LAST WEEK'S RIOT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3167, 18 August 1917, Page 10

LAST WEEK'S RIOT

A SOLDIER FINED . j DISTURBING THE POLICE ' _____ i l At the Magistrate's Court yesterday,, \ >efore Mr. S. K M'Carthy, S.M, William ' fcirnest Fordham, a tsoldier, was charged 1 ii'itb. disturbing Sergt. James Arthur < Jruicke'hauk while in the execution of ' lis duly. Acting-Sub-Inspector Emerson, prosecuted, and -Mr. P. \V. Jackson up- ' reared for accused. Tho case was the- ' jutcome of tho riot which took place ' jn Saturday night last in Cuba Street 1 ind Vivian Street. Accused pleaded not ] ;uilty. : Sergeant Gruickshank, in giving ovilence, said that between 10.30 p.m. and .' 11 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, witness 1 ivent to Vivian' Street to a confectioner's t hop, where he found a hostile crowd press- ] Jig close up to the shop. Witness learn- i id 'that a constable was inside the shop ' ivith a prisoner, waiting for an opportunity to get the prisoner away to the < station. Witness saw there was no '■ ihanee of getting the pjnsoner away ow- < ing to the hostility of tho crowd. Wit- 1 ness sent for assistance, and five or six i idditional constables arrived on the ice'ne. Ho got the' constables alongside :he shop, and arraugod that they should >pread out and clear a space. He ordered ;he constables 'to draw their baton's be:auso of the hostility of the crowd. Three soldiers were at this time makhig them- t ielves conspicuously "hostile. \V\ien witness saw accused he was standing near Lhe shop. The constables moved the' srowd off 'the footpath, and while .they were being moved back accused saia,, 'I Jin an officer, you cannot interfere n'lth me. Witness replied, "It does not matter what you are; you must stand back jut of the road." The accused stoftd [in the kerb and did not go back juai i then. The crowd had been moved oft tho footpath three times, and then witness arranged to spread his men out and ;lenr the street. Accused then came up behind witness and called out, "Mind α-liat you are doing. Don't you hit a soldier. Don't you interfere with a eollier. It will be the worse for you if yon. do. Remember I am a commissioned Jliicor." Witness told him to keep away 3i- he would get into trouble. The prisoner was eventually removed from the shop and 'taken to the station. While soing down Vivian Street the crowd followed hooting and yelling. When near the Panama Hotel witness saw accused pressing forward on Constables Quinn, Forsythe, and M'Millan, who were in tho centre of the street. Witness told Constable Quinn to put accused back. A short distance further on Constable Forsytho had to put him back, and witness also saw Constable M'Millan checking him. Just about the time Constable (juinn put accused back two bottles of boor were thrown at the police, one of w'hich struck Constable M'Millan and one fell close to witness. The crowd followed down Vivian Street and up Tory Street to tho Mount Cook Station, where tlio prisoner was locked up. It was about 11.15 when witness again saw accused. Just as witness was arresting a man for disturbing the police, tho accused came running up and said, "Don't you touch that man. Don't hit him; he has done nothing." Witness did not see accused again until after midnight, when, with Constable Quinn, he asked accused his name and address, which he gave, and said he held the rank of corporal. Accused was told he would hear more about t'he matter, and he replied, "You can do what you like about it. What you have done is no credit to you or your men. I eaw the thing from start to finish. . The accused was perfectly sober. / Corroborative evidence was given by Constables Quinn, Forsythe, M'Mulan, Scarry, and M'Coll, and this closed the case for the prosecution. For the defence, Mr. P. W. Jackson pointed out that the action of the accused could not very well be described as disturbing 'the police. According to the evidence, he said to Sergeant Cruickshank, "I am an officer; you cannot interfere with me." There was surely nothing disturbing- in that, and even the sergeant said that he did not take notice of it. Later accused said, "Don't you hit a soldier. Don't you interfere with a soldier," which was also haimless. His conduct was perhaps silly and stupid, but it was not such as to warrant the charge laid against him. Mr. Jackson contended that if such a case went before a jury it was hardly likely that a jury would convict, and he urged that tho case should be dismissed. The Mngistrate said v thnt as the case had been presented to him up to then he could not see his way to dismiss tho information. Continuing, Mr. Jackson said that accused was a married man, his home being in Cuba Street. Ho had been in camp for a considerable time, and on. Vu»ust 11 was in town on leave. Hfi reached his home at 5 p.m. and aid not leave his house until about 10.40 p.m., when ho went out to make svme purchases. During this time the row '.fas in progress near the confectioners slop, and accused stood nnd watched the crowd. He went home and came out again to see how tho row was setting on. Kr> was in the crowd, like hundreds ot others, to see what was going on. Accused would .deny positively ii.ivmg r.iale use of the-'words attributed to l-.im. There weremany soldiers in the | crowd, nnd it was not unlikely that ue was mistaken for some one else. , The accused in his evidence stated that he was a probationary corpo.-il in trie 35th Keinforoemcnts, and had been in camp for some time. On Saturday, August 11, ho Tcached his home about a p.m.. and never went out again until about 10.40 p.m.. when he went out to make some purchases. ' On the way back home, when at the corner of Cuba and Vivian Streets, Tie saw a crowd some distance down Vivian Street. He wen down to see what was going on. He me a lady friend nnd her sister there, and presently they left and soon afterwards he came away. He got 'to Godber s ]ust on closing time, and after purchasing eome cake he went home. He came out a second time to see the crowd and to ascertain how things were going. He never disturbed or interfered with the police, neither did he jeer, hoot, or yell at the police. Ho was not with any. other soldier while in the crowd, lie never told anyone that he was a commissioned officer. He was not in lory Street at all that night. Several witnesses were called to testify to the movements of the accused on the night in question. . • His AVorship, in giving his decision, said that the accused in this case did not deny the incidents which took place, and that if they had taken place he was not the man concerned, and that the police have made a mistake. As far as the defence was concerned, the statements mado by the witnesses were not inconsistent with the evidence given by thepolice, for they were not with him all the time. Ho had been identified by all tho police officers. The police had told a plain and unvarnished story, and looking at the matter fairly and squarely there was no doubt accused did disturb the police. Soldiers must understand that when they came to town they were as much bound by the laws as civilians. His Worship said lie 'took a serious view of the matter, and convicted and sentenced accused to a month's imprisonment. Mr P. W. Jackson made a very strong appeal Hint the accused should not bo sent to "aol, when a court official pointed out to His Worship that he had no jurisdiction to inflict imprisonment. His Worship then imposed a fine of ana costs, in default one- month s imprisonment.