BLACK BOB BELTED

NZ Truth, Issue 943, 22 December 1923, Page 6

BLACK 808 BELTED

NEGRO PROVES A NUISANCE.

(From "Truth's" Hamilton Rep.)

With face puffed and scarred, and discolorations around both his optics, which, m a white man would have been designated "two lovely black eyes," an undersized negro named Edmund Robert Lopez, more commonly known as Black Bob, appeared m the Hamilton Court last week to give evidence of an alleged assault on him by a man named C. McDavitt.

This nigger man is a porter at the Waikato Hospital, and he has a reputation for blending himself with the darkness at night time and creeping round the public parks and river bank spying on young couples who frequent these places to bill and coo and whisper their amorous nothings m each other's ears.

The punishment that was due to this "Peeping Tom," however, came to him the other night, when some wrathful swain, enraged at being spied upon m this manner, took to Black Bob and give him what was probably the best hiding he has ever received. The nigger, who makes a boast of his fistic ability, and is said to have the walls of his room plastered with pictures of famous black fighters, sui rounds himself with a certain reflected glory of an admiring coterie who take his pugilistic prowess at his own assessment. His fighting cunning must have deserted him on this particular night, however, for his howls m the Soldiers' Memorial Park on the east side of the river were heard at the Police S tat i° n on the opposite bank, and a constable was promptly dispatched to the scene. Here he saw Black Bob hurrying over the bridge and, as a witness later said, howling out "blue murder," and his face dripping with blood.

Just prior to the arrival of the constable, a man named McDavitt, a

STRANGER TO THE TOWN, happened to be making his way over from Hamilton East, where* he had been spending the evening with friends, and encountered Black Bob m the process of receiving a hammering from a white man who had a lady friend with him. The white man remarked, as he 'belted hell into the negro, "I'll teach you to interfere m my business, you cow." The European then told McDavitt that he caught Lopez crawling about m the grass spying on him and hia young lady. McDavitt saw the negro's face was bleeding, and that ho had had enough, and counselled the European to leave him alone. He then turned to the negro and told him he had better get home, and that if he had been doing what his assailant alleged he had. he deserved all ho had got. The other man then walked away with his companion and McDavitt tried to prevent the nigger following him. Lopez then commenced an altercation with McDavitt, and as the former started to follow up the other man McDaviU tried to prevent him and a scuffle ensued. , Lopez again began to yell for help, and was still rousing the neighborhood when the constable came on tho scene, This was at half-past eleven, and the negro's face was dripping with blood. He told the ofllcer that somebody had robbed him. declaring that he went into the park for p. smoke and that a man stole a five pound note from him and then assaulted him. A short distance away was McDavitt, who told the constable that he came upon Lopez receiving a hiding from a European, who said that he was m the park with a "tart" and that he caught

LOPEZ "FOXING" HIM.

Tho constable took McDavitt m charge, and ho was subsequently charged with assaulting the negro.

Lopez told Mr. J. H. Platts, S.M., that he went into thc park for a quiet smoke and fell into a doze. He was awakened by a band being thrust into his pocket, and he was then knocked to tho ground and kicked m no uncertain manner. Early In the evening he had a £ S note In his pocket, but after the assault it was missing.

Mr. Wally H. King, who appeared for McDavitt, put Lopez through a stiff cross-examination as to his actual motive m being ln the park at that time of night, nearly a couple of miles away from the public hospital where he worked, and asked him if it was not a fact that he made a practice of crawling about the parks at night spying on couples.

The negro, of course, denied this, and Mr. King called to his mind an Incident that happened In the Lake Reserve a couple of months ago, when a couple found him spying 00 them. When they struck a match they discovered him lying ln a pool of water as though he had flopped suddenly down to avoid observation. He arose dripping with moisture, and started to talk of knifing them when the man epoke ot thrashing him.

Lopez denied all knowledge of such an occurrence, but Mr. King told the Magistrate that Lopez had quite a reputation for this kind of thing, and that, as a matter of fact, the police had also received complaints of Lopez's conduct. Counsel said he knew of quite a number of people who could give evidence of this spying, but they were rather diffident of coming into Court.

The constable gave elvdence bearing out In the main the story told by McDavitt.

The Magistrate gave no credence to the negro's Ptory. and said that it was scarcely likely that ho would go into tho park at that time of night for a smoke. The evidence, m fact, seemed to boar out the suggestion thnt he went there for another purpose. It had by no means been shown that McDavitt was the assailant, and the case against him would bo dismissed. *

Black Bob will probably think tsvlcn m future before Interesting himself ln other people's love affairs.