MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Southland Times, Issue 24211, 22 August 1940, Page 5

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

WEDNESDAY (Before Mr R. C. Abernethy, S.M.) A plea of guilty was entered by letter by Angus Eade, aged 20, a labourer, of Kapuka, to a charge of having liquor in his control in the vicinity of a dance hall while a dance was in progress. Senior-Sergeant Kelly said that on June 19, a constable had seen the defendant, accompanied by three other men, leave a dance hall at Gorge Road. The defendant had gone to a motor-car and taken out a bottle of beer. A fine of £l, costs 12/-, was imposed and an order for the confiscation of the liquor was made.

Harold Peter John Scott, Timpanys, was charged with a similar offence. Constable Bandy, of Tokanui, said that on July 20 he had seen several men who were attending a dance in the Gorge Road hall leave the hall and go to a motor-car where the defendant had a half-bottle of whisky from which he had been drinking. The defendant was fined £l, costs 12/-. Jack Archibald McCallum, of Gorge Road, pleaded guilty to a similar charge. Constable Bandy said the defendant was attending the same dance. He was found with seven bottles of beer in his possession. The defendant told the Court that he knew the penalty for having liquor in his possession near a dance. He was intending to move the beer away from the hall.

Constable Bandy said that he had seen the defendant take out a suitcase containing the seven bottles of beer. The defendant had told the witness he was taking the liquor away for a drink. The defendant was fined £l/10/-, 12/costs. The liquor was ordered to be confiscated.

Andrew Lee McCulloch, of East road, Invercargill, was charged with having an unregistered revolver in his possession. .He pleaded guilty. SeniorSergeant Kelly said that the defendant had only two cartridges to fit the revolver in his possession. There did not appear to be anything sinister behind the case.

The defendant said the revolver was a keepsake. He had had it for 35 years. A fine of 10/- was imposed, costs 10/-. An order for the confiscation of the revolver was made. When the defendant asked for time to pay, stating he was receiving nothing hut the Social Security allowance, the Magistrate remitted the fine, remarking that there did not appear to be anything sinister behind the case.

. Frank Murdoch, aged 21, was charged with committing mischief by damaging a table cloth and a table knife, the property of Cris Laris, Invercargill. Senior-Sergeant Kelly said that on August 4, the defendant had gone into a restaurant when he was under the influence of liquor. He had bent a knife, and in doing so, had cut his finger. He had then cut a piece out of the table cloth and left the restaurant, refusing to pay for his meal. He had later admitted the offence to the police and had made good all the damage and paid for his meal. A fine of 10/-, costs 10/—, was imposed. PARKING OFFENCES Breaches of the parking regulations were dealt with by the Court. “Some time ago, there was a number of prosecutions for this offence,” said the chief traffic inspector, Mr E. Stopford, “and it was thought that they would have a deterrent effect.” This, however, did not appear to be the case. There was a large number of permanent parking spaces which motorists could use. There were so many motorists breaking the regulations that action had to be taken.

For parking motor vehicles in restricted areas for longer than the periods allowed in the regulations, the following were fined: —Robert N. Henderson, 10/-, costs 12/-; Gladys Horner 10/-, costs 10/-; George W. Hubbard 10/-, costs 10/-; William L. Lockerbie 10/-, costs 12/-; Hunter McKenzie 10/-, costs 10/-; James R. McLean 10/-, costs 10/-; John Northcoat, 10/-, costs 12/-; Kenneth G. A. Ramsay, 10/-, costs 10/-; Owen Rees, 10/-, costs 10/-; Horace Lee, 10/-, costs 12/-; Edward H. Smith, 10/-, costs 10/-; George F. Harvey, 10/-, costs 3/-; Arthur Hobbs, 10/-, costs 3/-; Julia Tangney, convicted and ordered to pay costs 3/-; Arthur E. Jordan, Invercargill, 10/-, costs 3/-; Herbert C. Hurrell, 10/-, costs 3/-; Osman O. Mackley, 10/-, costs 10/-; Walter G. Asher, 10/-, costs 10/-; Arthur W. Cowley, 10/-, costs 10/-; Leslie J. Small, 10/-, costs 10/-; Cecil B. Tapley, 10/-, costs 10/-; Stanley J. Wills, 10/-, costs 10/-. ' For driving motor-vehicles equipped with insufficient lights, John Watt was fined 15/-, costs 10/-, and Eric Crosbie was fined 15/-, costs 10/-. TRAFFIC BREACHES For exceeding the speed limit, Roland Vincent Shaw was fined 15/-, costs 10/-. For parking on the offside of another parked vehicle, William Henderson was fined 10/-, costs 12/-; fo,r parking in a prohibited area, Norman Ferguson was fined 10/-, costs 10/-. For failing to keep to the left Robert Swan was fined £l, costs 12/-; Mervyn L. Bain was fined 5/-, costs 10/-, for having no current driver’s licence. Edmond Condon was fined 10/-, costs 12/-, for allowing stock to wander on the Lorne-Riverton State highway. Robert William Stewart Irwin was fined 10/-, costs 12/-, for having no heavy traffic licence. For a similar offence, Louis Amos King was fined 10/-, costs 10/-.

John McPherson was charged with failing to keep as close as was practicable to the left side of the road. Traffic Inspector J. C. Edwards said that the defendant while on his wrong side of the road had come into collision with another car on July 31 on the Invercargill-Browns road. The defendant was fined £l/10/-, costs 12/-.

For driving without a licence, Gordon Cameron was fined 10/-, costs 10/—. For exceeding the speed limit, Robert Murray Smith was fined £l, costs 10/-. For riding a bicycle on a footpath, Leslie Swan was fined 5/-, costs 10/-. For allowing stock to wander on the Invercargill-Queenstown road, Donald Murchison Chisholm was fined 15/-, costs 12/-. RESERVED JUDGMENT Reserved judgment in a case in which Daniel Ross, of Invercargill (for whom Mr Gordon J. Reed appeared when the case was heard) was charged with negligent driving and with failing to report an accident, involving injury to Eva Francis Annie Elliott Bragg, was given by the Magistrate. The accident occurred in Nith street, Invercargill, on August 28, 1939. It was stated in evidence that Mrs Bragg was cycling along Nith street when the defendant backed his car out of a garage and struck her. The Magistrate said that on the negligent driving charge, the evidence did not justify a conviction and it would be dismissed. As to the second charge, it was clear that the - collision was reported at some time to the police, although not apparently by the defendant. There was no proof that the accident was not reported sufficiently early and the defence must succeed accordingly. The charge was dismissed.