RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, PORT CHALMERS.

Evening Star, Issue 4051, 19 February 1876, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, PORT CHALMERS.

Fbedat, Februabt. 1& v T. A. Mansford, Eb«lm R.M.) Lamibjnism—Richard Sutdiff was charged ' with placing stone* arid timber on the Dunerlm ant Po>t Chalmers road on the evening of the Ifithihet -Me Howorth,Rppeared for the accuse i, who pleaded not guilty.—James Bett staved that on the niglit'iii question he /eft Pot't oha;m t uß, in company with Suteliff and two other men named* Ande* son and ,.to pt&svd bbme at Sawyers' Bay. After Koit'g a short disrtance he stopped, but overtook them on the Dunedin side of. thei jallWHy bridge, in phsdhgr over bp noticed that a, rail was laid aciossit. After waking'sonde distance in company with, theitbree others torCri kmoreakdMrMa;kley overtppH them, an& Mr (Mokmdre l mentioned abojit some stipes' rsng, placed ih the road, but ihejrtoldhim theV kheyv nothing about t. By -Mri Howorth t'lWitneas 'did'not see anyone plice the; ration the bridge or the stones in the road; , the only thing uesaw wa* the rail on the bridge, which he i^ft.there After parsing the bridge he two bther persons bn th* Mad/ but did! hot'recognise tbem.—Bbhard Thompson stated that hi 'w'is it=ibdin? talking 1 to a (friend '.'befutj twenty from' the 'b'idge'kt abouti twenty,minutes past twelve o'clock, v When he: iawCr-ckmoreancl MaHkley pa>s. About five minutes previous he heard a nbiselike >omeone breaking a,rail and three" or fOurV drunken men singing. When Crickmore and Macklay parsed there like & rail tumbling on the.road/ 'By the Bfrich: The men, had passed the bridge before' witness came on ' .to ;the.. Crickmore deposed that shortly after twelve on the rfs*t'in question, 'hearing there-was a fire at the back of his premised in Sawye?a Bay, he wjrnt iaeotnp»ny K with' ! Mackley along 'the Port Chalmeis ■road; and when within .ten' ,yards, of tie railway bridge he noticed , three large stones lying across the road, and, upon : ing the bridge/found, that there was one of the rails taken. out and put right across like a toll-bar. Witness immediately rolled the stoaes away, and threw the rail over the side, as .he would have expected any b her man to dp. if he bad any feel n* for his fellqw-men, as,, if a horse and trap had, come, along, a serjbus accident or. death , might ■ have oopurred. After passing the bridge,, he noti>ed Thompson, ' an* I a- other.man, ana further along the road noticed four other M'Qregbr, i Th -mas Ma'heson, and, John were alio examined, but their evidence did not throw 'any further light on the matter. Henry Er<idge stated, that on the night ia question.he c:bsstd the bridge from Dunedinat ten minutes to twelve, and at that time there J was no obstruction on the bridge.—Mr hj oworth addressed • the Bench at considerable length, and submitted there w-ts no case, the witness sot having I proved that had placed any obstruction;— His, Worship stated that the evidence Was no'...sufficiently, conducive to'proVe the . accused had been guilty of .the diabplicat ac f , for a diabolical .act it was. _'_ He had »o alternative but to dismss theTise.— Similar ih*rg<M against John PhiDbrooji, John- Anderson, Alfred Perry, Junes Bell, and Thomas Ma'.theson were withdrawn!* ' .■•-!.-'■'. .., Fkbbuaby W. (Before T. A. Maneford.Eai., R.M.) Vagbancy. —William Fmith was charged; upon the information "of Weill Murray, with being unlawfully in his garden on the night of the 14th inst.—The complainant' staded that between half-past eleven and twelve on the night 'in question his attention was attracted by hie wife hearing; a noke like .soma one about the place. Witness thought the noise was pc r casioned bv a goat and did .not pay t much attention, but his wife hearing the noise a second time raised. the blind,and saw a man in the 1 ■gwden, Withes« imhiediately went' lb the door; but could not t'e'ft anyone. -After remaining for abbut three minutes i>t the gate, he a dirk object lying in tttegutter,about three yards off. Am»uth n got up hiiWing his leg and appeared to he'hurt; but as s<?pn as witness went towards'him the mamanawaj as fast as he coul) without:'; his boots. , Wit-, ntBS recognised the accused as the man that ran i he was- carrying his boots on hip arm. By the Bench: Witue«s ...had not seen him inside hit fence .previousjy.-rCbrrobora* 'ti've evidenee was given by Mjb Murray.--\filltam Yeu'ng stated .that, shortlv befoie twe'ye on the nigbf in question, ie was on the Peninsula' looking for some horaes,, when he stopped iat Pfrry's cornerw: the accased come along, who ran about seventy yards and tb put ion his boois.—The abcased, in defence; staged he was in bed on the night in question a little after 'eight o]ciock< as a .man named Allan, could prov , for. which; purpose he. requesttid a remind, which was granted till Monday^—John Viney ; was charged with beinst illegally on J th« "j>re-' miaes of Hugh Nickoi at;L3O a.m. on the 19th.", .-f-CttnHtatile Coffee stated that, hearing a man whbi loitering,aj'rout,,,he, proceeded up,Mountstreet and found the accused lying down in Mr Nickol'B fowl .Recused stated.-th"-- the had heen to the entpr>ainmeht at'Cr ckmbre'rt last nght, apd ,cosild,,not get a bed, bo he lay down where he was found instead of walking about the streets—Mis Worship stated-that very.recently the accused hod been [fined for drunkenness, and ;> he could scarcely think his object was to pilfer. He wou'd, therefore, view of tp.ee if e in the. hjope that the prisoner would reform, and ten ;' tenced him to eeyea, days' imrrisooment. with' hardlubbr. jff he was brought up agam he would get twelve months, ~