RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 3745, 23 February 1875, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Tuesday, February 23. (Before J. Bathgate, Fsq., R.M.) Drunkenness. —Patrick Murray and Francis Grenier were discharged with a caution. Breaches of the Peace. —Wm. Roberts and Mary M'Laughlin were charged with behaving in Rattray street in a manner calculated to provoke a breach of the peace. The man was discharged, but the woman, being an old offender, was fined 20s, with the alternative of fourteen days’ imprisonment. Maintenance. —John Donoghue was charged by Beuj. Britton, master of the Industrial School, with disobeying an order of the Court binding him to pay 5s a-week towards his son’s support.—The case was adjourned for a month to enable defendant to pay up all arrears. Desertion. —Joseph Attiwell was charged by the police with deserting his wife and four children, and with leaving them without means of support.—His Worship (to defendant); In consequence of your deserting your family, the four children were taken out of a brothel and sent to the Industrial School to prevent them starving, and your wife has been landed in gaol. This is one of the most disgraceful cases that has ever come before me. An able-bodied man leaves his wife and family in a brothel, and puts the country to the burden of maintaining them. You will be fined in the maximum penalty for a first offence —LS, or sent to gaol if the amount is not paid. His Worship also told Mr Britton t to see that defendant paid for the maintenance of his children.

Alleged Burglary. —Two boys—one aged nine andthe other eight—were charged on the information of Alexander Robertson, carpenter, with _ breaking into his house on Feb. 19, and stealing therefrom one box percussion caps, a small quantity of gunpowder, one necktie, a brass ring, two knives, and three pennies. —Mr A. Bathgate appeared for one of the boys, and Mr J. Anderson for the other. Seeing that the heads of the accused did not reach the top of the dock, Mr Anderson asked that the. lads be allowed to stand on the floor of the Court; but his Worship expressed his inability to allow them to do so, the offence being felony. —Mr Bathgate said that before going any further it seemed to him that looking at the age of the children they could not bo charged with felony. Both were under ten, and consequently of tender years.—Mr Anderson thought it a matter of regret that a case of the kind should have been brought forward. If the complainant had gone to the boys’ parents and stated the wrong done, the children would doubtless have received thorough punishment. It was an outrage of the law for children of the age of the accused to be placed in the dock, and their character damaged in the way it had been.— Mr Bathgate cited Judge Johnston as to the knowledge of children of tender years,—His Worship said he had no doubt ns to the law. Children under seven could not be brought up, but it was another question whether those ten years old had not sufficient knowledge. Had they been brought up and simply charged with larceny, he would _ have at once discharged them with ’ a caution, and with a suggestion to the parents that they give them a flogging as a warning to others. House-

breaking, however, was a very serious crime. Accused pulled down part of the chimney, cot access to the house, and stole therefrom several tmngs. It was all nonsense to talk about children with crime when they committed such extraordinary acts as that.—Mr Anderson replied that it would have been a Honour ° K) l ' ge iac * lfc 1)6611 committed by perUw f f® yeais - He it would show theeW™® OU x,complainant’s part to withraw their cbifrWn the parents to flog not tell wWi, ** lß Worship saidthat he could fmirfnon m^l 61 " 011 ® between seven and fourteen could be considered incapable of knowedge of the crime of which he wTcharced unless the circumstances ot+pv, . commit them for trial. He tS to trv the boys on an information charging them S an indictable offence; his du^w a9 “dug waT 1 veTv hall judi ° iaL - HoUB6 was very happily a crime almost unf known m Dunedin ; and it was a question whether infants of such tender yearn knew what they were doing. He thought that if the parents would undertake to teach their children what the law was, and would promise to give them a sound flogging, he would recommend the prosecutor to withdraw the charge. Mr Anderson and Mr Bathgate each promised that his chent would undertake to give his bay a Hogging.—Prosecutor then withdrew the case. Mallard stated that this was not the first time the house had been broken into. —His Worship added that prosecutor had taken a very proper course in withdrawing the case under the circumstances. Breach of the Building Regulations.— Patrick 0 Bnen was charged on remand with a breach of the Budding Regulations. -Mr Cook, who defended, raised as preliminary objection that informant had no locus standi, and second, that the information disclosed no offence, and certainly no offence on which his Worship could adjudicate.—Mr Anderson, solicitor to the Corporation, said that no complaint had been made to the Corporation in this matter, and that the proceedings had been taken withput their consent or cognisance.—His Worship decided against defendant on the first point, saying that any citizen believing he was aggrieved should take proceedings; and on tide other adjourned tee case for a fortnight to enable him to obtain further particulars as to the City areas, &c. Complainant said that he had been to the City Surveyor to obtain some necessaiy information, and had received uncivil treatment.—Mr Anderson objected to such a statement being made in open court, where Mr Miranw had not an opportunity of defending himself from such an accusation, and said that he always found the Corporation officers courteous to any of the public making inquiries.

Our attention has been called to an error in our report of the case of Clark v. Clark, heard °? last. Mr Stout, solicitor for the plaintiff, was there made to say that Mrs Clark was in the habit of drinking, which is not the tact, nor did his observations convey such an impression.