Presented Pistol at Employee

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 163, 28 July 1937, Page 6

Presented Pistol at Employee

FARMER FINED 'I Feel Intimidation Intended,' Says Bench "AUTOMATIC" SEIZED ' 'Defendant has said that he was annoyed ahout the notices' ' (given him by employees) "but he says that his action was a joke. A man who can conceive such a joke cannot expect the Court to accept his evidence in preference to that of the other two witnesses," said the Magistrate, Mr J. Miller, in the Hastings Magistrate 's Court this morning in fining John Cuthbert Teschemaker-Shute, a Mangatahi farmer, £10, with costs 15/6 for presenting a .32 calihre automatic pistol at an employee, Gerald Martin Smith. "I feel," the Magistrate added, "that he intended some intimidation, although in the circumstances this would appear ahsurd. Certainly, there is no doubt that he never intended actually using the weapon.' ' Defendant, who was represented by Mr D. P. Scannell, pleaded not guilty. Senior-Sergeant G. Sivyer conducted the prosecution. There were two additional charges: (1) Being found in unlawful possession of an automatic pistol, and ('2) being found in unlawful possession of ainmunition for an automatic pistol. Defendant pleaded guilty to both of these counts. On the first charge a fine of £10 was made and the confiscation of the pistol ordered. On the other defendant was convicted and discharged, and the ammunition was confiscated. Gerald Martin-Smith said that until recently he had been employed by the defendant as general farm-hand. On July 6 Miss Hunt, a domestic employed there, had given notice. About 4 p.m. witness went to the house for a cup of tea. In the kitchen he found Miss Hunt alone. The defendant eame to the kitchen door with an au.tomatic pistol, which he pointed. He threatened to blow out witness 's brains. He swore at witness, who commanded him to put the pistol away and asked him "what the big idea was." The reply was: "Ask Miss Hunt." Witness gathered that the idea was to intimidate him against giving notice, which two others had already done. " Appear ed to be Crazy." "Teschemaker-Shute appeared to be crazy," said witness. Defendant took the bullets out of the magazine and told him they were "38 nickel-plated " and asked witness if he thought they would kill a man. After that Tesche-maker-Shute went to the yard door and spoke to the cowboy. Witness said he had never given Tescliemaker-Shute any causo to threaten him. He had been working for him for 18 months. To Mr Scannell, witness said Tcsche-maker-Shute made no remark to Miss Hunt. He was quite sober at the time. He left the pistol on the corner of the tablo while he went out and spoke to the cowboy. He mado no joking remarks. The following morning witness gave notice, but he did not leave until several days, later. He did not want to leave his employer "in a hole," and he also did not. want it said that he was friglitened. He was given a cheque for his wages before he left. He had threatened Teschemaker-Shute that he would repbrt him to the Inspector of Awnrds for not Eeeping his wages accounts in order. Mavis Edna Hunt said she has been employed for over a year as a domestic by Teschemaker-Shute at the time ot the alleged episode. She corroborated the evidence of th*e previous wilness. She had been keeping com•pany with Martin Smith and defqndant had told her before that he exuccled he would leave wlien she did. Her reason for lcaving was that she was taking up nursing. Shortly after the incident, witiiess said, defendant called her to the hall and asked her had she wondered why he brought the pistol out. She repliea she had and Teschemaker-Shute told her* he had done it to warn Martin Smith not to give notice. "Dead Men Can't Give Notice." She replied that it would take more than a pistol to prevent him from leavmg, but defendant replied that "dead men couldn't give notice." To Mr. Scannell, witness said she baii asked defendant to recommend her when she left, and he had agreed to this, The relationships all round had been thorouglily amicable. TescemakevShute had been a fine employer. Martin Smith was sitting at the table when tho revolver was pointed. She was certain defendant opened ihe magazino before leaving the room, and Martin Smith examined it when Teschemaker-Shute was out of tho room, remarking to her that it wua lo&ded. Sergeanfc J. Macintosh said that he vveut to the defendant 's premises and made a search. Defendant told him Uiat he had not pointed the automatic lo intimidate Martin Smith. Ho had been "put out" that day through three employees giving notice while iiij was busy with crutching. He told witness that he had produced the automatic as a joke. He skowed the pistol i o witness. It was then loaded. Opening tho defence, Mr Scannell pointed out that Teschemaker-Shute was a> member of one of the best-known families in New Zealand. He was left with only one cmployco at a busy timo of Ihe ycar. It was inconceivable that any employer would, in such circumstances, threaten his sole remaining employee. The cffect of such un act-on could only be to inake him leave too. Martin Smith gave notice the following morning, the tliing against which he said he had been threatened. There wero inany witnesses about, added Mr Scannell. Defendant could bavo done tbe throatening when Martin Smith was alone, • i

Defendant 's Evidence, Defendant in evidence said he had been living at Mangatahi for 21 years. Ho had Xeit sure that Martin Smith would go after Miss Hunt left. Ho went into his bedroom to chauge on tho day in question and picked up the pistol out of the drawer, where it had rain for two years. He considered it unaafe to use, as the bolt was broken. Ho wouldn ot*have risked using it. It was a .32 bore, so that he could not have told Martin Smith it was a .38, as had been said. He had forgotten it was loaded. • He intended using it as a He went in a I said to Miss Hunt jokxngiy, "Now, Mavis, not three • notices) in a day." He had carried the weapon in the palm of his hand and had not pointed it. Martin Smith asked what it was, and he plaeod it on the table. JEIe went out to speak to the cowboy and returne.d through the kitchen, picking up the pistol agaiu. While it was lying on the table Martin Smith had opened the magazine. He told Martin Smith that he had been told the bullets would, not kill a man. Martin Smith had given notice the following morning and had threatened to report him to tho Labour Department. To Senior-Sergoant Sivyer, witness said that he had had a great deal of experience with guns, but he had never used the pistol produced. His action was intfended as a joke, but not as aii intimidating joke. He had not attempted to explain his action later to Miss Hunt. "If you thouglit the pistol unsafe, why did you play with it in your hands?" asked Senior-Sergeant Sivyer. Witness; I had not thought it was loaded. Then why did you open tho magazine? — "I did not. Martin Smith opened it." He was used to joking with his employees, witness said, and occasionally had meals with them. He frequently liad tea m the kitchen with his employees. He would have expected Martin Smith to make some outburet if he had pointed a pistol at him. William Alexander McLaughlan, a cowboy employed by TeschemakerShute, said that on the day in question defendant came to the yard door and spoke to him. He was not carrying a pistol, and he returned lo the kitchen at once. His employer had been "extremely f riendly and fond of ' ' throwing off." ■ i Magistrale's Comment. The Magistrate pointed out that it was immaterial whether the pistol was loaded or not, though the action Was more serious when it was loaded. There was, he said, a direct confiict between the two sides of the case. The two witnesses for the prosecution were both positive in their allegations, and they seemed to have no motive for deliberately oommitting perjury. Their evidence had been given clearly and straigjhtf orwardly . "Defendant had said he was annoyed about the notices, but he says that his action was a joke/' said Mr Miller. "A man who can conceive such a joke cannot expect the Court to accept his evidence in preference to that of the two other witnesses. A man of the defendant'a standing would not be in his full senses if he joked in this way. I feel that he intended some intimidation, although in the circumstances this would appear absurd. Certainly, there is no doubt that he never intended actuttfly using the weapon. I will accept the evidence of the prosecution. lteferring to the two other charges Senior-Sergeant Sivyer said that the pistol had never been registered. In addition to a registration, it was necessary to have a permit fixm the Minister of Defence to hold an auto'matic, and no amm.unition was *ever allowed to be kept. Defendant had had the pistol since before the Arms Act was brougjit into operation in l!^0. He had registered the remainder- of his firearms in 1921, but neither then nor in 1936 when the police inspected his firearms had he disclosed that he had an automatic. Mr Scannell submitted that the defendant was not aware he was not allowed to. have the ammunition. He had been told by a former sergeant of poiice in Hastings that he could keep the pistol as a souvenir. The Magistrate refused to accept this explanation and inflicted a peualty as stated. t ■■■—