SITTING OF POLICE COURT

Taranaki Daily News, 19 December 1929, Page 6

SITTING OF POLICE COURT

CASES IN NEW PLYMOUTH BREACHES OF BOROUGH BY-LAWS. MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES HEARD. Miriam Chapman was fined £l, costs 10s, at the New Plymouth court yesterday for allowing a car to cause an unnecessary obstruction in Liardet Street on November 8. H. Young, for failing to keep his car to the left side in Devon Street on November 1 pleaded guilty and was lined £1 (costs 15s). For leaving their cars standing in Devon Street on-November 14 for more than 10 minutes, Victor Thorn and L. Pease were lined 10s (costs 15s). John James Sullivan, of Stratford, charged with employing W. H. Gracia, not being a registered electrical wireman, to instal conduit and electrical conductors in certahi premises was lined 20s (costs £1 Ils). Tho regulations were hopelessly ob-s-’ure, said Mr. Croker, who appeared for dwl'endant. It was very difficult to say what were the qualifications of an improver. The position was, said tho magistrate, Mi-. R. W. Tate, that a man could not Undertake electrical business unless he had a certain academic education, and if he put an apprentice to do the work the apprentice must do it under the man’s personal supervision. William Henry Gracia, charged with installing the conduit without being a registered electrical wireman, was convicted and discharged. Alfred Nixon, master, plumber, New Plymouth, charged with making alterations connected with sanitary plumbing without giving the borough engineer notice in "writing, was fined 10s (costs 10s). - . . . In the case of the maintenance officer v. Lewis Edgar Reid a default order was nih.de, the warrant to be suspended for three months as long as the defendant current maintenance.

BREACH OF PROHIBITION ORDERS. MEN FOUND DRINKING IN STABLE. Charged with breaking their prohibition orders on November 28, Robert Barlow and Arthur Edmund Russell were fined £2 (costs 12s). William McLeod, charged with supplying Barlow with liquor, was similarly fined. The defendants were found in a stable drinking, said tho Senior-Sergeant. Sarlow,‘who was a horse dealer, had tried to keep his order but had fallen to a sudden temptation. Russell had been trying to keep his order, though less was known about him.

McLeod, said Mr. Bennett, who appeared for the accused, had a large family and had interviewed Barlow concerning a position for one of his children. Russell had introduced the two. Me-cod had not appreciated the seriousness of his action and a heavy fine would mean hardship to him and his family. Ho was sorry for what he had done. They Would all bo treated alike, the magistrate. . McLeod was given < fortniglit in which to pay. If McLeod came before him again for a similar offence he would be fined £lO.

ON LICENSED PREMISES. LIQUOR SUPPLIED AFTER H-OURS. Robert Mascall, charged with being on licensed premises after hours, and Peter Maxwell, charged with supplying liquor after hours, were fined £1 (costs .IQs). Herbert J. D. Power, charged with exposing liquor for sale after hbiiys, was ordered to pay costs 10s. - Defendants all pleaded guilty. A constable and ho had entered the hotel about 9.15 p.m. on November 5, said the Senior-Sergeant, and found Mascall with a glass in front of him and three other boarders there. After wards, Maxwell had said he had btsen supplied by the others. It was with some reluctance, said Mr. Bennett, that ho entered a plea of guilty for it waS doubtful if in law there had been any breach at all. The licensee had been supplying boarders in tho bar. He left for a moment and sent in Maxwell to take charge. When ho came back he found Mascall had joined the party. A boarder had said Mascall was there as his guest and Maxwell had supplied tho liquor in good faith. Just at that moment the police had arrived.

THEFT OF LAMP LIGHT. ORDER TO COME UP FOR SENTENCE i Norman Paulger, pleading guilty to stealing part of an electric lamp light at New Plymouth on December 17 was ordered to come up for sentence in six months if called upon. Tho loss of part of a messenger’s lamp, said the Senior-Sergeant, had been reported by the -watchman at the post office. The lamp had been found by a constable in tho possession of tho defendant. He said someone had stolen his lamp so he had taken this one. Defendant was not mentally strong. “I am giving you a chance and you have to make use of it,” said the magistrate.

ACCIDENT AT LEPPERTON.

DANGEROUS DRIVING CHARGE.

. j case against Raymond C. Fever, charged with driving his motor-cycle at. Leppei’ton on October 6 in a manner dangerous to the public and overtaking another vehicle and attempting to pass it on the wrong side, was dismissed.

Frederick John Taylor, said he had been riding from Lepperton to New Plymouth on October 6 and had stopped on the left hand side of the road to talk to a friend;? He pulled up on the left with his cycle facing Inglewood. He had started his cyclo and was turning his machine round on the road to go to New Plymouth when defendant had ridden into liini on his motor-cycle. Defendant, passing him on the left hand side, struck his front wheel. Defendant had had two ribs broken. Harold" Victor Baldock said that defendant’s bicycle had been travelling somewhere about 40 miles an hour. Evidently Fever had not seen Taylor until he was close to him. Defendant had not sounded his horn.

Raymond Charles Fever said he had sounded his horn and the other pair had not moved until he was four or five yards'away. He had been 10 years riding a motor-cycle and had never had

an accident before. He would have been doing 1 veen 30 and 35 miles an hour. Tho defendant had had a lesson, said the magistrate. The point was whether it had been proved that defendant had had the opportunity to pass the other vehicle on the right side. This had not been proved. J. ■'

CALVES LEFT IN PEN.

CRUELTY CHARGES DISMISSED. Charges of cruelty to two calves on November 6 at Westown against Jack Pike ..and Robert Stockbridge were dismissed. ; Constable O’Neill stated that on the Wednesday he had found two calves in a pen at Westown. They were miserable and not old enough to eat grass. Pike had/told him ho had placed the calves in the pen on the Monday to bo called for by Stockbridge, a carrier who had a contract v/ith Borthwicks. There was no shelter and no feed. JHo had seen Stockbridge, who said he had placed a notice on the pen saying that he would in future be calling only once a week '1 constable said he had not seen Stockbridge’s notice on the pen. Frederick John Calvin said the calves were three days to a week old. The pen belonged to Borthwicks. Robert Stockbridge, carrier living at Bell Block, said that before October 31 he had been collecting on Mondays and Thursdays. After that date tho supply of calves decreased considerably. His contract .-ith Borthwicks had expired but he decided to 1 cull once a week for the convenience of farmers. He had put a notice on tho wire of the pen. Ho had not known that the calves were in the pen until tho following Wednesday,' Then ho went straight to the pen. “Is it not a fact that you put the notice that you would be calling once weekly on he pen a week after the calves were found?” —“No.”

Cyril S. Pike, the father of the defendant, said the calves were delivered by his son on tho Monday morning at about 10 o’clock. He gave them a double ration of food that morning, expecting them to be taken away abou.t 12 o’clock that day. The next he heard of them was on the Wednesday when he heard they were in the pen. The magistrate said he did not think Pike had done anything intentionally wrong. As far as Stockbridge was concerned he was not quite so sure.. Stockbridge should have made the notice more secure. Still it was not a case for conviction.

ASSAULT ON FOREMAN.

REFRACTORY EMPLOYEE. R. Kingsbeer, charged with the assault of Ernest Cecil Browning and J. W. Hall on Nevember 6 at Moturoa, was fined £2 with £3 costs. Charges against Gordon Clarke for the same offences were dismissed. Ernest Cecil Browning, foreman employed in the construction of the Motur_ i Freezing Works, said that on November 5 he dismissed Kingsbeer and Clarke for loafing. In the . afternoon they came back to the building and went up to the third storey. Hall and Browning went up and found Kingsbeer very excited. Hall ordered them off. They did not go. Kingsbeer came up to Browning and hit him on the jaw. Kingsbeer followed him when he was going down the ladder so he came up again. When he came up Kingsbeer struck him again. He did not retaliate. Hall went down the ladder and Kingsbeer and Clarl o followed. Clarke came back again, excited and with his coat off and threatened to strike him. Mr. Bennett: To your knowledge there

was no assault by Clarke on Hall?— None, to my knowledge. Mr. Bennett t And Clarke made no assault on you at all?—None. James William Hall, foreman employed by Julian, said that when he had ordered th© men off the job in the afternoon both had como close to him. Kingsbeer had struck him but Clarke had not.