POLICE COURT.— Thursday.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 375, 23 March 1871, Page 2

POLICE COURT.— Thursday.

[Before G. P. Pierce and i±. V. Jilorpewi, Esqs., Justices.]! Dett_ticen> t__ss. —Three drunkards were punished in the usual manner for drunkenness. VAG-nAKCT.—Mary Condor, one of the drunkards, was sent to gaol for three months as a vagrant.—John Shiers, another of the above drunkards, whose face wa_ in a woefully delapidated slate, charged with using obscene language, was also imprisoned for three months. Drunk and DisoBUE-aLY. —W. Cox was fined 20s. aud costs, or to be imprisoned 48 hours for this offence. EiraEzzi/E^rENT.—W. Knapp, charged with this offence, was remanded till to-morrow. Municipal Police Act. —W. Douglas was charged with creating a disturbance, and assaulting the police in Queen-street, on Wednesday night. Mr. Joy, for defendant, pleaded guilty in extenuating circumstances. Sentenced for the disturbance to a fine of 10s., for injuring the policeman's clothing to a fine of Is., and for assaulting the police, seven days' imprisonment. — Henry Tickle, charged with violently assaulting the police, was sentenced to ten days' imprisonment with hard labor. Ceitelty to Animals.—Samuel Gee, Special Constable at the North Shoi*e, was charged under the Bural Police Act, by Constable Donovan, with having cruelly illtreated a dog the pronert.y nf "B- 0.-n-o, <_.*» the 16th Sfarnb. Mr.Wynn and Mr. Joy for the prosecution, Mr. Rees and Mr. J. B. Russell for the defence.—Mr. Wynn opened the ease. —Henry Wynn, a lad of about eleven years, examined by Mr. Joy for the prosecution, deposed : I am the sou of Mr. Wynn, and live at the North Shore ; was on the beach last Thursday afternoon ; knew the little dog called Squash, belonging to Daniel Orme. Saw the animal with two others on the beach. It was a very quiet dog, and little. We were accustomed to play with it. Never saw it run at any one. Saw Constable Gee on the beach. He took hold of the dog by the neck-, put his knee on its back, pressed, him to the ground, and put a strap on its neck. He then took it to the pound and tied it up. Gee then went to the beach and sat beside Mr. Biddell and Mr. Merrick. A lot of children sang out " The dog is loose." Gee then went back, and got hold of it by tbe hind leg, and the dog turned round and tore his trousers. Holding the dog by the hind leg, Gee swung the dog three times, striking its head against a post. He then went to the Victoria. On returning he took boll of the rope, and dragged the dog along the road, the dog vomiting. The road is very rough where he dragged it. The dog was bleeding. I stopped to tell Mr. Holloway what Gee had done to the dog. I then went up to where Gee was with the dog, in Bond's garden. I saw the dog kicking in the hole into which Gee had put him. Gee then, while the dog was kicking, covered it up with clay. On leaving by the gate Gee said, " There's a nice little dressing for him."—Cross-examined by Mr. Rees : I was only a yard or two from the dog when it was buried. It was in Bond's garden.— John McDougal, a lad of about nine years old, deposed : I am a son of Captain McDougal, of the steamer Enterprise. Was present with Henry Wynn on the beach on Thursday last. Two other dogs were fighting ; Constable Gee did not mind the other dogs, but seized Orme's dog. (The witness corroborated in every respect the evidence of the previous witness.) Before putting the dog into the hole Gee beat him on the head with the handle of the shovel. The dog was not dead when covered up in the hole. —Cross-examined by Mr. Rees.—D. Orme deposed : I am a butcher, residing on the North Shore. I owned the dog in question. I had reared him. Never heard of his having attacked aDy one. It was registered for last year, was not for this year. I had never been asked about it till the day Gee killed it. I had been summoned by Gee on this day week. I won the case. The dog was killed the same evening. The first time I saw Gee with the dog, he was beating the dog against the post. As I came he wes locking the pound door. 1 asked for the dog, he said he would see me first. The dog Was then bleeding from mouth, eyes and nose. On his returning he dragged the dog away. —Cross-examined by Mr. Rees : Never was asked by Gee about the dog till the day it was killed. To the best of my belief he never spoke to me before about die dog. The ticket on last year was taken out for me by Blakesly, or Mrs. Holloway, as I was at the Thames. I do not know whether the dog had bitten Gee or not. —Charles Holloway, deposed : I am a hotel-keeper at the North Shore. The dog in question was an exceedingly quiet dog. I

.1. .-!___.._. ■""» ■% never heard a ccnplaint regarding it. This witness corroborrf-d the previous testimony ns to the brut-iy of the treatment. The blood marked tb road the whole way he was dragged. I ssd to Gee he ought to be ashamed of li.in.lf. He told me to " not use any threatemmdangunge."—Cross-examined by Mr. Rees : roe showed me his trousers torn. He cd not say the dog had bitten im. I believe the dog had not bitta him.—William Newman, baker at Norh Shore, also corroborated the previous evebnee. —James Sheriff, settler at the Lake, cbjosed : On this day week I met Gee. He ad me he had been defeated by Orire, and ailed, " By I'll make him pay dear for it, tirough the dog he has got." —This closed t:u ca-e for the prosecution.—Mr. Rees addi?sed the Bench in reply, and tendered the e-ileuce of defendant. A long debate ensued and the Bench decided that the evidence ould not be received.—For the defence, Johnßidwell deposed : 1 reside at the North Shir.. On the occasion referred to I saw the log bite Gee. I saw Gee's trousers torn, aid saw him lead the dog away. Did not see _np blood on his leg. Saw the dog tear his .misers.—Burrcll being called, entered the witiess-box, and being evidently in a state of inbxication, Mr. Joy objected to his evidence beiig taken. Witness persisted that he was a "t man and a gentleman," and in requesting tie learned counsel to put his " head in a bag" a scene occurred not often witnessed in a .ourt of Justice. _ The Bench questioned tl_3 witness as to his state, aud refused his evidence. Witness, with some difficulty, was rbrced out of the Court by the police, and IVr. Rees applied for an adjournment. The Bench* at first proposed an adjournment fir an hour. Mr. Rees replied that it was "a farce to make such a proposal." —The defense having no further evidence to adduce, the Bench retired, and after a few minntes' delimitation, returned a verdict that the case hadoeen fully proved, and fined the defendant 40*. and costs.