CITY POLICE COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 3224, 20 June 1873, Page 2

CITY POLICE COURT.

Friday, June] 20. (Before E. ff. Ward, and J. Black, Esqs., J.P.’s.)

Drunkenness. —Michael Fahey, charged with drunkenness and assaulting Constable Williams, was remanded till to-morrow. Personation. —Robt. Moore was charged with personating one Richard Brindsley Heriot, and giving false answers to the prescribed questions, contrary to section 60 of the Regulation of Elections Act, 1870, at an election for a member of the Provincial Council for the Peninsula district—viz., at the Anderson’s Bay polling booth. On the application of Mr Joyce, the accused was remanded till to-morrow, and admitted to bail on his surety of L 25, and one surety of L 25. Keeping Pigs,— John Stephenson, of Wright, Stephenson, and Co., was charged with keeping swine within the prescribed limit, to wit in the Provincial sale yards. Inspector Nimon said that on the 13th inst. his attention was called to pigs being in the Provincial sale yards; and finding them there, he summoned Mr Stephenson.— Mr Geddes, one of the lessees of the Princess Theatre, said that on the 13th inst. and on several occasions he had seen pigs in the Provincial sale yards; and at night they caused great annoyance to the performers at the Theatre, and were a nuisance to the visitors, as they created a great stench. The pigs referred to by the Inspector were in the yards on vVednesday night, the 11th, and all day on the 12th —Mr Haggitt, who appeared for the defendant, submitted that the bye-law

was never intended to apply to cases like this. The pigs were brought in on the Wednesday for sale; Thursday being the fast day, was a holiday ; and on Friday, the first opportunity, they were disposed of, and removed from the yard.—Mr Ward agreed with Mr Haggitt, but thought at the same time it was not to be expected that pigs should be kept under the noses of the public going to the Theatre, which was one of the worst things possible. Some arrangement should be made to bring the pigs in on the morning of sale, and remove them immediately after sale, so that the nuisance complained of might not occur. —The case was dismissed. Bye-law Cases.— Benjamin Jones, George Darvell, and William Neal were charged with contravening the bye-law, which provides that every carter shall have affixed to his dray its tare weight. Inspector Nimon said that he had received information from Mr Larnach that he was being defrauded of a quantity of coal at the Gas Works, and arranged with that gentleman to test the carts that conveyed the coal to the works. Accordingly, on the morning ef the 3rd inst., he proceeded to the yard of Messrs Findlay and Co., contractors for supplying the works with coal, and found there the three defendants, who were carting coal. He proceeded with them to the weigh-bridge in Princes street south, and weighed the loaded drays ; after which they went to the Gas Works, delivered the coal, and returned to the ■weigh-bridge to ascertain the tare weight. of the drays. At the weigh-bridge Darvel gave the tare weight of his dray as lOcwt; on weighing it turned out to be llfcwt, thus showing that he defrauded Mr Larnach of l|cwt of coal each load. Jones gave his tare weight at 8owt; it proved to be lOowt, thus showing that he defrauded Mr Larnach of gcwfc e*ph load. Neal pare hi* tare weight

at 9c wt; it proved fobs lOJcwt, thus showing that he defrauded Mr Larnach of lscwt each oad. The thing had been going on for some time, and with the consent of the Mayor, he (the Inspector) detected them. —The men urged that they, being in the employ of a Mr Walker, were not supposed to know the tare weight of their drays; but Mr Ward pointed out that the bye-law made the draymen responsible. They were each fined 5s and costs, the Bench remarking that a repetition of the offence would be dealt with very severely.—George Heads, Join Smith, John M ‘Kinlay, James Haworth, and John Maelski, for a similar offence, were also fined 5s and costs.—Ed Johnson was summoned for delivering coke that had not been weighed. The defendant urged that coke could not be considered coal, and relied on the custom which ruled of selling coke by the bag. He said that were it to be held that coke must be sold by the weight, nothing would be easier than to defraud the customer. The case was, at the defendant’s request, remanded for a week.