THE WOOD CASE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11025, 13 March 1914, Page 1

THE WOOD CASE.

A SHOEMAKER'S DOMESTIC TROUBLES. AIRED AT THE MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Some time: ago one ■ Horatio Wood was given permission to take his iour daughters out-of a honie to which they had boon -committed, arid :on to ;Sydney. 'However, the Minister of Internal Affairs stepped .in -at-the. last .moment and countermanded the permission previously given. - No .reason was given,-but it wag understood .-that, a complaitt'had -bee* made that.■■•Weod--was, taking the . girls . to,: Australia-.to make them into dancers for the.vaudeville stage. However, lie felljnto. arrears with the maintenance order in support of the children, and the case came up, after many 'adjournments, at the Magistrate's Court _' to-day, .ur Johnston representing Wood. ' . . Mr Johnston said that a, brother in Australia had come.to the rescue and offered, a home to the: childrenjuid employment to " their • father.' ■ The Australian'benefactor ■ wentr so far as to ■send his son ! -over to' Zealand .to see what was the cause of the father's inability to brine the children over to "the other side." The -difficulty in the way was the Minister.of Education, who refused to give his-permission.to allow theehildren-to be taken from the Government/institution. Mr Johnston said .that all their representations had been in vain—the Minister had again stated that Woods could not take the children to Australia. "Referring to the allegation that Woods wanted to put his girls on the vaudeville stage in Australia, Mr Johnston said he could do nothing against the backstairs method. He did. not know what had I been made-by those people who were stating the other side of the/case. He asked that the, arrears should' be cancelled', the oider reduced, and. Woods himself permitted to go to Australia. The' Magistrate said it was unfortunate that this should have occurred, when the case appeared to be on the verge of a satisfactory settlement. Hie case was adjourned for- four weeks.,' . .

WELL SETTLED. . j Alexander Clifford James Welsh, -a j young man with a lisp, was evidently a believer in reincarnation, for, when asked his age, ho : said be vijjuld be " twenty-five' nertt biff." Ho was charged with having stolen a leather bag and its contents, valued at £2, the property, of .Robert. Quinn, and a suit of clothes, valued, at £2, the property of Henry Cornish. He admitted both offences. Detective-Sergeant Cox said that the accused had stolen the articles from hotels in which he had stayed. He was at present serving a term for theft. . The accused was sentenced to three months' imprisonment on each charge. DEFENCE ACT. ■ For failure to' render personal service under the Defence Act, the following fines were inflicted:-—George G. Barson,los, Donald C. Blackie os, George T. Brigges 20s, Frederick 0. Champness 10s, Francis W. Erickson 10s, Walter G..« Forater 10s, Arthur Hodgson 10s, Charles Nichols 10s, "Constantine F. Rummell 10s, A. J.Suelling 20s, Charles E. Simpson.2os, Stanley M. SteeL 10s, Ernest. Wiltshire os. Tile following were convicted and discharged:—Walter S. -Frost, Robert Kilpatrick, Leslie C. M. M'Carthy. BY-LAW BREACHES. For having cycled at night without a light. William BradshaAv was fined I 10s and costs; for having motored too fast over crossings, Reginald M. Doughty, Wilford Watson, .Robert Alexander Johnston and Richard Donaldson were each fined 10s and costs. Frank H. Woods, for having motored without a light at night, was fined 10s and costs. For having ridden an unregistered motor-cycle, Gilbert Brown was'fined JOs ami costs. A ..charge, against W. R- Cooksley of having .failed to kern on the proper side of the street in his motor-car was dismissed. William Burgess was convicted of having allowed a cow to wander, and ordered to pay the .costs of the prosecution, and William Henry was convicted of a similar offence and discharged.