RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3171, 12 April 1871, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

(Before J. 0. Crawford, Esq., R.M.,) Tuesday, April 11. obtaining- money under palßb pretences. Henry Langaton stood charged with having obtained from plaintiff, Joseph Masters, on the first day of April, at Wairarapa, 16 head of cattle, valued at £104. Mr Travers, who appeared for the prosecution, said that the charge had been withdrawn. J. G. Allan, who appeared for the defence, said. Mr Langaton was prepared to rebut the oharge on every particular. He wa» sorry to see the prosecutor take such an illadvised course, but perhaps ought to attribute ifc to his recent fit of ambition. He would, however, be made to answer for it, aa it was decidedly a case of great hardship for a respectable man to be arrested and imprisoned. ASSAULT, B One of those peculiar cases whioh some 1 * times come from the country districts, turned up in Court yesterday. A strange and fragile looking mortal, named Clapham, summoned one Magerley (immensely the superior of fche other in the way of bone and muscle) for abusing him. Fromjthe evidence of prosecutor ifc appeared thifc Magerley had destroyed a dog owned by Clapham. Although not endowed with the ordinary amount of strength given to mankind, Clapham has a feminine volubility of tongue, and while laboring under the irritation from the loss of his dog, he. gave Magerley the full benefit of it. The tongue-rasping of the little man was so severe thatMagerly forgot all about the aggravation under which his small assailant labored, and the magnanimity that the strong should generally exercise towards the weak, and pounded tho little man in a pecular way. As Clapham told it — He took hold of both his hands as you would do with the feet of a sheep in one of his, put him down on his back, slapped both cheeks with the other, and squeezed him so on fche chest that the blood came into Claphara's mouth. This, of courso, defendant denied. He admitted to fche assault, but explained he did ifc with all possible tenderness for the frail anatomy that had ruffled his feelings— in fact he was " par» ticularly careful not to hurt him," and merely held his head while he boxed his ears. A fine of 20s and costs was inflicted j in default, to go to gaol for 48 hours. The fine was of course paid.