MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9641, 16 January 1903, Page 2

MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

~ + ■ At the Police Court this moi-mmr John Cunoen and William Attwood g S charged with using obsene language m Gladstone road jtfr Jones appeared for accused who pleaded not guilty. Sergeant Siddelb said the use, of the language alleged revealed a shocking slate of affau« The two young mci, wh o worked at the freezing .works were K oin<r borne, and on passing a nmi n t me § Whs house they stopped and used the language complained of to Mrs bouth Mrs South gave evidence that at 20 pant 11 on New Year's Eve she heard a great wrenching noise at the gate fcue got up and went down the path to ■see what it was, and saw Cuneeh with, his hands on the gate wrenching it. She asked him whut he was doing there, and he replied with the language complained of, which was of a most offensive nature. Both defendants sang out together, but it was Cuneem who used the bad language.— Sergeant SiddeUs thereupon withdrew the information against Attwtood, who was discharged.— Witness stilted that her daughter and two sons were on the verandah, and heard the language. There was a great noise and they broke the fence down.— Cross-examined witness stated that the words handed m | on. a paper were written by her daughter, aged 15, whom she told to write wluut she heard. There was i»o feud between her husband and. sons and the men at the freezing works: Her husband lwd not hooted the men, nor had her sons knocked some of them down. A man named Preece was with the two men at the time. — Jane South, daughter of last witness, gave corroborative evidence, but could not identify the man who used the language, She only saw two men.— Mr Jones said it was quite possible that on this particular night there may have been parties about behaving m the manner described. Defendant, however, was not present, and this was either a wicked concoction or a case of mistaken identity. He called John Hall, employed at the freezing works, who deposed that on New Year's Eve with, defendant, Attwood, Larsen, and Blair,- he left the Royal Hotel between 10.30 and 11, and went straight, to the freezing works. They passed Souths house, but none of them interfered with his fence, nor did Mrs South and her daughter come out. They arrived at the works before 12. — John. Larsen, Richard Blair, and defendant Cuneen gave, similar evidence. Blair said all the party were sober. — The Magistrate said after the evidence for the defence he must take it . as a case of mistaken identity. The information would be dismissed. fc