JUSTICE WITH HUMOUR

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14041, 17 December 1938, Page 5

JUSTICE WITH HUMOUR

SECOND EPITTOX

SEQUEL TO STREET F/GhT

PRISONER WYSHES COt'RT V MERRY CHRISTMAS. Electric Telegraph-Press Association WELLING TON, Last Night. A large gallery filled the back por. tion ot the Magistrate’s Court when the principal figures m yesterday’s n eelee m the vicinity of Grey Street appeared m the dock. Prisoners were not. without their humorous interludes, and during the hearing, two men at the back of the Court were ejected by the police.

Henry Long, aged 30, a cook, pleaded guilty to fighting, not guilty to resisting a» constable in the execution of his duty and not guilty to usmg obscene language; Ernest Sheridan, aged 24. a seaman, pleaded guilty to fighting and to resisting a constable; David Thomas Rowan, aged 26, a seaman, pleaded guilty to fighting with another person ; George Ronald Dobson, aged 25, a labourer and motor-driver, pleaded guiltv to obstructing a constable; Leslie PatI lc ‘k O Kane, aged 25, a seamanporter, pleaded guilt\- to obstructing a constable* and Norman Alan Alillar, aged 28, a hawker and fisherman, pleaded, not guilty to fighting and not guilty to assaulting an unknown person. The police gave evidence that an altercation took place in an hotel bar and two men came out into the street, where a general melee developed. Constable Guild arrested Sheridan, who appeared to be the aggressor. Sheridan uppercut the constable and. in the presence of a crowd which had gathered, ’Rowan started to fight Long while the constable was holding Sheridan. O'Kane took the part of the man in custody of the constable and Dobson helped O’Kane in obstruction. FOOTBALL SCRUM, OR WHAT? At this stage a member of the crowd summoned police assistance for Constable Guild. Alillar came on the scene just after the police arrived and twice knocked down a man whose identity was unknown. One witness, describing the scene, said the men were struggling by themselves, apart altogether from the police. Counsel for Alillar: ‘T picture it as a couple of wing-forwards outside a football scrum.” 9 Alagistrate: “That is against the rules now, isn’t it?” (Laughter). Counsel; “Yes. The British tnI fluence.”

Witness: T think representative Rugby people would not go outside the scrum to do what these people did, because they immediately would be put off the ground. They were more like centre-forwards.'* Alillar. in evidence, said he had a lot of liquor and thought he would give the constable a hand. For that reason he struck O’Kane. TRIED TO BE “GOOD SAMARITAN," Long said, in evidence, that he left the Court on Alonday morning after being fined £3 or fourteen days. He earned £1 which he intended to put towards the fine, but .met the men outside the hotel and was trying to be “a good Samaritan” to Sheridan. His trousers and shirt were tor i off and he had to borrow a pair of police trousers to appear in Court. (Laughter). He admitted ho was the cause of the trouble, because it was only he who bad money.

“While T am here before I go, he concluded, “I wish you ail a merry Christmas.” (Prolonged laughter).

The Alagistrate dismissed the charge, against Alillar. Long was convicted and fined £2 for using obscene language and on tlie other charges he was convicted and discharged. the Alagistrate remarking: “Although Long says he was the cause of the trouble, he was not the kind of cause which should be visited with a heavy penalty.” O’Kane and Sheridan were each convicted and fined £3. and Rowan and Dobson each convicted and fined £2.