ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 106, 19 March 1862, Page 5

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

ROW AT PORT CHALMERS. To the Editor of the Daily Times. BlJt —Pernaps you will favor me it-ith an insertion ni the following statement of a disgraceful scene which took place on board the Lady Young-,.0n Satnr .y afternoon, together with the result.of my having attempted to bring the parties^to justice :— Abon' :* p.m. on Sunday, I was sitting- in the after cabin , ith Mrs. Morrison, when all at once I heard agrt.it noise on dock. I immediately went up and en<p:"od the cause ; I was informed that some men from :he Young America had come on board to thro; my mate, and a really disgraceful scene presentn! itself. Int once got between them, ordering my Mate to his cabin, and the other men into their boa! which they refused to do, one of them swearing iic; would whip the lot, or fight till he died. I thi i ordered the flag to he hoisted for the police boat, ■ml the principal in the fray to be detained. Afte.t al.-i -■ of time I ordered my boat to go on board for tl.. ~ lice, as no boat came; some further time mhos- , when the man watching his opportunity, .ju .j.-d over the gangway, overboard, and endea.'jum .: to make hisjigcape." lat once jumped into * their 'mat, ordering some of my crew together, r taking the boat and crew on board the Police Ship. On my return I enquired fully into the matter from my er w and passengers ; they informed me as fol- - ;lows: —On the boat coming alongside, the second mate, fourth mate, and carpenter of the. Young jAini'iica came on hoard, the second mate went i fewa<. rg 'ring forward, saying he had come on board to -whip my mate, and that he would do it right when lie wa -, that he could lick every Britisher on board, fore v.-.d aft, that he would back one of his boys to lick ;.-iy man on board, and a lot of such like stuff, enibe'iished with sundry oaths, &c. All of which my ci iw, to their credit, took no notice of; ho afterwards tried to trip my second mate, who wisely, to avoid any fighting, got out of the way. In the n),eau time the carpenter had gone into my mate's berth, professedly 6r| a friendjy visit, after wliich my IB ato came on deck with him, when the carpenter galled up to tlie second mate pf the Young America, paying that he would go at him. The secoHd mate then "walked aft and abused my mate in a most 'shaiiwful manner, daring him to fight, applying eViirv insulting epithet imaginable lo him. My mate showed great forbearance, saying that there was a lady o.i board and he would have no noise, saying lie coii'd not make him fiirht by abusing him. .He then struck at him, hence the row. As soon .as the two wore fighting the fourth ■ mate of tlie "Young America" struck my mate, ■when my crew and passengers interfered, and were much exasperated at the vile abuse they had receive!, and the gross outrage attempted. I had the greatest difficulty to prevent them throwing the whole three .werboard. After protecting them from getting a thorough • and -.veil-deserved mauling, and being compelled to take i hem-on board the.police ship myself, I found that I committed an egregious mistake iv thinking that i would get any redress for the outrage, or the sliglitt;--,t approximation to justice, at Port Chalmers. My charge of coming on board my ship purposely to c;n-;te a disturbance, was not brought forward, nor ..was'l"asked a'single question as to their conduct on "" board my vessel. Some one induced my second mate to bri ■■% a charge, which was moulded to his or their own l.king, and whicli he and the second mate did not appear.to understand, mine was altogether igijprjx!. Just imagine such a proceeding, after my Rfiing cold that' ifo one l)ut myself could bring the cjiaiiyw', which was greatly against my inclination, as jny p.^sengiirs were on board, and. I wished to clear to-day and sail to-morrow. However, rather than let »uoh blackguards go clear, I consented to attend myse'f. What was the result1? The principal was fined only 10s., the other dismissed; whilst, on the othe.- hand, one of my men, for simply being drunk "was lined £1. I ask, is this justice 1 I asked how it wa.i that my charge was not entered into. The magistrate—or rather person supposed to act in that capacity—said he could not entertain it. I insist* lon my case being heard, and asked ho W the magistrates would like any one coming into his house and.acting in such a manner. I was then coolly ' told-the case could be gone into some other day. I again explained my position, and said if justice coidd not be got there we would be compelled to take the

is to be given at Welch's Hotel, Jn"rtioW. in honor o ! the day, at which it i., anticip.a - ,d there wiil be a largi -atten.lauoo. Gobi lias been offering during the week in fai: quantities, .and I anti-.-.ipato the amount sent down b; escort will be up to tho average. law into our own hands, and that I weuld carry .tin mutter to another court. I certainly expressed my "pn'f'liss.itisfiel with the treatment I -had received. ff this is contempt of court, I certainly confess I. h ,1(1 stick n mockery of justice, which, in my opi nion, is nothing mire nor less than a premium fo ruffianism, in the most supreme contempt corroborate 1 by th-3 undersigned. With this statement before you, I would simply ask you to express your opinion on the matteir. If in any country professing tho slightest pretensions to civilization, there should not be some means of stopping such conduct eft'eetuallv. I would not have troubled you had I not been afraid a false impression of the matter would be made on the public, which must be the case from the farce enacted at the Port Chalmers Police Court, this day, had it not been explained. Your obedient servant, Wm. Miirtson, Master of " Lady Young." Signatures of passengers, to whom the .above letter was read, and who agreed with its tenor :— Alexander Mullen. Michael Carney. W. S. llanons. Castus Joseph. John Fosbeneler. Daniel Taylor Henry Holdsworth. James Johnson. Purley Stacey. Alexander Brown. Wm. Alexander. Richard Hylard. Wm. Hutton. Wm. Woriuald. Samuel Atkinson, eyewitness. Wm. Campbell. Charles Leslie. Fred Chadwick. John Clayton. Andrew Oliver. Michael M'Cormick. P. W. Kennedy. Joseph Jolm. Nicholas Olson. Thomas Heath. John Harrington. Thomas Alien. John Driscoll. Thomas Barber, F. Morrison. Thomas Jirr. Charles Phillips. J, A. Johnson. W. Brown.

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Monday, 17th March. [Before A. C. Strode, Esq., P.M.] Drunkenness.—The undermentioned persons_were fined --lite., or in default, committed to gaol forfortyeignt hours. John Phillips, Samuel King. Henry Keeson, Thomas Mackay, Benjamin West, Margaret Svf.rds John Graves, Hannah Bracken, James Gr--;! Egbert Thomas, John Mooro, (his Worship B "..id li<- wis surprised to bee this man before Uie Cuiiv; as ho always took him to be a respectable person), Jehn Connor, Martin Burns, George Richdale, George Alexander. OnscESK Language.—Margaret Swords was also •banted with having used unlawful and obscene language on the loth inst. The woman said it was the first time, and she hoped it would be the last. Mr. Commissioner lirauigau informed the Court that the language wliich the female employed was filthy in the «xtreme. The prisoner observed that she had had a row with one ofthe barmaids ofthe Provincial hotel. The bench fined her in the further sum ot 20s. and costs, er, in default, committed her to gaol for the term of three days. James Grant, who had been fined 20': for drunkenness, was charged with having used obscene language on tho Kith inst., (Sunday), for this conduct ;he was fined additional ss. and costs. Disturbing the Peace.—Thomas Currey was charged with.having endeavored to provoke a breach ofthe peace by sinaing out "Joe," and inciting a mob to rescue a prisoner from the custody of the police. Mr Commissioner Branigan called the attention of tlie Bench to the very great difficulty, and particularly oh Sundays, which the police had to contend with in th-- city "of Dunedin, when arresting an offender. Tl-ie were so many loungers about town, that whenever an arrest was made, a crowd speedily assembled, and occasioned considerable obstruction to thepolicean the lawful execution of their public duty. Ihe defendant, in the above mentioned instance, was fined Kt. and costs. ~. ... OBit-nsE Language.—George Reeman, convicted of having uttered obscene and profane language, on the Kith inst., was fined ss. and costs. Indecency.— Michael Kenneday, for oftendmg against decency in Princes-street, on the ICth inst., was fined 10s. and costs. . . Stealing Timber.—James Gearman was informed against for stealing a piece of timber valued at 2s. Od., the property of James Rattray, of the firm of Dalgety, Rattray & Co. The men pleaded not guilty. The watchman to the firm in question stated that, on Saturday night last, the loth instant, about half past ten o'clock, he saw the prisoner pick up the piece of timber nnd walk away v.ith it in the direction oi his tent in Walker-street. Sentence :—seven day s imprisonment, with hard labor, within the walls ol H.M. omnnon gaol. . .. ... Douglas v. Davis.—This was an information laid by James P. Douglas against Jolm Davis, master of the " Elka Goddard," for alleged damages sustained, it was understood, by collision. There was no appearance of the defendant. Mr. Prendergast, appeared for the plaintiff. The Court gave judgment for the plaintiff by default, and awarded i.20 daThere were two or three other cases, but utterly devoid of any public interest. Tuesday, 18th March, 18G2. (Before A. C. Strode, Esq., R.M.) Drunk.—The undermentioned parties were fined 20s, or, in default, were committed to gaol for 48 hours :—Thomas Gray, William Cuthbert, Joseph Burns. , , . T , Assault .—Patrick Duke was charged by John Ber.t with having assaulted him on the previous evening. Mr. Commissioner Branigan informed the Bench that this case arose out of the intrusion of the prisoner into a tent where some children were in bed. The prosecutor stated that he was lying down about half-past eight o'clock in the evening, when he heard screams proceeding from a neighbouring tent. _He went to the place, and as soon as he entered it, he was knocked down by the prisoner. A little child, who gave her age as thirteen, was interrogated by the Bench as to the nature of an oath, and her replies being satisfactory, his Worship directed she should be sworn. Having taken the oath, she stated that the prisoner entered the tent where she and some other children were, and demanded a light for his pipe, which was handed to him, and he left. He. qowever, shortly afterwards returned, and asked for another light, which was given to him through a crevice iR the door : which he instantly burst in, and commenced destroying all the tea things that were on. the table. In reply to Mr. Commissioner Branigan, the child said that her father and mother were absent. In his defence, the prisoner said that the wife of the prosecutor had in the first instance, assaulted liim with a bottle. Constable Rvan stated that when about thirty yards on this side of "Captain Cargill's house, he heard cries of " Murder," and traced the sounds to a tent winch he was told the prisoner had broken into. He resisted the policeman in the execution of his duty, and was very violent when taken into custody. The Bench fined th, prisoner L 2 and costs; or, in default of payment, committed him to gaol for the term of 14 days hard labor. There was another information against the prisoner charging him with having assaulted constable Ryan, when in the execution of his duty, contrary to the 28th section of the Constabulary Force Ordinance. This case was not pressed at the instance of Mr. Commissioner Branigan, and His Worship, who appeared to consider the former fine sufficient, dismissed the charge with a caution to the prisoner to be careful how lie went into people's tents in future. Illegal Occupation.—Thomas Kean Weldon, inspector of police, informed against Sarah Neville, cnarging her witli having erected a tent on Crown Lauds contrary to the 29th section of the Crown Lands Ordinance. Mr Newman stated that the tent " had been removed since the summons was served: The Bench observed that was all that was required, and the defendant was discharged with a caution not to give any further trouble.—Another case against one Henry John Smith, charging him with unlawful occupation of the waste lands of the Crown, was adjourned for a week, to give time to the defendant to make his arrangements, there appearing to be a quantity of timber piled upon the ground. Nuisanoe3. —Moses A. Lee was charged with permitting a nuisance to exist on his premises. The defendant said that a man had'eharged him £13 to remove it. The prosecutor stated that the defendant occupied the United States Hotel, where there were a large number of boarders, who had deposited a quantity of filth about the premises. The defendant had made great improvements since the notice had been served. The Bench adjourned the case, until Friday, to afford time to the defendant to abate the nuisance. Charles R. Walker was charged with having a nuisance on his premises, situated in Frederick - etreet. The defendant said he had only returned from the country last Saturday, and had in the meanwhile made arrangements for the removal of the dirt. He was discharged with a caution to have the nuisance removed by to-morrow.—A similar case against George Cook was adjourned until Friday next. Alleged Furious Driving.—Police Sergeant Parkinson charged Charles Ferguson, a coach driver, with cantering through the public streets. A witness, named John Mackenzie, proved having seen two of Cobb's coaches pass the Royal George hotel at tho rate of ten or twelve miles an hour. A constable proved that he saw the coach is drive at a smart pace along Princes, Manse, and Stafford streets; and that they turned the corners very rapidly. A number of people were about at the time. Several other witnesses were examined, but the caso being a doubtful one, his Worship remarked that he did not think a conviction could be obtained. The information was accordingly dismissed. Deserting a Horse. —Robert Livingstone was charged by Constable Forster with having, on tho 18th March instant, deserted his horse aud vehicle in Great King-street, contrary to the 20th section of the Constabulary Force Ordinance. He was fined 10s. and coats. Strayed Horses. —The undermentioned persons were fined ss. each, with costs,. for permitting their horses to stray within the limits of the town boundary :—William Wynne, David Mackenzie, George Eldershaw, William Parker, John Civil, and A. B, Smith. A -Stray Cow. —Thomas Ayres was charged with permitting his cow to wander about, the streets. Defendant —My cow got out, your worship. His Worship—Got out, yes ! I never knew a cow to §et out. This is the second case of a similar kind against you, and I understand that your cow is a dreadft! nuisance to people; a most perfect nuisance ; a. dreadful nuisance. She does constant damage. You are fined 10s. and costs ; and, I tell you that if you come here again the five will be £10. Of course it must be a very extreme case when that fine is imposed, but you are getting towards that, certainly, by permitting the animal to stray, when you know perfectly well that she is a* perfect nuisance. Why do- you allow it to go at large so 1 Do you think that people's gardens are to be damaged because of your worthless. cow 1 •It is ridiculous. OBSTP.uoTirm tue Wharf.—A person named Barnett was charged by John Arthur Jenkinson with assaulting him on the 15th inst. upon the Dunedin wharf, contrary to .the 29th clause of the harbor regulations. The defendant pleaded not guilty. The Prosecutor stated that on Saturday afternoon he noticed there was a great quantity of sawn timber imported; at the same time; tliere was a great deal of cargo coming down, besides ship's stores; so that it was almost impossible to preserve any sort of crder on the wharf; and one of the trucks was laden with timber. He ordered the truck with the timber, iying, on the south side ofthe wharf, to be removed 5a order to allow the passengers to traverse up and down. There was, likewise, a quantity of stores lying about twenty feet from the centre, which also •impelled, if it did not positively obstruct, the passenger traffic! He saw at a glance that it was desirable that the cargo which was going down should be at once removed. A carter came down, and ■Appeared determined to roll the hay up, which would iave impeded the men who were busy taking away

the cargo. He said to the man, " Now, carter, you had better leave this alone : but tho man made answer, "Oh, no; I will not." Just at the time the defendant went Up, and lent the man a hand to roll up a truss of hay, upon which the prosecutor asked him to wait for five minutes; but he persisted in rolling the hay up and putting it on to the cart, in spite of everything that he coidd do or say. Defendant stated that he was utterly ignorant of the complainant's authority at the time, and he could not recognise him as au officer unless he had known him. He had not told defendant who he was. He had only lately arrived here. ' The Bench" dismissed the case in consequence ot the defendant being only a recent arrival, and he would receive the benefit of a doubt as to whether he were acquainted with the local jetty regulations. Defendant to pay costs, amounting to 12s. tid. Harrison* t. Bonce.—ln this case George Harrison was plaintiff, and John Bunce defendant. The trial had been .adjourned from a previous date for the evidence of a witness named Weire. Mr. South appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Cooke for the defendant A -Mr. Kerr was subjected to a protracted examination,' as also Mr. David Weire, who, before being sworn, informed the bench that he had attended the court on two days, and he wished to know if he should be allowed expenses. The Bench replied that no doubt they wonld be awarded. _ The particulars were utterly devoid ol public interest, and terminated in a judgment for the plaintiff for Ll6 10s., together with costs. There were a few other cases instituted for the recovery of small debts, but of importance only to the litigants concerned.