CITY POLICE COURT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19196, 12 June 1924, Page 13

CITY POLICE COURT.

Wednesday, June 11. (Before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.) Chimney Fire. —James Wilson, who was charged with permitting a chimney of his residence to be on lire, was lined 5». Drunkenness. —Thomas Hector M'Caughan wits charged with drunkenness and with a breach of a prohibition order. He pleaded guilty to loth (jhaxges and was fined 10s in respect of each charge, in default 24 hours' imprisonment.——Michael Dwyer was charged (1) with drunkenness, and (2) with wilfully breaking a plateglass window valued at £2 7s 6d, the property of Gain and Co. (Bond street). —Accused pleaded guilty to tiie first charge, but said he bad no recollection of breaking the window.— Evidence was given by a small boy who witnessed the breaking of the window and who saw accused fall against the window, and Constable M'Lennau who found the accused in the vicinity of the broken window in a drunken condition. His Worship said accused would be lined 10s with respect to the first charge and ordered to pay the cost of the broken window. —Accused's aj>plication for' the suppression of his name in "the newspapers was declined. Alleged Theft. —Truest Hoffman, aged 17 years, was charged with the theft of plumber’s tools, one pair of opera Masses, and gramophone records valued at £5. the property of Mrs Borland. Accused pleaded guilty and elected to be dealt with sum-marily.—Senior-sergeant Malhieson said the facia were that accused was under Mr Lock’s charge. The lad was boarded out with Mrs Borland, and while there he stole the tools mentioned in the charge from a workshop at the rear of Mrs Borland’s house, and sold them to second-hand dealers. Some of the stolen property had been recovered, but it had been impossible to recover the balance which had been disposed of. —Mr John Lock (Probation Officer) said the accused's character was entirely unsatisfactory, lie had been committed to the Probation Horne from Gore on a charge of breaking and entering and theft. A situation had been found for accused in Dunedin, in a foundry, but ho was dismissed for thieving from the workmen's packets. On his (.vlr Lock’s) representations the lari was reinstated. He had also taken money from the pockets of a visitor at Mrs Borland's house. He was a confirmed thief, and was a victim of a vicious practice which was probably to some extent responsible for his present position.—His Worship said he thought it was a ease for committal to Wereroa. —Mr Lock said quite a lot of time had been spent on the boy, who had been given every opportunity of reforming. Mrs Beiland had dune everything possible for the lad. —His Worship said he would commit the accused and order him to come up for sentence if called upon within two vears. Meantime Mr Lock would have an opportunity of sending the lad to Wereron. He did not think it desirable to send so young a lad to the borstal Institute. Alleged Theft of Postal Packet.—Leonard Chalmers Young (for whom Mr Allan appeared) was charged with while being a postal official he did steal a postal packet containing 6s 6d. the property of the New Zealand Government. —Chief-detective Lewis, said the offence had been committed at Scaeliff, where the accused was employed. He asked for a roman d till June 16. —His Worship granted the application and admitted accuser 1 to bail in his own recognisance of £25. Affiliation Case. —The Education Department (Mr F. B. Adams) proceeded against John Louden Good (Mr B. S. Irwin) with regard to affiliation and maintenance orders concerning the birth of a child of which defendant, was alleged to he the father.Mr Adams explained that a rehearing had been granted Good. The position was that defendant previously consented to affiliation and maintenance orders being made against, him with respect to tv child which had been formally committed to a borne,—Mr Irwin said that Good had consented .to an order being made after henring a statement made by Mr Lock (Probation Officer) that the child had been horn at the end of December —Defendant, in evidence, said he could not find out at the time he admitted paternity that the child was a full-time one. He load since discovered that others besides himself had had intercourse with tne mother ot Hie child, who wa« a single woman. The Magistrate said that, from the medical evidence it was apparent that the child'was a fulltime one. Had the girl been of unimpeaehablo character the position might have been different, but the girl’s own story was sufficiently e.loc|uent, as to what her character was. It was shown according to her own statement that she had had illicit intercourse with other men, and that her connection with defendant was not the first occasion on which she had fallen from grace. The whole story told by her showed that she was a girl of somewhat easv virtue. Although she saw the defendant several times on the street before the child was born she never made any suggestion that ho was nrsponsihle. In the circumstances the complaint would be dismissed.