TOLD THE MAGISTRATE

Hokitika Guardian, 23 July 1927, Page 4

TOLD THE MAGISTRATE

“ That: woman,” he said, pointing at Alary O’Brien, "tore Hubs short from mv haek.”

” And why did you ask after my husband. and him been in Glasnevin cemetery for four years, and a good hardworking man he was? ” demanded Mrs O’Brien.

Ignoring the question, .John Henry McCormack, holding aloft the shirt '(ike a haulier, continued : ” This woman knocked the drink from my hand and gave me a knock on the jaw. Then she put her arms around me. Hung me to the Hour, kicked me in the ribs.

ami then hanged my head on the floor till I lost me sense, and when I came round it was too late to get a drink.’ “ That was a real tragedy," ooserved the magistrate. ” T’ll say 255." he added turning to Airs O’Brien. “ and you are getting off lightly.” ” Indeed I am, and may Heaven spare your health, sir,” agreed Alary O’Brien, cheerfully departing with the child, who had finished the toffee-apple with the efficiency of a fighting O'Brien. "That a queer thing,” the magistrate, alluding to the fuse of a youth who, alter twice knocking at the doin' of a house, opened a window and entered, to the terror of a maidservant. ” Why should he knock if he wanted to steal? ” mused the magistrate, and as nobody eon id tell him he discharged the youth, who received a good character from the police. a * * v *

The woman and the ring was another problem for the Bench. Margaret, the woman, calmly observed that a gold and platinum diamond ring was given to her b.v an unknown man in Phieni.x Park - . She told this story in Mr Cussen’s court : " He just gave it to me. and I didn'i know its value.” " If you don't waul In keep the ring I’ll let you go.” offered the magistrate. I " Sure, and you can have the ring,” promptly replied .Margaret, apparently under the impression tlmt Mr Cussen had taken a fancy to it. I Now the police want to find the owner I of the ring, which is worth CIO. LONDON, May 30. Officers at Old Street Police Court yesterday were chuckling over tin: unpleasant experience of a man who was knocked down by a tram-car. Summoned by a constable, a doctor examined the victim and declared that lie was dead, so the constable sent, for the ambulance and the hotly was removed to tin l mortuary. An hour or'so later, when relatives were brought in to identify the body, they lound the " corpse ” sitting up and very angry. He was taken to the hospital, where lie is doing much butler than the doctor exported. * * * * * i

“ AA’lial we think of our parents.” one of the subject in the illuminating series of articles written by young girls and printed in the " Daily AJail,” had a. striking illustration in the ease of a girl in the onri'y twenties who wanted to know what she ought to do with her mother.

“ She calls me names half through the night,” she complained, “and then she knocks me about, and T can’t hit her hack because she is my mother.” Mr Tvan Snell, the magistrate, declined to interfere in rows among relatives. ” I never do it,” he said twisting his new moustache, which is growing Kaiser-like in its fierceness. “ Aly experience is that relatives knock each other about, but they won’t let anybody else interfere ; they keep the row in the family.” But mother is most trying.” insisted the girl.

" So are some (laughters,” retorted the magistrate. ” Try a little tact and forbearance." Good advice, but it does not solve the modern problem of what we shall do with our parents.

Arthur and Henry have struck an uni’uckv patch. First arrested for insulting words and behaviour, they began to accumulate irouble. Suspected of obtaining money by threats, they were followed by a detective, who stood outside a shop while Arthur pretended to he an oltj.,comedian fallen on evil days. He gave the name of an old star, and tile tradesman, exclaiming, " Heavens how you have altered,” gave a shilling towards a mythical benefit concert.

Henry, meanwhile, was stealing two leather purses from the emintor. The two name out of,the shop satisfied with a job, well done, and they walked into the arms of the'detective who was aTso satisfied with a task excellently performed. Arthur and Henry, who pleaded guilty and looked it. were remanded for inquiries and sentence. The railway porter who had a weakness for pots of complexion cream and boxes of face powder was also unfortunate. He. too. had been watched by detectives, and when he left the depot at midnight with one pot of cream and another of powder, which he had taken from a parcel, he vs as stopped and arrested. '

DUBLIN, A fay JO. In a rcai' Irish row that began on Monday and finished on AYednesday night, Airs Mary O’Brien knocked out a coal-heaver, broke the head of one woman, and sent another lleeiiig in fear, but when she appeared in the dock at Dublin Police Court to-day. bringing her baby, who brought its own toffee apple. Airs O’Brien seemed a plump, pleasant sort of woman. A red-cheeked, grey-eyed blonde, she scornfully faced her first victim, a slen-

der brunette wearing a black shawi over her bandaged head which gave Tier a nun-like appearance, while the baby placidly liked his toffee apple wiih amair of grave satisfaction. I lie two women proceeded to dominate the court, and. realising it would he idle to interefere with the torrent of words flowing between dock and wit-ness-box, Mr Collins, the magistrate, leaned haek until the rivals stopped from sheer shortness of breath. "Ir was outside a public-house in Parnell Street, said the bandaged brunette. " that this woman hit me. She struck me and knocked me to the ground and I walked on me face. She hit me head against the kerbstone am! she rapped me twice in the face.” ” And didn’t you hurt niy feelings over my children?” demanded Alls O’Brien, ” the time we were having a drink in the public-house ; you never had a child in your arms.” Then they went at it. blond and brunette, never at a hiss for a word until neither had a shred of character left to present to the court. When ttio brunette retired from the witness-box. breathing heavily, Mrs O’Brien, fui’l of fight, took on the next witness, a tall young woman who declared that she couldn't walk the streets for fear of Alary O’Brien. "After smashing Airs Power to the ground she aimed a blow at. me and tore my husband's face.” added the witness. What Airs O'Brien said about the tali young woman, caused t hat witness to leave the box (lushing and trembling. Next came .John Henry .McCormack, a curly-headed coal-heaver, who, unwrapping a paper parcel dramatically displayed the remnants of a shirt.

In fairness to the porter, who had a good Army record, it should he mentioned that, he did not himseli use the cream and powder. Being a bachelor ho had a girl friend. He also was remanded in custody to awake from love’s young dream. //**■#*

Alfred lives in what a detective described as the worst street in Shoreditch. The description applies to Essex Street, the street that cannot lie libelled. But Alfred’s parents are respectable, and Alfred himself is superior to his environment. Obtaining a joIT as a porter in a shop, he was sent out to post a registered letter containing Co, and Alfred, still aiming to rise above the social code of Essex Street, iotdc the .£5 ami his departure. and bought a new suit. In the buying of tho new suit lie showed good taste hut had morals, and he, too, was remanded to reflect on the old-time axiom that clothes do not make the man.

".She was abusing another lady.” said a police young constable, referring to Alary whose last appearance in court was two years ago.

"You don’t know what I have got K> put up with from that woman,” said Alary. " I would like to tell you all about It."

" I don’t want to know,” replied Air Knell. "As you have not been here since November 11)25, I will not “punish you. I will trust you. Go away.” Alary smirked and bobbed and as she left the court another, and older con. stable murmured softly. “ AYlien she appeared in November 1925 she got eighteen months.”

" 1 didn’t get this from my husband, but from the woman next door,” explained a wife and mother, displaying a black eye. " It was all oil account of the children, mine and Hers. Aline a little hoy, a harmless Vi it I o fellow, hit Dor hoy, who takes after his mother, with a stick. She then comes to me and shouts out that my husband had committed bigamy, which he did, hut it is not a nice tiling for the children to hear, so I told her a few things about her hoy, and she gave me this black eye.”

“Please warn this woman that she must not defend her voting by blacking the eyes of her neighbour,” requested ...r Snell of the warrant officer.