MAGISTRATE’S COURT,

Taranaki Daily News, 24 November 1922, Page 6

MAGISTRATE’S COURT,

NEW PLYMOUTH SITTING. THEFT FROM FIANCEE. Mr. A. M. Mowlem, S.M., presided over the weekly sitting of the Magistrate’s Court at New Plymouth, yesterday. A first-offending inebriate, who had spent the previous evening in the lock-up, was convicted and discharged. Richard Walsh, who had pleaded guilty last week to the theft of two handbags and one gold ring, of the value of £3 10s, the property of his fiancee, Alice Wilkin, appeared for sentence. His Worship gave accused a dressingdown on the meanness of his act and hoped that the fact that his fiancee was willing to stick to him would oe the means of keeping him straight in the future. On her plea he would be admitted to probation for 12 months. ROGUE AND VAGABOND. John Fitzgerald did not appear to answer a charge of being a rogue and vagabond, in that he was found, without lawful excuse in an enclosed yard occupied by Andrew Yardley. Evidence was given by Yardley that defendant and another man, who had not been served with his summons, had come to his house in the early hours of the morning of Sunday, November 5, and had made enquiries for a man named McGuire, who was living on the premises. McGuire did not wish to see them, and requested witness to tell the men that he could not be awakened. The defendant and the other man had persisted in making a noise and had declined to go away when witness requested them to do so, and he had therefore informed the police. That evening the defendant had come to his house and had apologised for making the disturbance. A fine of £2, with costs £1 15s, was imposed. SERVING A PROHIBITED PERSON. Frederick Charles Emeny, licensee of the Oakura Hotel (for whom Mr. A. A. Bennett appeared), pleaded guilty to supplying Ronald Brooklyn Gray, a prohibited person, with liquor. Senior-Sergeant McCrorie stated that he had often seen Gray in defendant’s company in a half-drunken condition. He had admitted that he knew that Gray was prohibited. Mr. Bennett stated that, although Emeny had been a publican for a number of years, *his was his first offence. He asked his Worship to consider this fact, and also that defendant had not sought to mislead the Court, but had been quite frank and open about the matter. A fine of £3, with costs amounting to £1 12s 6d, was imposed. Gray (for whom Mr. Bennett also appeared) was then charged with a breach of his prohibition order and was convicted and ordered to pay costs, 7s. A charge of negligently driving a motor-car on the Main South Road, near Oakura, was dismissed without calling on the defence. It. was stated in evidence that his car had crashed into the Oakura Bridge, but this was put down to a tyre bursting. His passenger stated that he had not been alarmed at defendant’s driving. ARREARS OF MAINTENANCE. Robert Gilbert was charged with being £l9 10s in arrears in the payment of maintenance for his child. Mr. R. H. Quilliam appeared for the mother, who had divorced defendant, and who, he said, was now in the Wellington Hospital as a result of the defendant’s cruelty. It was a bad case, said Mr. Quilliam, in that defendant had been very generously treated, but in the meantime he had got married again. He presumed that defendant had considered ways and means when considering his second venture into matrimony, but he had paid only £5 10s off the order for £25 for arrears which had been made against him some months ago. The defendant, in the box, said he was at present out of work. He had been employed at. the Criterion Hotel for some months at £2 5s a week with keep, but he had used that money to pay of back debts. He was quite prepared to pay something on the order if he had work. Mr. Mowlem adjourned the case till December 14. “You will have to find work by then,” he said, “and give an earnest of your intention to do something for your child. And I advise you to be in attendance on the 14th if you haven’t got work,” added Mr. Mowlem, as defendant left the box. SEASIDE TENEMENTS. Suits for possession of tenements and back rent were taken by the Ngamotu Seaside Resort Company against Charles Peters and Bruce Joll. It was.stated that the company bad been very lenient to these tenants, but they were being pressed by the Harbor Board on the grounds that the cottages were meant to be occupied only during certain months in the year. In the first case judgment was entered by consent for the rent in arrear, £2O 10s, with costs amounting to £3 3s 6d, while an order was made for possession in one month. Bruce Joll did not appear, and judgment, by default for the amount claimed, £55 ss, with costs £3 13s 6d, was given against him. On account of his having a family of six children, the question of possession was stood down for one month. In a similar action against Gabrielle Davidson, Mr. P. Fitzherbert, who appeared for the defend ant, said he would consent, to an order for possession but not for the rent. The defendant had divorced her husband since a good part of the arrears of rent had accumulated, and the claim should have been made against, him. An order was made for possession, while claim for rent was adjourned until December 14. BREACH OF AWARD. The Inspector of Awards (Mr. W. J. Mount joy) proceeded against Henry Kerr, baker, of New Plymouth, for a £lO penalty for a breach of the Bakers’ Award, in that he had employed Claude Burton as a driver at less than the award rates. Mr. L. M. Moss appeared for the defendant, who admitted a technical breach. It appeared that Kew had been in the habit of driving his own lorry until Burton had approached him and had pleaded for a job. He had offered to do the work for £3 10s per week, although the award rate was £4 3s, until he had acquired experience. Defendant had demurred, but had at least yielded to Burton’s import unings and had given him a job. He had gone on the round with him for some days, but shortly afterwards, when Burton was on the round by himself, he had smashed the lorry and had caused ’ iamaga to the extent of nbout £63

Mr. Mowlem said that the fact that the lorry had been smashed and that defendant had reluctantly consented to give Burton a job, did not enter into the. case. A breach of the award had been committed, although it was not a serious one. Judgment would be given for £l. Costs were not applied for. The inspector then claimed a £2 penalty from Burton, for a breach of the award arising out of the same circumstances. Mr. Moss stated that defendant was an immigrant, and hu>- not been conversant with the New Zealand labor laws. Mr. Mowlem said Burton’s offence was equally as bad if npt worse than that of Kew, and gave judgment tor £1 against him. CIVIL CASES. Judgment by default was given for plaintiffs in the following undefended cases: Commissioner of Crown Lands v. Edward Johnston, £3, 14s Bd, costs £ss ss; Alfred Hegman v. Ellen Bishop,. £5, costs £3 Ils fid; Charlotte Ellen Charman v. Leu Tate, £7 Is fid, costs £1 10s d; The King v. Robert James Murphy, £5O. costs £3 Is fid; Helen Hughes v. Constantine Marquis, £3 3s, costs £1 5s fid. JUDGMENT SUMMONS. George Pataka was ordered to pay the sum of £l3 12s 8d to Laurence Josiah Hunt forthwith, in default 13 days’ imprisonment ,m New Plymouth prison.