A MIDNIGHT DISTURBANCE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14134, 14 February 1910, Page 3

A MIDNIGHT DISTURBANCE.

ASSAULT WITH A' FRYING PAN. BLIND MAN COMMITTED FOE XRIAL. As a result of tho disturbanco-which occurred in Queen , Street on Tuesday evening last, and which was described in Wednesday's Herald, John M‘Carthy, alias M‘Arthur, a blind man, was charged before Mr. H. S. Fitzherbort, S.M., this morning with having assaulted Bridget Campbell by striking her on the head with a frying nan amt causing actual bodily harm.. Sergeant Haddrell prosecuted, and Mr. C. Wright defended accused. D. S. Wylie, surgeon, deposed that early on \Vednesday morning he was called by a police constable to Mrs. Campbell’s 1 cottage ,in Queen' Street. Ho found the old woman suffering from a contused and incised wound, about an inch and a half long, on the right hand side of the scalp, about two and a half inches above the ear. This wound involved all the structures! of the scalp down to the bone, which apparently was not injured. Mrs. Campbell had bled fairly freely Trctn the wound, and was suffering to a slight extent from shock. She also had an abrasioiS on.'the back of the left hand. .Witness dressed the'scalp wound and inserted three stitches. : The wound was now progressing satisfactorily. It was of such a nature as might" have been caused by the frying pan produced. Witness would say Sirs. Campbell was 65 years of ago or more. Certainly a Wound would bo more dangerous and serious with a woman of Mrs. Campbell’s ago than with a yunger woman, and was liable to be attended with more serious consequences. To Mr. Wright; Witness couj.d not say exactly how long before he saw Mrs. Campbell the abrasion on the hand had been caused. It had boon done within twenty-four hours. Bridget Campbell, a widow, living in Queen Street, stated that she had forgotten how old she was.. She received the old-age pension, and lived in a cottage owned by Mrs. D., Berry, next to the latter’s house.! She let a portion of her house to accused, his wife, and a child, not quite* a fortnight before the -assault ■ occurred. There.whs a great row in the house on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning of last week. It was caused by the accussed. About Bor 9 o’clock witness was sitting alone in her front room, when, she heard McCarthy come out of his room, on to the verandah, and “start rowing” with his wife. Accused's wife ran into witness’s room, and risked witness to lock the door and not let accused in. M‘Carthy rushed to the door and commenced to take tho key out before witness could lock tho door. Witness tried to stop him, and sot hold of tho,,door. Accused pulled the door and hurt: witness’s hand between the door and the. jamb. ■ Accused then went into his own room- Witness screamed out, and Mr., Berry, jun., came to the fence and called out to accused to stop the row. M ! Carthy a oand'e stick at him. Presently Constable Whitohonso, came un. M‘Carthy was then standing at his own door; and witness was on the verandah. Directly accused found that a policeman, ryes,present ho throw a glass butter cooler, three-vases, sovCraT glass tumblers and everything he could find at the constable. Then ho threw, Hip frying,pan, which hit witness on Hi® Send. ; '-'A ;; Cross-examined- by'Mr. Wright, jvit>.' ness stated that accused’s throb rooms wore quite...separate , from hors. \ Both portions of tho; house, opened on to tho verandah. At first accused ; mistook the constable for Mr. Berry. . She; could, not say '■whether accused and his wife had been out that evening. ' Witness’s evidence had been hard to extract, owing to her. age and indistinctness of speech. At this- stage Mr. Wright found her so unnerved that he had to postpone further: cross-examina-tion until the Supreme Court trial, the Magistrate intimating that he must commit accused on the evidence already before; him. Constable Whitchonse deposed that he was called to Mrs CampbcllV place at 11 p.m. on Tuesday. ' The night* watchman, John Oliver, accompanied,witness. When ho arrived accused was standing in the doorway of his room, leading to the' verandah. Accused Was abusing his wife. Witness tried to quiten him, and told him that ho was a police-con-stable. McCarthy-, however,, insisted that witness was someone else, saying “I knqw you, Berry, and I’ll do for yon.” After a while M‘Carthy came out of the room, ; and witness saw; something bright in his hand. . Witness saw he was going to throw, and pushed the the women, who were outside the house, but inside the fence, to one side warning them. .Witness was outside tho fence on tho footpath. Accused throw five or* six things that smsahed agaii.it the fence. Then ho throw tho fryingpan, which struck Mrs. Campbell, after which ho went into 1 is room fad stayed there. Mrjs. Campbell fell ever against the fence, and witness tool; her into the bouse and attended lo her, sending for the doctor. When ho throw the frying-pan, accused was about nine feet from the women, who were quiet, but not keeping still. Accused seemed .To got his ' direction for throwing things by hearing witness tolling tho women to keep out of the way. Accused was afterwards arrested. No cross-examination was made. John Oliver, night watchmen, gave corroborative evidence. Accused pleaded not guilty, and reserved his defence. Ho was committed for trial at the next session in New Plymouth of the Supreme Court. Bail was allowed, himself. in bis own recognisance of £25 and one surety of £25. A charge against M'Carthy of having committed a common assault on J. J. Stagpoolo, by butting him in the face, was adjourned till the 21st hist., on Mr. Wright’s application, to allow accused to procure a necessary witness. Bail was allowed as before. A similar course was adopted as regards a charge of resisting. tho police. The total bail is accused’s own bond of £75, and three sureties of £25 each.