UPLAND ROAD RAID

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 250, 10 July 1918, Page 6

UPLAND ROAD RAID

MARY GRIFFIN'S APPEAL AGAINST MAGISTRATE'S DECISION Before His Honour Mr. Justice Hosk- , .ng in tho Supremo Court yesterday the ippeal made by Mr. I'. W. Jackson on 1 ->ehalf of Mary Griffin and Mr. 11. l'\ D'Leary on behalf of Winifred Olsen ; igainsl; their conviction and imprisonment recorded by Mr. S. li. M'Carthy, • 3.M., was heard. ■ Mr. P. S. K. Macassey, of the Crown : Law Office, appeared for the Crown. - His Honour desired to know whether : the two appeals wero to bo taken to- i ;ethen and ho expressed doubt whether 1 lie could so take them. He was not ■ satisfied that the evidence was identical in -«ach ca.se, and he preferred to take tho cases separately. Accordingly tho 1 ippeal in the case of Mary Griffin was taken first. Mr. Jackson said that the appeal was ii general one on tho ground that tho verdict of the Magistrate was against tho weight of evidence, and moro particularly that she was not keeping the house for gain or profit. Many witnesses had been called for the defence," and most of these, who were soldiers, wero not now in New Zealand, and ho had arranged with counsel for the Crown not to give the evidence as to whether the house was properly kept, but only as to whether there was gain or profit in tho keeping of the house. He/had arranged that the evidence given in the Lo.ver Court should be put in as depositions. The Court would be asked by the Crown to be allowed to call tho evidence of the two constables, Tricklebank and Cattanach, and he had agreed to that. Tho evidence to be called here was only as to whother any gain or profit was made by Griffin, anil lie was prepared to call evidence on. that point. By putting in tho evidence of the officers absent from Noiv Zealand it would save time, although ho did not think their evidence would' aifcct his appeal. His Honour: If there is no evidence of money having passed tho Court will bo asked to take into consideration tho circumstances and draw inference. i.'i'o Mr. Macassey): Must I not find that there was no doubt money had passed? Mr. Macassey: No, sir, but by inferonce. , His Honour: Why should I have greater latitude than a jury? This was a. criminal proceeding. Continuing, Mr. Jackson said that there was no evidence whatever to prove that thero was any gain or profit, lie stressed'this point at somo' length. Mr. Macassey eaid that Mrs. Griffin took the house, 48 Upland Road, Kelburn, in December, and she had living with her Miss Olsen. They had soldiera and civilians also visiting them on staled days in the week. Ho then referred at some length to the cvidenco given by Constable Tricklebank and Constable Cattanach in the Lower Court. Ho stated that bundles of lcUora written by 6oldicrs from the front to the two women would be produced. His Honour; Letters received by a person cannot be held to aeperso tho character of that person. A very decent person may receive an obscene letter from someone, and the recoipt of that letter could not be hold as damaging the character of tho recipient. Mr. Macassey: In this caso the letters wero kept. llis Honour: That makes a difference if the letters wero for appointments. Mr. Jackson: They wero written two or three years ago. Mr. Macassey then went. on_ to detail tho financial resources of Griffin on tlio lines of the evidence given in tho Magistrate's Court. >le aVo put in tho War Regulations of August. 1916. and read the clause dealing with a house of illfame, And said that Griffin was charged and convictcd with keeping a. house of ill-fame. Mo, quoted law cases bearing, on tho point, and concluded by saying: "We shall produce evidence as to tho general .conduct of tho house from January onward, and shall show that on three or four nights every week there were wild rovelry singing, and swearing, drawing of corks, and that the women were seen in all sorls of compromising positions." . , . His Honour: In the definition you just read it was made to appear that gain was not necessary. Mr. Macassey admitted that thero must bo gain. Mr. O'Leary stated that there was a very recent caso reported ill the "Times Law Reports," in which it was stated that thero.must be gain in such a case. Mr. Macassey then called Plain-clothes Constable William Tricklebank, who gave ovidonco similar to that tendered by him in the Magistrate's Court. Ho was subjected to a very severo erossoxamination. A neighbour who had taken rip residence closo to 48 Upland Roael in December last deposed that there was continuous noise in Mrs. Griffin's, mostly on Wednesdays and week-ends. Thero wero sounds of drinking (drawing of corks), swearing, singing, and general noise. The visitors to tho house were mostly soldiers. Mrs. Griffin and Miss Olsen called at the house subsequent to a conversation with a neighbour, and mad 3 somo disturbance as a result of what thoy had heard. Mrs. Griffin said that she would go to her solicitor and see that her character was not aspersed. Mrs. Griffin told witness that the. soldiers who camo to the house were lier brothers, and were returned men. Motorcars stopped at the house repeatedly'between one o'clock and Uiree o'clock -in tho morning. She detailed various circumstances of a compromising nature that had come uuder her personal notice. Cross-examined by Jlr. Jackson, witness stated that she had come from Wanganui to givo evidence in responso to a summons from the police. She had not been visited in Wanganui by Constable Tricklebank or any other police official with regard 10-tho case. Constable Cattanach gave evidence on the lines of that given in the Magistrate's Court, and was closely crossexamined by Mr. Jackson. Tho case had not concluded when tilt Court rose at 5 p.m. ===5= ,