A ROAMING ROMEO.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17218, 8 December 1923, Page 12

A ROAMING ROMEO.

FLIRTATIONS ON A FIRE ESCAPE. PEOPLE’S PALACE INCIDENT A young Romeo who spent the portion of last evening nearest to midnight roaming around the tiro escape at- the back of the Salvation Army People's Palace in Manchester Street, and Occupied his time in flirtations scith young ladies through their bedroom windows, was called upon to explain his actions before Mr H. Y. Widdowson. S.M.. at the Magistrate’s I'ourt thi«« morning. Albert Smithson, the*young man in question, whoso age was given as twen-tv-eight, waa charged with being deemed to be a rogue and a vagabond, having been found by night without lawful excuse on the premises known as the balvatiou Army People’s Palace. According to the charge sheet, his personal effects at the time of his arrest consisted of £2 7s 7d. When asked to plead, Smithson said that he would admit being on the premises, but not that ho waa there for any criminal intent.

The Magistrate : The onus is on you to prove that you had no criminal intent.

FOUND LEANING IN A WINDOW. Constable W\ T. Lean stated that last night, at five minutes to twelve he was informed that a man was on the fire escape at the back of the People’s Palace, and had no right to be there. “ I went along and inspected the place, and found a man’s brown boots and a hat lying side by side on the bottom platform of the fire escape,’ the constable added. “ The man I found on the top of the fire escape leaning in a window. He had no boots and no hat on. I asked him what he was do>ng there, and he had no excuse to offer. The room was occupied bv two young Indies. They said they did not know the man, and he informed me that he d:>l not know them.” Senior Sergeant aVv reason for being there? The constable: J asked him and also young ladies if they could advance *uy reason why the man was there. The young ladies said they knew of no Tho Magistrate: Was the accused present at the time? The constable : Yes. Constable Brown was also present then. Did he claim tho boots and hatP —He asked for the boots so that lie could walk to the police station. At the police station he claimed tho boots and also the hat as his property. Captain Philip Norman, of the Salvation Army, saw the man, and said that he had no right to be there. The captain told me to take him in charge. HEARD WOMAN SCREAMING. Captain Norman said lie was awakened at about twenty-five minutes to twelve by a member of the 6taff, who reported having heard a woman screaming on seeing what she described as the figure of a man moving along tho , fire escape. Witness informed the • night porter and instructed him to keep a sharp look-out. At about ten minutes to twelve the night porter called , him and told him that the man had been caught on the fire escape. Wit- , ness went out and saw the accused and 1 the constables. The man- had no right ; to be there. He had not booked in and could not explain his presence in Any way. Margaret Parsons, a young woman •Laying at tho People’s Palace, said that about 11.30, when she had just got into bed she saw a man put his head round the open window of her room. She asked him what he wanted and he said ho didn’t want anything. A TALKATIVE VISITOR. The man kept on. talking to me. and asked me what my name was and where I lived,” the witness added. She told him he had better go away, as it was getting so late, but he persisted in talking to her. He tried %o get into the room through the window two or three times, and she told him that if he did she would get the porter, fche had never seen the man before. * “ The man said he wouldn’t go away ftjdes'i T kissed him good-night.” remarked the witness as an afterthought. > TWO MEN ON FIRE ESCAPE. Elsie Storey, anoilier young woman, Mid she booked up at the People’s Palace at half past ten last night and went straight up to her room. When •he went into the room she saw two men walking up and down the fire escape. : The Magistrate: Two men ? Witness: Yes, that man (indicating tho accused) and another man who I thought was the porter. She did not know Smithson and had never 6een him before. The accused leaned in her window, the witness, added, and she said that she would get the porter if he wouldn’t get out and go away. Senior-Sergeant Lewin: Why did you say that? Witness: Because I was frightened. Accused (from the dock):.lf she says there were two men, then I deny that % was one of them. Witness: There were two men. Accused: I must deny that. The witness remarked that the accused kept asking her if she was asleep and He knew all tlie time that she was awake. ACCUSED BLAMES DRINK. Accused elected to give evidence on his own behalf. «« I must say I’ve never been in trouble before,” he began. “ T took too much drink yesterday. 1 only came to town yesterday.” The Magistrate: Where did ypu come from? Accused: Lecsfon. Continuing his story. Smithson said his intention was to find an empty room in which to sleep. lie had no criminal intentions whatever. lie put his trouble entirely down to drink. The last witness was mistaken in saying there were two men as he was by him-'elf all night. ' Tlu* Magistrate: Ii she is mistaken du you admit you are the one man? Accused: t admit 1 was speaking to -them To Senior-Sergeant Lewin. accused stated that he did not belong to Leeston, but had been working there as a carpenter tor four months. They rar. Short of timber on the job so he came Tn to town for the week-end-The senior-sergeant: What were you doing all day? Accused: Drinking. Was anyone with you? Yes. t man named Purrrll and another num in a grey suit VISIT TO THE LIBRARY. Accused explained that he left these men at six o'clock when the hotels cinaed. In the evening he went t-o the

Public Library for a while, and then wandered down Manchester Street. The Magistrate: What did you go to the library for? Accused : To read. Then you couldn’t have been very drunk? Oh, yes, I was pretty bad. Accused went on to describe his wanderings in Manchester Street. At about half-past nine o’clock he went into the People's Palace and wandered upstairs and then went on to the fire escape. He came down stairs again after that and went out on the street, returning again later. The senior-sergeant: Why didn’t you book up a room? Accused : I never thought of it. Are you a single man? Yes. How did you get up the fire escape? I climbed up. What did you leave your boots and hat behind for? So I wouldn’t make a noise. Did you intend tOyleave them there all night? No, I would have gone back for them. You were not too drunk to know j that? I suppose I had a certain amount of I cunning. | The senior-sergeant: Yes, there was a ! certain amount of cunning about you : You left, your boots at. the bottom ' while you roamed round the fire CONVICTION AND REMAND- “ That remark of the accused’s that there was a certain amount of cunning in leaving his boots and hat on the ground can, Ji think, be applied to other things as well,” commented the Magistrate. “The accused is corj vie ted on the present charge and reI manded for a week for the Probation Officer's report.'’