A DONNYBROOK

Waikato Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2971, 7 August 1928, Page 4

A DONNYBROOK

INDIAN AND HIS WIFE.

ASSAULT AND BAD LANGUAGE

"The Laurels" boardinghousc in Duke Street and its neighbourhood was the scene of a regular "Donnybrook" last evening, as the result of which William Norman Bzros (Natu) an Indian (a travelling magician, hypnotist and conjurer) and his white wife, May Azros, appeared before Messrs T. F. Richards and H. Alan Bell, J's.P., at the local Police Court this morning each charged on three counts of assault, disorderly behaviour and with using obscene language. Accused pleaded not guilty to the charges of assault and disorderly behaviour.

Thomas Henry Kelly, proprietor of the "Laurels," said about eight o'clock he was in bed reading when he heard a row. He listened for a while. He heard someone telling the people in the room to behave themselves. Witness said: "We don't allow this sort of business in this house." whereupon the male accused used terrible language to him. Finally their behaviour was such that he told a member of the household to ring up for the police.. The woman accused then appeared to go raving mad. She chased female members of his household out on to the street. A little later she caught hold of one of the ladies of the house and was trying to strangle her. The room where the disturbance took place was at the top, of the passage nearest the street, and such was the nature of the disturbance that a large crowd gathered. In all his 47 years in New Zealand he had never heard such filthy language from a woman. She had no respect for her scx or for the people of the house. Norman Dahlberg, a lodger at the- " Laurels," corroborated the evidence of the previous witness. The woman accused had at first told them to kick her husband out and seconds later she turned round and flew at the female members of the household. Witness then went and rang up the police. Witness went up the street a little and when he was re-entering the boardinghouse the woman accused rushed out of the house, being preceded by the ladies of the house. Accused appeared quite mad. When she saw witness she rushed at him and he went for his life. When the woman rushed out of the house she had something in her hand that gleamed. He was not sure whether it was a bottle or a knife. In reply to the Bench witness said he heard the filthy language the woman, used. She ran the people of the house down to the lowest. Miss Davidson said when Mr Kelly and another member of the house entered accused's room she was standing at the door. She did "not say anything to the woman accused other than that she had been well treated. The accused rushed at witness and caught her by the throat. Constable Jones said he saw the female accused chasing the people of the house down Duke Street. She was singing out that she would knife them. When he searched her he found a bottle of spirits of salts. Accused was using vile language. He took both accused in charge and as they were going down Victoria Street towards the station the male accused used filthy language to witness. Accused's Story. May' Azros, wife of the male accused, said they arrived in Cambridge on Friday. Yesterday her husband went to Hamilton and when he came back he brought an Indian friend, lier husband had had some drink and she growled at him. After tea he wanted some of the whisky she had taken from him, but she refused to give it to him, whereupon her husband chased her round the bed. There was then' a rap on the door and she said, "Come in." An elderly man and a young man came in and a woman was standing at the door. The elderly man said, "What's all this row about. We don't want this sort of thing in this house. Pack up and get out." Accused replied that there was no row and told them to mind their own business. Someone then said, "That's what, comes of marrying a black ." Accused said this annoyed her and she told them not to say such a thing about her husband. One of the men said, "I'd like to have ago at the black ." They then attempted to get hold of her husband and one of the men struck her and she fell down in the passage, where she was kicked. She denied that she used the language complained of or that she had called one of the women a prostitute. In reply to the Bench accused said there would have been no row had the people of the house not interfered. She did not assault Miss Davidson. She oaly pushed her and told her to go to her own room. She acted as she did because she was not going to stand by* and hear her husband called a black this and that. William Norman Azros (Natu) corroborated his wife's ovidence. He said the three men in the house attacked him and gave him a hiding on the street. They called him bad names and he retaliated by using similar language. He was a magician and he used the