MAGISTRATES’ COURTS.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1436, 23 September 1878, Page 2

MAGISTRATES’ COURTS.

CHRISTCHURCH. Monday, September 23. [Before Q-. L. Mellisb, Esq. R.M.I Drunk and Disorderly.— Hugh Young was charged with being drunk and disorderly and resisting the police in the execution of their duty. Constable Beaumont stated he was called to remove the accused from Mr Mulligan’s, High street, on Saturday, and during his journey to the Depot he resisted violently. Accused admitted the drunkenness, but had forgotten all about the resistance. A d ne of 4Qs wap indicted. Henry Amell and Alexander Campbell was charged with drunkenness and fighting in Victoria street on Saturday last. On the evidence of (he arresting constable they were each fined 20s. Two first offenders were fined 5s each. Public Health Act. —A number of cases of parents neglecting to take their children for inspection after vaccination to the inspector’s office, were dealt with. A variety of excuses were offered, from temporary indisposition on the part of the inf ants, to indisposition on the part of the parents to carry them. Dr. Hedwill gave evidence as to the broach of the Act, and to the necessity of seeing it properly carried out. His Worship said that as they were all first offences, on the parents promising to take their children to Dr. Nedwfll for inspection next Friday at twelve o’clock, the oases would be dismissed.

Cutting and Wounding. Alexander Maurice,remanded from Saturday, was charged with having on the 14th of September grievously wounded George Hingart on board the Minnie, ketch. Mr R. D. Thomas appeared for the accused. The witnesses was ordered out of Court. George Hingart, being sworn, deposed that he was a sailor lately on board the Minnie, ketch, but was now on shore. On

the 13th he left the vessel, snd went to the Wharf Hotel. The defendant was the master of the Minnie, There was another ketch called the Marguerite moored alongside the Minnie since Saturday, the 14th. The witness, defendant, and Mr Miller, the capain of the Marguerite, were playing cards on the evening of the 14th at the Wharf Hotel, and they all left about ten o’clock and went on board the Marguerite with some tucker. They went into the cabin, the captain having invited them to supper. They had with them two bottles of beer, and accused gave him a knife with a corkscrew in it, to open one of them. It was suggested they should have a feed, and he (witness) said he should like one as he felt as if he had not had a feed for a fortnight. The defendant took offence at this and challenged him to fight. Witness went on deck and stripped to his belt and trousers, expecting accused to come and fight him. Mr Miller came on deck, and witness called out to a mate, named Ned, to come and sec fair play. While he was calling Cameron, accused came on deck, and witness saw that he had something in his hand. Witness had his head down the companion, and before he could rise erect he felt a stab over the eye and nose. A struggle took place, and then witness felt something wound him in the left shoulder, and he thought accused was biting him. Immediately after ho found his arm was disabled. The other men then interfered and parted them. Witness accused the prisoner of stabbing him, and isked the other men to go for the police. Whm ho charged defendant with stabbing him, the latter said he had only a bit of wood in his hand, and he had given his knife to Mr Miller in the public-house. Subseqiently accused admitted, speaking in Italian, tiat ho had stabbed witness in a moment of pission, and asked him to forgive him. Witnes told ' him if he was in a passion he had no occaiion to / take the knife; if it was his country’s fasiion it was not so here. Accused said he would pay for witness’s board until he was able to work again. At the time »f the struggle the witness had a white capon his head, it dropped off during the fight, md he found it close to the mast on the Suiday or Monday. A bit of knife blade was sticking in it. He had but one blow in the shoulder, and that disabled his arm. Afterwards went to the hospital and had the wounds dressed. Under cross-examination witness stated lie brought the charge against the accujed to teach him a lesson for the future, and not because he had refused to pay for his biard or had abused him in Port Lyttelton, Charles Miller, the master of the Marguerite being sworn, said—He arrived at the Steam Wharf last Saturday night week, and moored there. The accused was the master of the Niunie; they came up the river together, and moored alongside each other. After the vessels were secured he went on shore with one of the Minnie’s men, the complainant in this case, and there met the captain of the Minnie, and they all went into the Wharf Hotel. After taking some drinks they all returned to the vessels, between 10 and 11 o’clock. They had supper togetler, and afterwards witness laid down on a locler to sleep, but was roused by an altercaton between the complainant and the accused. Witness ordered them out of his cabin, ard . they both went on board their own ship. Witness was in the act of going to bed when complainant put his head down the companion and said he was stabbed. Witness seeing that the man was bleeding about the head went on deck and found the accused and complainant struggling with one another. Another of the Minnie’s men, named Cameron, was standing by with a pump rake in his hand. Witness said to Cameron “ What are you doing with that weapon?” He replied—“ lam going to split that —’a head,” meaning, as witness supposed, the captain of the Minnie, Told Cameron to put it down, and then assisted to part the accused and complainant, and advised them to go to their beds, and then went to his own. Crossexamined by Mr Thomas, witness said h© thought the prosecutor was the more anxious of the two to fight; he was the one to suggest stripping, and he set the example by stripping himself. When prosecutor accused the prisoner of stabbing him, he denied it, and opened both his hands to show there was nothing in them. He did not think accused could have thrown a knife or anything else overboard without his (witness) seeing it. Reexamined by Mr Inspector ness while at the Hotel borrowed a knife from the accused, but ( could not say what he did with it. Hugh Cameron, a seaman on hoard the ketch Minnie, gave corroborative evidence as to the quax>relling and fighting on board the Minnie. When he first saw the men after being called by the prosecutor they were struggling across a boom, and the former called out for witness to see that the accused did not cut him. The prosecutor was then bleeding from the head, and shoulder. Witness saw no weapon in the hands of the accused. Assisted Miller to. separate them. Prosecutor said once or twice that the accused was biting him. Saw the wound in prosecutor’s shoulder; it was a clean deep cut half an inch wide. Did not think a bite could have caused it. The next day witness picked up the cap produced on the deck, and put it on the top of a sail. Tha prosecutor afterwards found the piece of a knife blade sticking in it. Edwin Charles, a seaman belonging to the Marguerite, corroborated the previous witnesses as to the fighting, but added no new facts to the evidence already given. Captain Miller being recalled by Mr Thomas, said that he had cautioned the accused to stop on shore at night as being safer than on board his vessel, as the prosecutor had threatened to put a bit of lead into him. Richard Pridgeon, the dispenser to the Hospital, said last Sunday week the prosecutor came to the Hospital suffering from a jagged skin wound over the left eye and over the nose. He complained also of a pain in his left arm, which on examination turned out to bs £• small clean wound about half an inch long; it was about half an inch in depth. The wounds were of a trifling description, and after witness had dressed them the prosecutor left. Mr Thomas addressed the Court, commenting on the contradictory nal ure of the evidence, and contending (hat it was a trumped up charge occasioned by the prosecutor being discharged. Mr Thomas by consent of the Court, put the accused into the witness-box, and he distinctly swore that he had never used a knife in his life and never should. Ho also was unable to say what had become of the knife with the corkscrew. Mr Thomas then reviewed the evidence in detail, and asked the Court to dismiss the information on the ground of its unsatisfactory and contradictory nature, coupled with the positive testimony of the captain that he did not use a knife. His Worship said he was disappointed at the meagre nature of the captain’s evidence ; he certainly thought ho would have done more than simply express a denial of the use of the knife. The whole of the evidence was of an extraordinary nature, certain portions of it pointing to the conclusion that the charge was to a certain extent a trumped up one. There was no evidence to show that the wound in (lie face was inflicted by a knife, but the wound in the shoulder was a more serious affair and quite incomprehensible. On the whole he was inclined to believe the charge p. trumped up one, and he should therefore dismiss the information. The accused was accordingly discharged. The Court here adjourned until 2.30. LYTTELTON. Monday, September 23. ‘Before W. Donald, Esq., R.M., raid 11. R. Webb, Esq., J.P.] Drunkenness. —J. Denham was fined 20a for this offence, or in default ninety-six hours. Cattle Trespass. —lT. Robson, P. Cunningham, J. D. Macpherson, W. Bailey, and J. Matthews were each fined 5s and 4s costs, for having cattle astray.