COURAGE OF YOUTH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20124, 19 December 1939, Page 6

COURAGE OF YOUTH

“NOT USED CORRECTLY” TE KARAKA OFFENCES NEGLIGENCE ON CYCLE “This boy is full of courage and it is a great pity to see it misdirected in the way in which he uses it,” said Senior-Sergeant J. F. H. Macnamara in the Police Court this morning when Richard Henry Jelfcoate, aged 22. a mechanic and labourer, Puna, appeared before Mr. A. Coleman, S.M., on charges of having used obscene language in Te Karaka and with having ridden a bicycle negligently on the Gisborne-Te Karaka highway. He was fined £3 on the first charge and £1 on the second. Jelfcoate. who pleaded guilty, was defended by Mr. K T. Brosnahan. The senior-sergeant said that at 0.10 p.m. yesterday Constable G. Urquhart, who was with the Transport Department’s inspector, Mr. R. Metcalfe, saw the defendant being towed behind a lorry on a bicycle. There was loose metal on the road and the cycle was moving about all over the road at a speed of 30 m.p.h. The practice was a dangerous one for the defendant and the general public. Caught After Chase When the lorry was stopped by the officers Jeff coate had let so of the tray of the lorry, but had not been caught without a short chase. He said he did not see why he should give his name and address when Questioned, by the inspector, but had been advised to do so by the constable. It was then that he used the bad language. “This youth seems to get himself into all sorts of trouble with motor vehicles; he has a list of 11 previous convictions," said Senior-Sergeant Macnamara. At the time of the use of the language there was no one present apart from the traffic inspector and constable. Mr. ‘Brosnahan said that some time ago Jeffeoate decided that it was time he steadied up and he had taken a small farm at Te Karaka eight or nine months ago. Since then he had been married and worked hard, milking nine cows night and morning and attending to pigs on his land, All that was done before he went out to do his day's work in other employment. He had been in the lock-up overnight. and it meant that, his wife, who was not in good health at present, was having to carry on his work in attending to the stock. Mr. Coleman said that he intended to punish Jeffeoate with a fine, and would not imprison him on the present charges.