“SOME JOY RIDE!”

Hokitika Guardian, 8 February 1921, Page 3

“SOME JOY RIDE!”

ON A WET WEEK-END. _ I STRANGE STORIES TOLD. | A RUDE AWAKENING. WELLINGTON, Feb. 4. The story of a “joy-lido” was told before Mr F. K. 'Hunt, S.M.. at the Magistrates’ Court yesterday, when Charles Daniel Fisher, taxi-proprietor, (Mr P. AY. Jackson) sued Peter Kerr, a steward employed on the s.s. Tahiti (Mr H. F. O’Leary) for the sum of £2O, which the plaintiff alleged was due for the hire of a taxi motor-car from 0.?0 p.m. on January 20th until 11.30 p.m. oii January 30th. Tn opening the case Mr Jackson said that the tour extended 190 miles and included a trip round the bays to Jolinsonville .to Cross Creek, Taita, and Day’s Bay. The legal fare was £26 15s but bis client was prepared to accept £ls.

“We cannot give you that,” interjected Mr O’Leary; “Kerr started out with £2O and now has nothing. THE PARTY “EVENED-UP.”

The plaintiff deposed that Kerr, when engaging the car, talked about being a farmer with plenty of money. Tlfere were two men and two girls, besides witness and the defendant, and the men succeeded in finding another girl to “ovun-up the party”—making seven in all. He went on to give particulars of the places visited as outlined by counsel, and stated that the party reached the Taita Hotel in time for breakfast on Sunday morning. Later in the day they went on to Day’s Bay for lunch. Mr Hunt: How did the party sleep? Witness: 1 do not know. I was driving.

CHAMPAGNE BREAKFAST AT TAITA.

Continuing his evidence, Fisher said that the car was stopped for a while on the Hutt road. The defendant was unable to have lunch at Day’s Bay because lie was drunk, after the “champagne breakfast” at Taita, and pretci-,-ed to go on to the beach. The party could not find Kerr in the afternoon, and right up to 9.30 p.m., when they decided to return to town. The city was reached at 11.-30 p.m. On the following morning he saw the defendant, on the Queen’s wharf and requested payment of the taxi hire. Kerr replied that he “had been robbed” and “did not have a penny on him.”

To Mr O’Leary: Fisher stated that at one time he had been a steward on the Mamari and later a seaman on the Tahiti. He denied making a speciality of taking ships’ stewards for joyrides. The taxi was not hired by a redheaded man, hut by Kerr, who was not drunk. Witness thought “a man was not intoxicated until he was lying down.”

“That’s a brand new definition,” remarked Mr O’Leary. To Mr Hunt: It was during the trip that lie ascertained Kerr was a seafaring mail. HK!)-I ! fATRED AT AN AND GIRLS. Mr O’Leary did not make any opening statement, but called the defendant. The latter stated that on Friday, January 28th ,lie had over £27, He was ashore on Saturday morning and spent some money, and returned to the vessel ahold noon. In the afternoon, in company with another steward named Hine, he went ashore again and got very drunk. Some hours later lie entered a billiard room and there met a red-haired man with whom lie tried to play billiards. This attempt was unsuccessful, owing to his drunken condition. The red-haired man suggested a taxi-drive and made tin* arrangements. When the defendant got into the motor car he found two girls inside, and one of them sat on his knee. He remembered driving about, and next came to his senses in the pavjlipn at Day’s Bay, to discover that he had been sleeping on a stretcher in a passage and was wet through. That was on Sundaynight. He returned to town by a ferryboat. He only had 14s in his possession, although ho must have had between £2O and £25 on tho Saturday evening. Kerr said he remembered giving money to Fisher on two occasions during the trip. He thought it was to buy benzine,

“INEBRIATED ALL THE TIME.” To Mr Jackson: He could not recall having had a champagne breaklast. He had been inebriated all the time from the Saturday afternoon. He could not remember telling the plaintiff be,wanted a. joy-ride up to £2O, Both the redhaired man and the girls were strangers to him. Fisher saw him on the Monday morning and asked for the hire of the taxi, hut he denied having hired the car.

Thomas Henry Hine, steward, employed on the Tahiti, said that from about 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. on the Saturday. Kerr was iu his company, together with two other men from the ship. They were drinking gin and Kerr trot very drunk, wherefore they took him hack to the ship and left, him there. During tln> afternoon they went for a short car ride, and each member paid 10s—£2 in all. Kerr had then between £2O and £25 in his possession For the defence, Mr Jackson maintained that the claim for hire had actually been made under false preten-

His Worship stated that he was not satisfied that sufficient proof had been produced that a contract had been made. '‘Fisher owes Kerr an obligation,” said the magistrate. “It is not a sign of good character for a man to drive young people round all night.” On the* grounds that insufficient proof had been submitted regarding the contract His Worship nonsuited the plaintiff.

“This is a case of a man showing a ndl of notes in a billiard saloon, and then waking up some twenty-four hours after a drunken sleep and finding his money gone,” concluded his Worship.