MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2386, 16 February 1915, Page 9

MAGISTRATE'S COURT

ALLEGED FRAUD

CiVIL SERVANT IN TROUBLE

Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, S.M., presided over a sitting of the Magistrate's Court yesterday. '.. . :'v •' -

Ernest. Alfred Welch,. Registrar of the South Island Nativo Land Court, j who was arrested oii Sunday night, appeared to answer' a charge of;- having on November 10, 1914, at Wellington, received the sum of £f7 45.. lOd. from C. H.'Treadwell on ternis requiring him to account for the same to the ReceiverGeneral of New Zealand, and fraudulently omitting to do so. Oil behalf of accused, Mr. T. M. Wilford asked for a remand. "From conversations I have had' with accused and his relations," said. Mr. Wilford, "I consider the man should be placed under treatment. I think the police will agree with me, Unfortunately accused has been under the influence of liquor for some time past, and at any rate he is not in a condition to go on with tho case at present."

Chief-Detective Boddara replied that he also wished accused to be remanded. . The remand was granted to February 22. , "

| CHARGE OF FRAUD WITHDRAWN. Yesterday a man named Murdoch Stanton Hale'appeared before Mr. D. G. A., Cooper, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court, and was charged with having received the sum of £25 from Sansbury, Logan, and Williams, at Napier,' and fraudulently converting the same to his use. • On the application of Chief-De-tective Boddam he was remanded to appear at Napier on February 19. Last night, however, in -consequence of a telegram received from the police at Napier, Hale was again brought before Mr. Cooper, when Inspector Hendrey explained that the Napier police wished Hale to be discharged, as • they had no evidence to offer in respect to his case. The Magistrate discharged the accused.

. OTHER OASES. Thomas Park, licensee of the Taita. Hotel, was_ charged: (1) On February 7. selling liquor after hours to, Joseph M'Gowan; (2) a similar charge'in respect to George Page; (3) on February, 8, permitting drunkenness on his premises. Mr .T. M. Wilford appeared on defendant's behalf. A remand was granted to February 22. / David Pritchard and Albert Edward Tuckwell, two seamen., off the El Cordobes, were charged with deserting from that vessel. They were ordered .to be placed on board the vessel, which was about to leave for London.-

Thomas Dagnall, a seafaring man, was remanded until Wednesday on a charge.of committing an indecent assault on -a girl of 31 years., Alfred Howe, a young man, and a first offender, was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon on; a charge of stealing a trap hud harness valued at £4 from Oscar Larenzer.\ Mr. P. W. Jackson appeared for accused. Francis Joseph Kerwin, who had been previously convicted for theft,, was sen-. CflDded to 14 days' gaol on a charge of stealing 17 sacks from some person unknown. 1 'Mary Louisa Clark was fined £1, with costs 75.,, in default three days' gaol, for using obscene language. There were extenuating circumstances in the case which were explained by. Mr. H. F. O'Leary. . L, Isabella Foster was convicted and dis-, charged for drunkenness, and sent to gaol for two months on a charge of "being idle and disorderly. Elizabeth Everitt was convicted and discharged for drunkenness, and 'fined £3, in default : one month's imprisonment, for using obscene language. For drunkenness Andrew John Davidson was fined £2 or seven days' gaol,, and Cornelius Donaghue fined 20s. or three days' gaol. • James M'Sweeney and Mary Irene Williams were each convicted and ordered to come up for sentence wl»en called upon on charges of committing breaches of their prohibition orders..' ■ Eleven .first-offending inebriates -were dealt with. - '

MAINTENANCE CASES. * • . Owen David Patten applied for a reduction and remission of arrears in respect to the maintenance of his wife. An order was made reducing'the maintenance to £1 per week, and on payment of the amount due under warrant,, arrears due. from December to present date, were remitted. Mr. J. F. W. Dickson appeared for the applicant, and Mr. H. F. O'Leary for the applicant's wife. John Samuel Fearn was sentenced to one month's imprisonment for disobeying a maintenance order, the arrears of which totalled £19 35,. the warrant to be suspended on the payment of 18s. 6d. weekly. Similarly charged, . Alfred- Mossong was sentenced to a.mortth's imprisonment in the Gisborne Gaol; the warrant to be suspended on the payment of 30s. weekly. Ellen Johnson was ordered to pay 2s. 6d. per week towards the maintenance of her children, who are inmateß of the Wellington Receiving Home..