on toi-a party named 1 Ted Cromer, whom she thought was a jockey, but wasn't sure. Lucy was very casual about distributing her favors. Magistrate Bishop could do . nothing more than dismiss the charge against Hutchinson, and the police found it incumbent upon them % proceed against the girl for perjury. .Evidence to the above effect was given by Clerk Banks, Orderly Scully, Peeler; Scott, and Stat-ion-sergeant Johnston, all of whom relied on memory alone,-, .but one or two details were- missing, and Billy Hutchinson was called. Even his evidence didn't furnish a complete case against Lucy so William Gordon Hutchison, journalist, who,' for obvious reasbns, had taken a keen interest m earlier proceedings, kissed the testament. His recollection of what had occurred was faultless and conclusive, with the exception pf one insignificant detail, which Lawyer Donnelly, for the wretched girl, . seized upon with the eagerness of a Southern explorer clutching, a friendly rope as he disappeared down a bottomless crevasse m the

jcinity of the South Pole. Every witness testified that the girl had named "William" Hutchinson as her seducer, and the trustworthy reporter repeated the testimony. He acknowledged m cross-ex-amination by Mr Donnelly, however, that the girl had said, not "William," but "Billy" Hutchinson ; whereupon counsel manifested superb \ indignation that every witness for the Crown, including the Clerk, the Orderly, the Station-Sergeant, the übiquitous ■• Copper Scott, and even the honorable gentleman of the press had sworn to that which was not\ true m the particular respecting v 'Billy," and counsel, whose wrath .'was /.'magnificent, surmised that) the rest of itheir evidence was equally unreliable. An Y argumentative scrap between Mr Donnelly and SubInspector McGrath illuminated the drab aspect of the proceedings, and contributed to the general enjoyment of those present, as the country journalist would say, although the scene was ' pathetic enough for the miserable 'girl m the dock. Mr Donnelly made reference to the evidence of Jockey Hutchinson, wherein the girl told him that she was bullied into mentioning his name m the witnessbox and that she didn't know what she was saying at the time. Counsel, m scathing accents, denounced the., police for this concentration of their energies for the purpose of hounding into gaol a girl <svho was little more than a. child. The Sub. explained that the police had no desire to have Lucy sent to gaol, but they knew that she was leading an immoral life, and it was desirable, for her own sake, that she should be placed under control m an industrial .school. Mr Donnelly characterised . ;as "a; monstrous thing that the police should GET THE GIRL CONVICTED OF PER J URY, and brand her as a perjurer for life, as an expedient to place her m ah industrial school. Cdunsel, however, was willing that Lucy should be .placed m charge of Missioner Smaill for confinement m one of the institutions. He didn't desire to see her oh the streets. He directed attention to Section 130, under which the J's.P.. had power to dismiss the information if they were satisfied that the girl didn't wish to mislead the Court when she gave her evidence. Sub-Inspector McGrath pointed out that if the Bench dismissed the case it would have no power to place the girl m an industrial school. The Bencli expressed its belief that the girl didn't intend to mislead the Court when she gave the objectionable evidence. The Sub. said that if there was prima facie evidence that Lucy deliberately swore an untruth it was [or a jury to say if she intended to mislead the Court or not. After a lengthy korero, their Worships said they wouldn't undertake the responsibility of dismissing the case. The girl accordingly pleaded not guilty and was committed to stand her trial. She will put m the interval of waiting listening to fervent hallelujahs m Booth's austere retreat.