RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 827, 15 August 1864, Page 5

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Satorday, 13th August. (Before A. C. Strode, Esq., R.M. Drunkards.—John Henderson, John Nicolson, Charles Spencer, and Charles Banian, were each fined 20s, or 4S hours' imprisonment, for hejgg drunk. x A Disoedbrlt. HoTTSß.—Peter Henderson was charged under the Vagrancy Aci with suffering: prostitutes and persons of notoriously bad character to assemble in his refreshment room, in the Arcade, on the night of the 7th inst. Mr Ward appeared for- the defendant, and said that on the last occasion when this case was brought before the Court, he had asked for an adjournment as the defendant was not then aware that the females who were in his house on the night in question were prostitutes. He bad since discovered that they were so, but he was still not aware that the men who were in his house at the time were notoriously bad characters. He pleaded guilty, and hoped 'that the Court would be lenient, as it was the first offence, and the defendant would take steps to prevent a similar occurrence again. Sub-Inspector Sincock said that since these proceedings 'nad been taken there had been no amendment in the way in (riiich the house wa3 conducted, otherwise he would not have pressed the charge. A constable stated that about ■ three o'clock on the morning of the 7th instant, he heard a row going on inside the defendant's oyster saloon in the Arcade. He waited in company with another constable outside the door for a few minutes, when the door was opened, and a man put out his head to see if there were any persons outside. The moment the door was opened the constables;slipped into the house, and in one room they found nine men and three prosti tutes, and the defendant was in the act of serving some of them with ale. Witness' knew several of the men to be constant loafers, and of very bad character. He heard a voice down stairs, but on going down into a lower room he found nobody there. On arriving upstairs again the parties had all cleared ou>. The Magistrate did not thiak the defendant was aware that he had committed a rery serious offence againsf the law by allowing these parties to assemble in his house. He had made himself subject to a fine of LSO, and to have his name si ok -ft the register; and for the second offence to be i.nprisoned for three months. There were several places in the Arcade which were becoming a perfect nuisance to the whole community by being kept open all night. He was determined to put this down. He would fine the defendant 13 and costs for the fir?t offence, but the next time he would make it L2O. Slaughterhouse at Anderson's Bat.—The adjourned application of Mr Menlove for a transfer of a slaughterhouse license from the Kaikori 4 CASES HATS, &c,

r.istviet to Anderson's £«y, was called on. _JVi. Mac^regor appeared in support of the application, andMrCnttoi'to oppose it. The Inspector o Slaughterhouses for Dunedin was called, ami stated that lie had inspected the ground where it was proposed to erect the slaugh:ers ouse in question. He considered the s:t* as a very food one for the purpose after the drainage was completed. There was a possibility of emptying it with a fall to the sea. It was 9or 10 chains distant from any house, and besides, it Jay be'iiud a large hill, and could not he seen from the road. It was about, the best site for a slaughterhouse m the district keeping everything in view, to far as he knew, Mr Menlove-was a person of unexceptionable character. Bcinsr cross-examined by Mr Cutten, the witness said he had bsen over the ground on the preceding day. It was wet, and lie could not have ridden his horse over some parts of t<ie ground. There was water standing in the ditch, because it coald not get out. the drainage not having been completed at the time. When he stated that the site was suitable, he did not take into consideration what the etfect would he on the neighborhood if there was an oten ditch wiih blood and offal in it. There might be danger to persons passing if cat le were driven over the Anderson's Bay Road, but they were not to be taken that, way to the yard. They <-ould not break ■ out on to the Anderson's Bay Road as the railings of the stock yard, were quite sufficient to keep any cattle in. Mr Begs, a resident in the neighborhood, stated that he could drain the land hi question bscauss it had a fall towards the harbor. He considered that the site of the yard was in a very desirable position. In cross-examination he admitted that he was tlieground landlord of,the slaughteryavd. Mr Cutten called as a witness Mr &. Gillies, surveyor, who stated that he had taken the levels of the flat in quo tion about twelve or eighteen months ago for Mr Cutten. There waa not six inches of a fall into the harbor, and none^at nil into the ocean, . because seme parts of the flat were under high water mark. There might be a fall of three feet, into a ditch, but there was no fall from the ditch to the harbor. The establishment of a slaughter-yard in that neighborhood would materially lower the value of all the property near it. There was a fall in the ground sufficient for agricultural purposes, but not sufficient to carry away the refuse of a slaughteryard. In cross-examination he said there was a fall into the harbor at low water mark, i'he Magistrate said that, in deciding a.question: of this nature, he had to consider two material points—whether the applicant was of unexceptionable character, and also whether the yard was in a convenient and desirable situation, and on these points he must place very considera-x ble reliance on the evidence of the Inspector ol Slaughter-houses, who could not be prejudiced either' way. No doubt every person would look upon a slaughter-yard being placed near his house as a nuisance, ?nd Mr Cuttfin must be looked upon as being somewhat interested in this respect, as he was a large proprietor at Anderson's Bay. He knew what a nuisance it was to have. a slaughter-house placed near one's house, for he had one near his own which he would willhgly qbe Ir2o_to get removed. Yet slaughter-houses.must be somewhere,. and until the Government provided public ones,_ p ivate ones must exist. He would grant the license for one year, but if it should be found undesirable to continue it after the first year, and he still occupied the Bench, he would take it away again.