RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 150, 27 August 1880, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Blenheim, Wednesday, Aug. 25. (Before H. Mclntire, Esq., R.M.] ASSAur/r. James Grainger was brought on remand, charged with assaulting John Sawyers. 'Phe case for the prosecution it will be remembered was gone into on Saturday last, and the accused was remanded to allow him to have the benefit of legal assistance and to call evidence in mitigation. Mr Rogers appeared for the prosecution, and Mr McNab for the defendant. Before the case for the defence was gone into, the R.M. said it would be well that the Court and- Mr McNab should understand each other as to how the case stood. The defendant was here by the grace of the Court only. He.had pleaded guilty to the offence, and the case for the prosecution had been gone into, and it had been urged for the prosecution that it was a case which should be sent for trial. He (the R.M.) was of opinion that it was not a case to be sent to the higher Court, but to be dealt with summarily, and that in addition to any penalty that the accused should he called upon to find sureties to keep the peace. The defendant had set up some sort of plea of palliation, and the Court thought it well to give him the opportunity of calling evidence in support of that line of defence.

Mr McNab said lie proposed to cross-ex-amine the complainant. _ - The R.M. said this would unfair to the prosecution. Mr Rogers said his friend could call the complainant a 3 his own witness. Mr McNab said he proposed to show that tiiis case was a miserable neighbors’ quarrel arising out of disputes between the wives of the parties and the husband's had it out. He proceeded to say that there had been a series of unneighborly disputes between them. The prosecutor’s wife wrote an insalting letter to defendant’s wife, which showed that these people were nagging at each other, and it led to an assault, which was not denied. He (Mr McNab)

submitted that the justice of the case would be amply rust by a fine. He did not contend the use of the stick was justifiable, but the assault was not a serious one, as was proved by the evidence of I)r Clegliorn. There had been a breach of the law but not a serious one. If defendant were called upon to find sureties he would not be able to find them.

Mr Rogers said this was an assertion not supported by evidence. He thought the course taken on the other side was very unfair to the prosecution. The defendant’s counsel was. going into the case as if there had been no plea of guilty to the charge. Mr McNab said he did not wish to withdraw from the position involved by the plea of guilty. He was merely addressing the Court in mitigation. llu submitted that the case would be amply met by a small fine, and some security for his good behaviour, which could be done on his own recognisance, he being the holder of freehold property. He understood that there was a constable to be called for the prosecution to prove that his client had been convicted nine times in this court, but not for serious offences. There was no offence, but one of £H, higher than 20s, and for the last 12 months he had been trying to lead a peaceable life.

John Sawyers, the prosecutor, deposed in answer to Mr McNab —The letter produced marked A was written by iny wife. I did notkno.v of it until after it was written. I knew it the same night. It was in reply to another which I accused Grainger of having written. He said he had not written the letter. (This letter was produced but not read, the language being deemed too filthy to be read aloud.) I believe the letter emanated from the defendant, and I still am of that opinion. Mrs Grainger used to work for me. I never made any remarks reflecting on Mrs Grainger’s character. We’ve had some trouble about a well. Grainger’s house is opposite to mine. The fall of the ground is from Grainger’s section towards mine. I don’t know that there used to be a drain cut to carry arte ■ sian water from the well. Since the squabble the nearest place Grainger could get water from would be the river. Slops are sometimes emptied on the sand of the river bank. Graingers have been getting their water from Fowler’s. Grainger did once complain of our slops being thrown into the river just above his place. By Mr Rogers The letter marked A was received about the 20th July. Grainger did not threaten to assault me when I accused him of having written it. By the Court:—l thought the letter came from Grainger as nobody else was at enmity with us. There was a notice put up with my knowledge on my door, that some things that were missing should be brought back by those who took them. A spoon that was missing was subsequently found behind a flour bag. The defendant was called and being sworn, stated I know the prosecutor. He lives opposite to me. The natural fall of the land is from his section to mine. There has been no dispute about a drain. I remember Sawyer producing a letter and accusing me of writing it. I said I did not write it and he replied “I’m sure you did.” I cannot read or write, worse luck, nor can my wife. I was annoyed at his accusing me and would have struck him but it was in my own house. I had no knowledge of the letter. YVe had some dispute about the river being fouled by complainant’s family emptying slops into the river. I complained about it to Sawyer who called me a dirty Irish pig, so I thought I’d show him what an “ Irish pig ” could do. It was a flax-stick I hit him with. I have not appeared in Court since November last when I was fined 20s. Complainant’s children threw bottles on Mr Griffiths’ ground above my section where I had a mare tethered. I have a quarter-acre freehold but it is mortgaged. My wife has also another quarter-acm which is not mortgaged. By Mr Rogers :—I hit Sawyer because he called me an Irish pig. I was told that he called me so. At the time of the assault he admitted that he called me so. (Through the Court Since the assault I have not stated to my knowledge that I thought I had broken Sawyer’s arm, nor that I used an axe handle.) I used a flax-stick. I have seen a bull knocked down with a flaxstick.

This closed the case and the Court adjourned its decision until 2 o’clock p.m. On the Court resuming the Resident Magistrate addressing the accused, said his case had received a very fair and impartial hearing and he had had the advantage of a very able defence which, however, had been unable to palliate the serious nature of the charge of assault, which was accompanied by an amount of lawless violence. Had a serious injury been inflicted he should have felt it his duty to send the case for trial. The marks on the complainant’s arm, however, were sufficient to show that he had been seriously hurt and there was also the fact of the windows having been broken. The case of assault was a serious one and the amount of palliation disclosed for the defence was very small, He had come to the conclusion not to call for sureties but would pass a sentence of two months’ hard labor and order the accused to pay the costs, LG ss, or in default suffer another month’s imprisonment.