RANGIORA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5108, 16 September 1884, Page 3

RANGIORA.

This Day. (Before C. Whitefoord, Esq., R.M., A. H. . Cunningham and A. Ivory, Esq3.) Slaughter-house License. — A license • of this description was granted to John • Tasker. i Order Varied. — John Stalker applied j to have an order that was made against ■- him in May, 18S2, to contribute towards the support of an illegitimate child belong- • ing to Charlotte Smith varied, so as to give '■ him the charge of the boy, who i 3 now j eight years of age. The mother strongly ; objected to giving up the child. The appli- | cant stated that he wa3 now a niar- : ried man, and it was at his wife's [ request that he made the pre- ; sent application. He called Hugh S Boyd, who stated that he knew the appli- ; cant and his wife, and considered them \ fit persons to have charge of the child. ; Mr Whitefoord pointed out to the mother •; that she could not be considered competent j to control the boy, as it had been found ! necessary to commit her other son to the ■ j Industrial School. The Bench granted ! the application, whereat the mother bei came greatly agitated, and had to be | removed from the Court by the police. Abusive Language. — John Allan and j his wife laid a complaint of abusive j language against Margaret Ann Bruins, J and asked for her to be bound over to keep i the peace towards them. Mr Spackman | appeared for complainants, and Mr Gresson J for defendant. Mr Spackman did not press for any penalty in the case, but simply i asked for an order to be made to ensure his clients' peace and quietness. Mr Gresson did not object to the order, and the Bench bound over defendant in one surety in the sum of £25 to keep the peace towards complainants. Threatening Language. — Margaret Ann Bruins charged John Allan with having, on Sept. 3, behaved to her in a manner calcidated to provoke a breach of the peace, viz., by threatening to cut off her head with a gorse knife. The same counsel as in the previous case were engaged. Complainant stated that on the: day mentioned in the information she, when on her way to visit a friend, passed defendant, who was cutting gorse at the roadside. She did not speak to defendant, :but immediately he saw her he ran at her with the gorse knife he was using, and brandishing it over her, threatened to cut off her head. Witness started to run away, and defendant then picked up two stones and threatened to "bed" .them in her face. He also kicked out at her. There was a man a .short distance away, but he did not seem to take notice of what was passing. Cross-examined : Witness nevei opened her lips to defendant before he came towards her with the gorse knife. Would admit that she had, on a previous occasion, called defendant's wife an old Welsh . Might have said, when defendant threatened her with the knife, "Jf you encourage my husband to visit at your houce, I will . smash your head." Tlie witness here addressed the Bench, saying that the disturbance between the families had arisen through her husband being enticed to | visit at defendant's house, and while there, being supplied with drink. Witness had remonstrated with defendant's wife about this, but without effect. She (witness) thought that their Worships should pass a strict law to prevent women from .paying attentions to other women's husbands. Defendant gave. evidence to^ihe effect -that while he was cistting gorse complainant came up to him sxA threatened to knock his head off if hv; encouragad her husband io visit his place. Witness told her to be off, as he vished to have nothing to say to her. Siie then picked up some stones and threatened to smash his head with them. He again told her to bo off, or he would kick her. She then left. He did not threaten .to strike her with tlie gorse-knife. Before speaking to her he dropped the knife into the ditch in which he was working. The Bench considered the affair to be one of those wretched neighbourly quarrels that frequently come before the Courts, and fined defendant os and costs. There was no civil business.