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Grey River Argus, Issue 61, 2 June 1866, Page 3

Friday, Juse 1; (Before W. H. Revell, Esq., R.M.) Assault. — Selling a Wife. — Jacob Lambm and Peter Anderson were. charged, on the information of Henry Dearing, with having assaulted him on the night of Monday last. These two charges Avore heard separately, but the evidence was the same in both. From the evidence of the complainant, it appeared that the parties to the action are all boatmen at the South Lagoon, and on Monday night, after work, Jacob and Peter, who live in a hut together, called on Dearing to come over and sit by the lire. Dearing and his wife went over, when some hot brandy was handed round, and they were all very merry for a time. They had then a "shake in the hat" for another bottle of brandy, which Dearing lost and paid for. When this -was nearly finished, Peter lifted a piece of cord which had been lying on the table, made-a nooso on it, aud threw it over Mr 3 Dearing's head, saying, "Come on, jflavry, we'll sell the old woman." Dearing said he would sell anything he could make a pound by, but rose to go away, when his wife said, "Don't, Peter; you are choking me." Dearing said, "Come, Peter, that is too much," and was going away, when Peter seized him by the coat and dragged him back to have more drink. Dearing refused to drink, and continued to struggle to get free; but Peter held on to him, aud they rolled and struggled amongst the mud until they got to Dearing's house, where he struck Peter several blows to make him let go his hold. At that moment Jacob dragged him down by the back of the neck, and Peter held him down. He shouted "murder," and some of them crammed a handful of mud into his mouth, and Jacob said, "You I , ■we will cook your goose for you this night." * A man on the opposite side of the ferry went for the police. During the struggle, Jacob kicked Peter by mistake, when they both let prPearmg go, and had a fight themselves. Dearing took advantage of this, and crawled under his bed, where he was found by the police covered with mud, and his clothes nearly all torn off him. The statements of the" two defendants as to the cause of the i quarrel were to this effect : — " They were all merry until the cord was put round Mrs I hearing's neuk, and Jacob offered to buy her. Dearing asked what he would give for her, and Jacob offered LlO,- saying that he had not got the money on him at the moment, but he would get it in the morning. Peter then laid eighteenpence on the table, and asked Dearing if he would take- that for har. Dearing at once jumped off the stretcher where was sitting, and struck Peter a blow on the eye, which knocked him over. A regular free fight ensued, about which neither of the defendants seemed to know much, but their faces and hands bore unmistakable marks of having been roughly used. The Magistrate severely reprimanded Dearing for having permitted such a disgraceful scene to be enacted in the presence of his wife as the pretended sale, and for having permitted another man to put a cord round her neck, as if . she were a slave. From the weight of the evidence, he considered that Dearing had struck the first blow, but the defendants had no right to follow up the assault iii the manner they did. The law was open to them if they felt offended. H<3 fined Ja.Qob LI, and Peter L 2.' The fines were paid.