DUNEDIN POLICE COURT.

Otago Witness, Issue 3098, 30 July 1913, Page 6

DUNEDIN POLICE COURT.

Friday, July 18. (Before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.) Abducting a Girl.—Albert Percy (Jlding was charged with having taken an unmarried girl, aged 15 years and six months, away from her homo without the consent of her parents.—Mr Hanlon appeared for the accused.—Sub-inspector Foully asked for a remand until Wednesday, as the man had been brought from Christchurch only the previous day. He explained that the couple had apparently' been friendly in Wellington, and the man came down from there, and took the girl away from her parents’ custody, getting as far as Christchurch with her.—The remand was granted, bail being fixed, accused in £2OO and two sureties of £IOO each. A Licensing Case.—David Porter was charged that on June 24, being an innkeeper, he did permit drunkenness to take place on his premises—the St. Kilda Hotel. —Mr Hanlon appeared for defendant, who pleaded “ Not guilty.”—Constable Havelock said that at 9.40 lie saw two men come from a recess in front of the hotel. Their names were Maurice Healy and John Marshall. Healy tried to take Marshall home, but he would not go. Marshall returned to the public bar, and a few minutes later witness went into the hotel with Constable Howard, and found Marshall leaning against the bar counter. He had no drink in front of him, and the barman said that he had not had any liquor in that hotel on that night. Wit ness asked why the man had not been sent out, and the barman said he had told him to go. Marshall was very drunk, and he had arrested him.—Crossexamined by Mr Hanlon, Constable Havelock admitted that he could not see into the recess, and was unable to say how long Marshall was in the hotel.—Constable Howard also stated that the recces was deep, and he could not see Marshall go in the door. He might not have been in the bar all the five minutes they waited before going in.—Maurice Healy said that he did not see Marshall have any drink in the bar. Witness tried to get Marshall to go home, tuit lie returned to the bar. Marshall asked for drink, but was refused by the barman. He (Marshall) was able to walk, and was not very drunk.—To Mr Hanlon: He heard the barman order Marshall to go out.—John Marshall was also called, but lie had very 1 itrio recollection of what had happened on tho day in question, excepting his arrest.—

Mr Hanlon submitted that the case was a very weak one. On several occasions during the evening the barmen had refused to servo Marshall, and had ordered him out. And on each occasion he went out when ordered. On the last occasion the constable had tried to make out that he knew the man was in the house for live minutes, but it had been clearly shown that the constables could not sec into the recess, and could not say that the man had been in the house for five minutes. The evidence for the defence would bo that the man blundered into the bar, and was there only a minute when the constables came in. All that could have been done was done, and upon every occasion the man was ordered out he went. —John Ogg and Albert William (barmen) both stated that the man was not served after tea, and left tile bar when ordered on several occasions.—Septimus Theodore Ryan, who was in the hotel at 9, saw Marshall ordered out. He assorted that the police followed into the hotel almost at Marshall’s heels. — Alexander Barr said that the man was refused drink. —His Worship said that the strange feature of the ease was that though the man was refused liquor he apparently became considerably more under the influence of it, ’The constables were unable to say that Marshall had bce.i in the hotel for any appreciable lime, and tin; case must (_>'■ dismissed. Ah the same time his Worship pointed out hotelkeepers’ duly in cases of the kind, and remarked that it had been held that oven four minutes was too long for a drunken man to be allowed on licensed premises. Monday. July 21. Before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.) A Licensing Case. —Mathew A, Tubman, for whom Mr Payne appeared, was charged with that, on June 23, lie did send a jar containing two gallons of beer to R. Scott, of Biilclutha, and that ho did fail to have the jar distinctly labelled, thereby showing its contents. A plea of “Not' guilty” was entered.—Evidence for the prosecution was given by Constable Harvey. Claud Thompson, and Michael Miller, (o the effect that the jar was not labelled, and there was no trace of it having been labelled. —For the defence John Joseph Reddington stated that he had labelled the jar, the label being placed over the top of the cork. He had

boon engaged in the trade for 12 years, and had never made a mistake before. This was the first lot of beer that Mr Tubman had sent away to a no-license district. —Tho Magistrate said there was no reason to doubt the evidence given by the last witness, and it appeared that tho jar was properly labelled when sent away from tho hotel. It would, however, be better in future to attach a more secure label to jars thus sent out. The case was dismissed. Defence Cases.—Patrick Tohiil, a Senior Cadet, was charged with failing to vendor personal service under tho Defence Act, in that ho did absent himself from parades on May 8 and 15. —Evidence in support of tho charge was given by Sergeant-major Cummings, after which the defendant was fined 10s. ami costs (7s). Ronald Healey, George Garrick. Henry Scrivincr, Andrew Mitchell, and William Mavall were also charged with failing to render personal service under tho Defence Act in that they were absent from parades held during dune. —Captain Fraser, who appeared for the prosecution, stated that these men’s offences arose largely out of carelessness and not from any desire to evade the Act. They had not sent in excuses for their absence soon enough, hence the charges against them. —Tho Magistrate said each man would have to pay tho court costs (7s), and in future would have to be more particular about attending his parades.—Walter J. Parker, Alfred E. Wilson, Norman Gunn, and,Maurice V. Lousley were each fined ss. and costs (7s). on a similar charge.—— Wilfred C. -Waldron, James Edward Burgess, and William Crce were each fined 10s, and costs (7s). Duncan M‘Fariane, George SVnith. James Morrin, and Conrad A. St : gi : .sh were fined 20s, and costs (7s). Tho case against. Charles Godlcy, who produced a medical certificate, was dismissed.