RE-HEARING IS GRANTED IN GRACE CASE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17879, 22 June 1926, Page 11

RE-HEARING IS GRANTED IN GRACE CASE.

“PUSHED SUMMONS DOWN HIS NECK.” A further stage in the case in which Thomas Grace, who was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment for assaulting Luther Moore, applied for a rehearing on the ground that he never received a summons, was reached to-day, when the rehearing was finally settled to take place on Thursday. Mr Batchelor, who appeared for Moore, said that under Section 250 of the Justices of the Peace Act a summons could not be served by an informant. A smile spread over the faces of the members of the legal profession who were in the Court. The Magistrate (Mr H. A. Young, S.M.) said that that had been amended by an Act of 1923, which deleted the word “ informant ” from the section. Mr Batchelor went on to say that the facts were curious. Moore had gone up to defendant and had pushed a blue paper into defendant’s waistcoat pocket, and had said, “ Here’s a bill for you.” Defendant thought that it was a bill for rent which he did not owe, and he rushed after informant and pushed it down the back of his neck. He had no idea that it was a summons. The Magistrate, to Moore: Is that the case ? Moore: No. I said, “Here’s a summons for you.” He said, “ Read it,” and I read it to him. When asked if he was ready to go on with the case, Moore said that he did not know that he had, to bring his witnesses. Mr Batchelor read a copy of a letter to Moore asking him to bring his witnesses this morning. Mr Batchelor added that defendant was quite positive that he had not received a summons, otherwise he would have been in Court to defend the case. Thomas Grace, the defendant, said that Moore pushed the piece of blue paper into his waistcoat pocket, and witness ran after him and pushed it down his neck. Moore then hit witness on the mouth a/.d ran into Holmes’s boarding-house. Witness chased him, and Mod re tri</d to kick him. Witness hit Moore bde Moore was emphatic in his statement that he could not go on with the case to-day, stating that one of his witnesses would not come, and that he would have to subpeena him from Ladbrooks.

The Magistrate then set the case down for Thursday.