CITY POLICE COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18549, 9 May 1922, Page 11

CITY POLICE COURT

■ Monday, Mat 8. (Before' Mr Hi. W. Bundle, S.M.) ' ■ Drunkenness. —Three first offenders, for drunkenness* were each fined the amount of their bail (20s), in default 48 hours’ imprisonment. * ■ Boarding: Trams.—Charles ■ Gaston Anderson and William Ahlbrandt were each fined 5s,‘ with costa. (9s), for boarding trams while in. motion. Leo Ashby, .similarly charged,' was ordered to pay witness’s expenses (ss) and costs (9s). - . Maintenance. —In an ■ adjourned case against John Best (Mr A. C. Hanlon), for disobedience of a maintenance order on which the arrears amounted to £45 13s 6d, 1 the magistrate, granted ■ a further adjournment pi three weeks. to enable Mr, F. G. dimming to.make’inquiries as to the possibility ,of defendant getting work.—Mr, Camming said it was’ very, difficult to find work in the city at the present time. Alleged Arson. —Joseph Francis Ward was charged with wilfullysetting on fire, on May 2, a house in Rayenswood road, St. Clair, owned and occupied by F. J. Semb.—Lily Semb, wife of the owner, said accused had been boarding with them since Christmas. Ho did a little work on the wharves. He was a returned soldier, and was a very heavy ’ drinker. Witness. had_. seen him , bring in methylated spirts. sometimes. Owing to his drunkenness and not paying his boat'd witness told him on ' 30 that he would • have to leave. Accused had been sleeping In the hothouse on a rug.on the floor, and' on the morning in question he said to her : “I see you have watered the floor so that'l can’t sleen on it.”. . Witness asked. Mira if he wanted his swag. She put his things together and'placed' them outside the front door. She told him that if he did hot go. away she woujd send for the police. Accused said: “You won’t do that for nothing.” Accused . forced the back door in with, a big axe. , Witness was. standing inside, and accused came at her with the axe oyer_his shoulder, shouting,out: “You won’t do that for nothing.” Witness put hdr Httle boy through, the fence,, and went back for, the .bahy. .Accused made at her, and witness ran outside. ' . She saw through a window that accused was not near the baby, so she went away for the police. Accused was in the scullery, where the fire occurred. When witness went back with Constable Schruffer she found a lot of old clothes on fire, iri‘ the .lumber-room. ■ Witness got'a basin arid helped to put it out. She could smell- kerosene, • and there were spots of it on the'floor, . There was usually a bottle of 'kerosene. on a shelf, and witness noticed that it had been shifted arid placed outside the lumber-room door. She valued the clothing at 30s:—Constable Schruffer said he found that, kerosene had been poured all over the lumber-room floor, and on the passage leading, to. a bedroom. Witness helped to put. the fire out, and then went to look for accused, whom he found sitting behind a tree in the next section: -Accused. seemed dazed and stupid, and could not answer questions. Witness arrested him for drunkenness. The damage to the house would’amount to about £2 ; There was an empty" , keroseper bottle .. just outside the lumber-room door.—Acting Detective Sneddon .read 9 statement signed bv accused in which he said' that he drew his pension on j ' 24. He did not return to Mrs Seinh’s house for three or four days, being on a drinking bout. When -h© went back Mrs Semb was very angry, and told him to clear out. , He slept in the hothouse for two nights, and,, on one. night Mrs Semb told him to go in to his old room. On the Tuesday morning he went into town and drank a lot of beer and whisky. He did not remember going back to the house or bcin» arrested. His mind was a complete blank from , the time he left the Southern, Hotel until he woke up in the police cell. He knew where the axe was as he had chopped wood with it. He did 'not remember seeing the kerosene bottle or setting the house on fire, but he might have done so.—Accused reserved his defence and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. The magistrate directed that if the case did not come on this week, accused, who was without counsel, should he given an opportunity of applying for bail. TRAFFIC BY-LAWS. TO TWF EDTTO*. • g nii “A Motor Driver,” who complains in' ' Thursday’s issue about the regulation < f traffic in this city, may be a Very careful driver,-but if the traffic by-laws were enforced the police would have a’ busy time. There is no das* of people in the world who care less for the safety of pedestrian and horse-drawn traffic than motorists. Compare the speed of motor oars wHh that of tramcara. What fa the speed of a motor when passing a tramcar, which i| going at 15 miles per hour? I have noticed often motorists passing a tramcar and being out of sight in a minute. That means 30 rules per hour, and, of course, there is no thought of anying coming out of a side get or take, more liberty than ever the-old horse drivers got. The latter had to be careful not to exceed eight miles per hour, and many a one was fined for furious driving at that speed. Motorists growl if they , don’t get a road like a billiard table. .Our fathers had-to drive over anything with horses, and thankful there was a road at all. There is another thing-*namely, that motor might have mote feeling for the sick when they are passing hospitals. Theie axe two hospitals near mv residence and day and ment, when motor cyclists pass one would'think a machine gun was being fired. As regards bv-laws. when is the street in front ot His Majesty's Theatre going to be cleared of motor cars when ;the audience is coming out? What is- the idea of- having the cars all jammed with their backs up against the kerb. If “A Motor Driver would like to make the city more comfortable for everybody, the best thing he can do is Jo get the Council' to enforce the traffic T>y laws.— T-am. etc.,' Equine. Dunedin, May 4.