RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1167, 13 January 1880, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

THIS DAY, (Before T. W. Parke?, Esq., R,M,) . Henry Luxon -svas charged on remand with having, on the Ist-inst., unlawfully and maliciously inflicted grievous bodily harm on' one Eliza Dale by striking her with a tomahawk; Inspector Thompson prosecuted, and Mr. O'Meagher appeared for the prisoner. The first witness called was Elizabeth Lanyon, who deposed that prisoner was married to her sister's About half-past 10 or 11 o'clock on New Year's night she heard a noise of " Murder ; do open the door." She got up and opened the door, and prisoner's wife and her child came into the house and locked the door. Witness went outside arid saw the prisoner, who came against her with a stick in one hand and a tomahawk in the other. She said to him "Mind, Harry, don't touch my door." He knocked her down, and said; he would kill the whale lot of them, using at the same time some very bad language. He then broke the door open with the- tomahawk. Prisoner's father-in-law took him away, a.nd his wife went to her father's house! Prisoner came back again, and said to witness " I'll mark you. He went round the house with a kerosene tin in his hand, and he said he would blow up the place. Before the police came up witness saw prisoner's mother-in-law (Jane Hollow) lying on the ground and the blood flowing from l\er. During cross-examiqa.tioy. by Mr. O'Meagher, witness stated that she had always been on good terms with the prisoner. Eliza Dale (the prosecutrix) had known the prisoner for 10 or 11 months. She recollected the Ist inst., s*n4 on the evening of that da,te she had heard " Murder" screeched out by someone. On going out to ascertain the cause she saw Jane Hollow and her husband bleeding profusely. Prisoner was there with a tomahawk and a big stick, and, he was using some bad langua,ge t He knocked witness down, pnd blood was running into her s&oe from a cut on her thigh inflicted by

prisoner with the tomahawk. Shejhad been under medical treatment ever since. Cross-examined by Mr. O'Meagher: Hollow had a gate-post in his hand, but she did not know if Mrs. Lanyon had a stick in her hand. She did not know what prisoner struck her with "when ho knocked her down. ■ Samuel Harwood gave evidence to the effect that oil the evening of the Ist of January he heard somebody calling out " murder," coming from the direction of Hollow's. He went to see the cause of it, &ncl saw four women, the prisoner, and ; Hollow, "all of a heap." Prisoner ;was trying to get his wife away, and ,the others; were trying to get her away- from him. Witness succeeded in quieting them, and the women into Hollow's house, the prisoner remaining outside. Prisoner afterwards wanted his wife to come outside so that he might take her home. They would not allow her to leave the house, and prisoner ran at the door and tried to burst it open, but did not succeed in doing so. Prisoner went away, and returned with a stick, ami said he would break the door open with it; but witness caught hold of one end of the stick,: and he let it go. He then went and got a kerosene tin, and said he would burn them out. He went round the house with the tin in his hand, and just then the police arrived on the scene. Cross-examined by Mr. O'Meagher: Blood was running down prisoner's face. Witness did' not see a tomahawk in prisoner's hand. While prisoner was waiting outside for his wife he did not utter any threats, he merely said ha wished to.take his wife home. Dr. de Lautour's evidence was then read, in which he stated that Mrs. Dalet was suffering from a wound in the thigh,, which might. have been produced by a» tomahawk. Constable King deposed that he arrested! the prisoner, whose face was bleeding; This was all the evidence. Mr. O'Meagher addressed the Bench for the defence, and characterised the whole case as arising .out of ah undue interference of a mother-in-law and father-in-law ; in fact it appeared to be a family quarrel. Prisoner was a hard-working man, and had a wife and two children, for whom he was quite prepared to work, if let alone by his wife's relations. His Worship did not think there was sufficient evidence to support the charge,, but would look over the depositions.