LOWER COURT

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2155, 22 May 1914, Page 5

LOWER COURT

DISTURBANCE JN MANNERS STREET. INTOXICATED SAILORS. At a late hour.on Wednesday night Manners Street was the scene of a rather serious disturbance, which culminated in the arrest of several persons. Drunken sailors, ivho were behaving in a disorderly manner, causcd Police Constable Anderson to . interfere. He arrested Henry James Attfield for drunkenness. The prisoner resisted violently, and endeavoured to injure the constable. He was eventually handcuffed and carried to the-Manners Street Polico Station. Frederick Ahorn, another sailor, interfered. He used objectionable language, and incited .Attficld to resist the arresting constable. A largo 1 crowd gathered, and Constable Hedgenian then arrived and arrested Patrick ConkIcy, for insobriety. When Constable ■Hedgomnn was removing Coakley to the station, William Tyler interfered and incited the prisoner to resist the constable. Some hundreds of persons collected, and the constables had great difficulty in arresting the offenders. The above facts were told in the Magistrate's Court, yesterday, before Mr. D. fi. A. Cooper, S.M., by Police Inspector llcndrey, and the arresting constables. The offenders were dealt with as follow:—Henry .lames Attficld was convicted and .discharged for insobriety, and fined 20s. for resisting the police;

Win. Tyler, for inciting a prisoner to resist tiie arresting constable, was lined £2; Frederick Ahern was lined £2 for using obsceiK; language, and for inciting Attiiehl to resist arrest lie v.tss lined a similar amount. .Patrick t'onklcy, for insobriety, was convicted and discharged.

SEAMEX DISOBEY ORDERS. When charged with failing, without reasonable cause, to proceed to sea in the steamer Iva'pimi when ordered to do so by the master of the vessel, HJiehael Cullopy, Thomas Holland, and Thomas Graham cach entered ptotis of guilt}'. Sir. E. K. Kirkcakiie appeared for tho owners of the' vessel (tho South Taranaki Steamship Company), and stated that under the section of the Act under which the accused were charged they were liable to the forfeiture of two days' pay, and to pay all expenses. The Kapuni was ready to proceed to sea on Friday last, but owing to adverse wentlier conditions she remained in Wellington. Tho vessel left the wharf on Wednesday shortly after noon) but owing to the sudden death of a- seaman tho vessel was reborihod. When an extra man was secured, and the vessel was about to leave again, the three accused refused to go to sea. In consequence of this, the vessel had been unable to leave Wellington, aild this caused a heavy loss to the eoitipaiiy. Tho Kapuni was to bavo sailed for Patea, to load produce far transhipment to tho R.M.S. Corinthk. ' The company hod now lost this contract. His Worship said that there* was too much of this independence on the part of. seamen. Each would be- ordereQ to forfeit two days' wages aud pay costs amounting to £2 Ss. Tho accused ofiercd no explanation of their conduct. SOLICITOR WITHDRAWS. Annie Carlson, alias Mary Halford, who was represented by Sir. 11. F. Ayson, pleaded sot guilty to a chaTge of being an idle and disorderly person, who consorted with persons of illtamo. ■ Police Inspector Heudrey proceeded to call evidence of constables, and during tho evidence of one constable Mr. Ayson asked leave of his Worship to withdraw from the ease. The accused, he said, had told him an entirely different story, and on the evidence of tho police he was not prejmred to appear on "accused's behalf. "Tho accuscd herself can examine the police officer," concluded llr. Ayson as he- left the' catirt.

At the conclusion of tiro evidence his Worship sent accused to gaol for onemonth. SCATHING REMARKS. On a chargo of committing a certain objectionabk act iii a public street, V. Dyko and Alice O'Connor, for whom Mr, P. Jackson appeared, both entered a plea of guilty. Police Inspector Hendrey said that nothing was knows against Dyke, but, tho woman had p. "record." "This kind of offence," said the Inspector, "is becoming very common, and decent people are afraid to go about the streets at night tiro-e." Each accused was fined £3, in default ono month in gao'l. INSOBRIETY. For insobriety, Robert Matthews .was 6ned 10s. Two firslmilending inebriates were similarly penalised, and threeothers were convicted and discharged. CIVIL BUSINESS, FALL THROUGH A TRAP. DOOR. • Reserved decision was-, delivered by Mr. W. G. Riddetl, 'SUV!,, in tho case, in which a labourer,,. John Nelson, 77 years of age, sued s David Sullivan, licensee of the Caledonian Hotel, Wellington, for £75, for damages sustained in defendant's hotel. On "February 16 last tho plaintiff (Nelson) entered the hotel to purchase some liquor, and on going- into tho jug and bottle department ho fell through an open trap door to the collar below. The plaintiff alleged negligence on the part of the defendant, in that, ho failed to warn him of tho open trap d.oor. His Worship considered that there was some conflict of evidence as to whether plaintiff entered and met with his a-cfiidont before or after 6 a.m., tiie statutory opening hour for hotels. Tho barman did not adviso any of tho men in the hotel thatthey could-not he served because it was not 6 o'clock, nor did he order them f>ff tho premises.. In the circumstances, the Magistrate thought that, it must he held that tho premises were open for the sale of liquor, 'although m> liquor had actually been sold. 'Plaintiff was therefore a .person entering defendant's licensed premises as a customer, and was entitled to tho oxereiso of reasonable care, by the occupier to prevent damage from any unusual danger, of which the cc* cupier knew, or ouj»ht to have known. The barman's failure to warn plaintiff of his proximity to a dangerous place constituted a neglect of his duty, which resulted in tho" accideit to the plaintiff. As to the damage claimed, plaintiff -was an old man who worked intermittently, and gave his age as 77 years. His claim was 3 general one, and under all the circumstances His Worship thought it was «xcossire. Judgment was accordingly given, for £25, with costs amounting to £7 12s. Mr. J. F. W. Dickson appeared for plaintilf, aiid Mr. J. J, 51*0 rath defended.

FAHIIERS AT LAW. Tho lease of a farm for .a period of years, and its alleged depreciation in value' during the term of the lease, formed tho basis of a civil action hoard ' -Rid'tlc'llj S,M. George William yurrell, farmer, proceeded against his brother Ernest Edward Burrell, farmer, both of Upper Hutt," to recover the sum of £143 Is,, being the estimated amount of damage sustained u\ piaihtiff s property during tho period which his brother held a lease of it. The money was claimed for rfepreeia* tion in value of the cattle oh the property during the eut-rencv of the lease • damage caused by groVlh of blackberries, and damage to fencing. After hearing a part of the evidence. His Worship adjourned the case until this morning. ' • Mr. T. C. A. Histop appeared for plaintiff, and Mr. A. W. Blair deiended.

BREACHES OF AWARDS, Tho Inspector of Avrards (Mr. R. T. Bailey) proceeded against B. Ellis, ,tailor, I'eatherston Street. to recover three penalties of £10 each' for breaches of' the Wellington Tailor-esses' Award, 1912. Tho alleged breaches were: (1) During the period January to March, 1314, tho defendant employed au excessive number of apprentices, contrary ■to the provisions of the award ; (2) during the period November, 19.13, to March, l'Jl4, the defendant, failed to pay a tailorcss tho award rate of wages; (3) during the period December, 1913. to January. W'U, the defendant failed to pay four taiioresses the award rato of wages. Mr. 11. l<\ O'Leary, who appeared for the defendant, admitted the broaches, and pleaded ignorance of tho conditions of tho asvard. In reforonca to tho employment of an excessive number of apprentices, counsel explained that his client was unable to obtain the required number of journeymen and women, so he employed apprentices. In regard to tho broaches' of failing io pay the full award late of wages, counsel said that Ellis had deducted tho wages from certain taiioresses, who bad. failed to put in au appearance at work, on several occasions.

His Worship took the first two breaches as one, alul gave judgment, lor plaintiff for £2, and cm the ihsrd breach he gave judgment for plaintiff for 10s.

UNDEFENDED CASES. Judgment for plaintiff by default was entered by Mr. W. G. Hiddell, 5..U,, in the following undefended cases:—A'. B, Fitciictt v. JJijsgs and Tyler, 410 13s. ■Id., costs £1 10s, Oct. ; Wellington Woollen Co. v. Waiter Saunder. £9 fls, 2d., costs £1. 3s. Cd.';'-;"X.SS. Times," I'tii., v, Apirana T.' Ngaia, £10, costs £2 195.; Edward (jollic, Ltd.. v. Mrs. Amy S. Itafractofigh, £2 •Js'., costs 18s.: Allan Anderson v. ICoiest H. O'Sullivan,' £3 os. 3d., costs £1 3s'. &l.; Cycle and Motor Supplies, Ltd., v, S. o.* Stokes. £30 is. 7a., costs £2 145.; Robert Hunt v. Harry Beyers, 55., costs 25,; Sargood, Son, and Ewe«, v. C. L. Bridge,, £•19 Is. Id., costs £3 6s. Gd.; same v. Christopher Orane, £31 0-s., costs £2 145.; Jack Jacobus v, A. Strachan, £2, losts fls. ' JUDGMENT SUMMONSES, Joe Rav/iri Tun was ordered to i; £21 Ss, 6t3. to J. P. Engletretcson I, June 4, in tins alternative to uxuierg,. W1 days' imprisonment.