NAPIER'S YESTERDAYS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 65, 3 April 1937, Page 15

NAPIER'S YESTERDAYS

Charles

Price

BY

Some Court Stories

• mHE ARENA of the Police Court, 1 Magistrate 's Court, and Supreme Court often provides a good crop of amusing stories. Naturally judges, niagistrates, solicitors or others who are constantly in the atmosphere of the court have the greatest collection of sueh stories, "but sometimes a few of these are sufficient* ly amusing almost to become pubEc property at the time. Probably a good many of the more recent stories have been retailed when the legal fraternity meets (socially, so I will confine this article te a few very early stories whieh "wero current a great many yeats ago. The first of these stories relates to an iucident which occurred when Napier was very young, afld when the Magistrate's Court was held weekly. The Hawke's Bay Club, as an inatitution, was even then in existence, but had no separate club buildings, as it now has. A club house comprising billiard room, card room, social lounge, etc., was situated in the yard at the back of the Clarendon Hotel. Club members had meals in the hotel if they wished, and rooms were also set apart for country memtTers who might be staying in town for a day or two. As in all clubs town and country members met in the club house in the evenings, and spent the evening socially, billiards and cards being the favourite games. As oeea'sionally happens in even the best regulated clubs, when a jjolly evening was being spent, members, if not aCtually singing that they would not "go home until morning',' seemed very much averse to doing so, and these cheerful gafhering3 frequently broke up after midnight, On one occasion, when a very friendIy and convivial party h&d met," the timo passed so pleasantly, and had such a mellowing effect, that it was the early hours of the morning before the party separated, and some of the partv were in such a happy tstate of oblivion that they decided they would not go home in the dark, and would stay in the Club rooms for the night rather than attempt to iind their way home over the hills, without any lights to guide them. Among the members Of the party, and also among those who .remained in the club was the magistrate of that period. A country member, however, who had booked in at Thos. Gill's Ma'sonic Hotel, concluded he should be able to iind his way the short distance from the Clarendon to the Masonxc, so he left to go to the latter hotel. In those days, however, the Masonic was a comparatively small hotel facing Tennyson Street, and standing well back from Hastings Street. The lamp outside the hotel entrance was often turned out at midnight, so that without street lamps of any kind as a guide it was not easy to Iind one's way from place to placte, especially after a particularly convivial evening, so that it is not surprising that the country club member failed to notice the Masonic as he passed along Hastings street in rather unsteady fashion, it must be admitted, He had reached the junction of Hastings street and Emerson street without having noticed the Masonic. and staring into the blank blackness j of Ihe night (for there were no build-

, ings on the Market Reserve block and j only a few some distance down Emerj son street) he concluded he Was ' ' bushI ed," to use o country idiom, and putj ting his hands to his mouth he gave 1 .forth a hearty and prolonged ' ' Coo- | e-ee," "Coo-e-ee." Biis call was answered by a police- . xnan, who, seeing the state the man was. in, promptly ran him in as a "drunk." J The nexa morning happened to be j Court morning, and the inebriate was j brought before the magistrate with j whom he had been spending such a , convivial evening the night before. The magistrate looked at the offender very sternly when the case was called, and gave hiin a Iona lecture.

"For a xn&n in yeur position to bo brought up for such an offence is inexcusable," said the magistrate. "It is for Buch people as you are who should set a good example to others, and I cannot treat you as I would an ordinary man who got drunk. I must try and make you realise the responsibility of people in your position. You will be fined £1." When the man could recover hie breath, for the usual. fine was 5/- for a flrst offence, he began, "But, Your Worship, you know where I was last night;" why, you were just as — " ' * Silenc e, " said the magistrate, "or I will fine you £2 in addition for contempt of court." The man, without further ado, paid his fine and walked out of the court. In the evening the two met again in the club house, when the magistrate, in a very friendly way proposed a game of billiards. "What," said the aggrieved country member, "you expect me to play billiards with you after the disgracef'ul way you treated me this morning; lecturing me about my conduct and about setting a good example, when you were worse than I was, and had to be put to bed before I left the club house." "Yes, quite so, but you B6e I was not eaught, and as a magistrate I must give no cause for people to think there is one law for the rich and one for the poor. We don't often get men in your position brtmght before us on such a charge, so I had to lecture you to i show the law's abhorrence (I will not s say mine) of sueh conduct on the part o of those who should be examples to 5 others. The fine was as easy for you [5 to pay as 5/- would have been to a R poor man. However, I will tell you g what I will do. I will play you a game 3 of billiards to see whether I or you 5 pay the fine. If I lose the game I will 3 pay." The man, a good billiards B player, somewhat mollified, agreed to 3 the proposition, and it is stated that 3 the magistrate lost the game and paid » the other's fine. g Bomewhere about the same time a ti dispute between two country stationy holders found its way eventually iftto

court. The two n.en occupied adjoining properties in Central Hawke's Bay, but had bees at loggerheads for some time over stock straying from one property to the other. One considered that his neighbour deliberately overstocked his place, knowing that some of the- stock would then trespaas on to his nroperty, as thero were no boundary fences between the two properties in. some portions of the runs. He theref ore called upon his neighbour by ■ a notice served upon him legally, and alsO by an advertisement in the Hawke's Bay Herald, to contribute to the efection of a dividing fence between the two properties. No notice 'was taken of this . demand by the SieighboUr, so the other had the fence put up, and seiit a claim for half the cost to his neighbour. As this alsO f&iled to eli' cit any response a summons whs issued for the amount of the clnim, with costs A third story is of a man who unwittingly got himself locked up. It was many years ago when John H and his wife filled the positions of married couple on quite a number of sheep stations. They had both been farm servants in the Old Country, and were good workers. But for a little weakness of John's they might have become landowners themselves, for in addition to what they earned working as a marfied couple Mrs John H. received a small remittance from Home half-yearly. Once a year, if not oftener, John H. wanted to go on the spree. No remonstrance would change his deelsiOn, so the couple would leave their job and come to town, Mrs John H. to Wait until John's money was gone and he was ready to look for another place. Mrs John H. kept a good hold of her share of the purse and her remittance, so it was usually not more than a couple of weeks or so before John was a good boy again, and sobered up. Sometimes he would meet one of the guardians of the law., and had to make his appearance before the Magistrate, or a J.P. The couple came into th.e Herald Office so often in response to advertisements for married couple® that I got to know them fairly well, and to know of John's little convivial peculiarity. One evening, when I was in the reporter's room writing up a dance which I had attended, I was somewhat surprised to hear a heavy step lumbering in the office lobby, aud thon to hear someone stumbling up the stairs. I went to the staircase and found that John H. had crashed on the third step of the stairs. I asked him whaf he was doing there, and he said he was going upstairs to bedi "But you cannot sleep here," I said, "this is the Herald Office." "Is it," he said, "I thought it wash M'rine P'rade Hotel. I've (hic) booked room at M'rine P'rade Hotel; how can I get there t" I thought, if I send the poor chap via Hastings street or Church Lane, he raay tumble into a polieeman's arms and get run in, so I took him to the •corner of Tennyson street and Church Lane, aud pointing to the Marino Parade, I said: "You know your way to the Parade up there, don't you!" "Yesh, I can see Paraae."

"Well," I said, "go up there, turn to the left, then go along until you. see a red light in front of a big building; that will be the Marino Parade Hotel. ' ' I went back into the room and contintied my writing. Some ten or fifteen minutea later I was proceeding along Byroa street to the Drill Hall to flnisli up the evening, whea I noticed in front of me a lurching figure crossing the street from the Marine Parade, near where the flood memorial now is, and walk right into the police station. When I got to the door I found, as I expeeted, that it was John H>, who had mistaken the red front light of the police Btation for the red light of the Marine Parade Hotel, John had atamped hoavily on

the floor to attraet attention, and when I came up a policeinan in trousers and singlet was interrogating him, "What do you want here," he asked, "I want a bed," said John, "Haven.'t you any other place to sleep?" said tho constable. * ' No. ' ' said John, "I want to sleep here. ' ' "Have you money to pay for a bed?" "Yes, I can pay for a bed." "All right, come along with me," said the constable, and he took him away, I waited a while, thiiiking» tho poli-ceman might have seen me w&tching, and would come out. However, as he did not, I went in and knocked on the office door, No one replied, so I did as John had done, I kieked on the floor. This brought the constable out again, "Why, what has brought you here; you don't want a bed do you?" "No," I said, "but I thought I would tell you of the mistake that other man. has made. He really wanted the Marine Parade Hotel. He wandered in here by mistake. He teld me that he had booked in at the Marine Parade. I direeted him how to get there, but your red and blue light has confusod him. ' '

"Well, I'm sorry," said the policeman. "You see he is well known to us, and has slept here several tinies before. I lmve already entered the case up in the charges book, so in he will have to stay." The next morning John H.,, not by any means a flrst offender, was fined £l. I don't know if John ever knew how he himself had walked into the police station and asked for aecommodation for the night. Still, no action for settlement by the neighbour, so a distress warrant was issued, and a bailiff isent up to sell the stock until the amount of the claim was realised. This brought the obstinate one partly to his senses, He hurried on horseback to Napier and paid into court the amount of the claim and costs of original summons, whieh hc brought with him. Going back to his farm hc told the bailiff he had paid tlie amount into

court, and showed a court receipt, telling the bailiff to clear out. The amount of the distress warrant and the expenses incurred in serving it had not been paid, and the other man was not

disposed to let his neighbour off to the extent of evera a few shillings, so after a lawyer's letter had been isent, pointing out the amount still owing, and no notice taken of the letter, a further summons was issued, but when serviee of the summons was attempted, the man with the summons was summarily and forcibly ejected by the owner of the property. The court then. took the mstter in hand and issued a summoni for cmtempt of court for the treatment mefced out to a court offieial. Appearance On this charge was made to coincide with the date fixed for the hearing of the civil action for the balancs of court costs owing, Somehow news of the forthcoming case crept out, and the court was full

when the caaes came ou. The civil case in this inatance , was^ taken first, and judgment went to plaintiff for the full amount claimed, The Contempt case was then heard, and the Magistrate pointed Out the seriousness of treating the court 's ordens and court offidals with such disrespect, "Had you personally attempted td eject the bailiff a charge of assault might have been brought against you, but yriur instruotions were earriod out by your employeefs and as they acted in a very considerate manner, no action is being taken against them," said the Magistrate. "However, your action cannot be xegarded as other than a very serious contempt of court, and you will be fined £2 for thpA offence, and I hope you will have realised that rcspect for the law xs oue of the first thmgs to be recogaised in the dispensing of justice." The del'endant in the case then walked up to the clerk of the court and handed him a £B note in payment of ihe fine, "Just wait a moment, please, Mr ■, while I go into the office and get change," said the clerk, MNo, keep the l»t," said the man. "It will take all that and more to express my contempt for this Court."