A RESTAURANT ASSAULT.

Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 50, 4 February 1902, Page 3

A RESTAURANT ASSAULT.

A young man named Dermot Isaacr Williams, who said he was a returned member of the Fifth Contingent, was charged at the Magistrate's Court, Wellington with having assaulted' Arthur H. Rogers, restaurant-keeper, ion the 23rd inst., and with having wilfully damaged Roger's property to the value of 5s 4d. Inspector Pender prosecuted and Mr Wilford defended. . The informant appeared with his hand bandaged. He and his cook gave a different account of the fight from that given by accused, arid the man who - was with him. They averred that accused struck informant with a stickwhereupon informant defended himself. Accused denied that he owned or had seen the stick produced by the - prosecution, and deposed that his own stick was carried home by his companions. He admitted that "he had refused to pay informant for" his meal. Mr Wilford contended that informant decided to get his blow m first, and struck accused, knocking out two teeth and injuring his (informant's) hand in doing so. * He asked that the case be treated as an indictable one, to allow him to bring the question before a jury. His Worship saw no reason for this unusual course: Whether informant's finger was dislocated by a blow from a stick or a blow of his own hand, the fact remained that it happened too frequently that men went into restaurants, had meals, and left without paying. Saloon keepers frequently said nothing of these things, in order to avoid scandal. Accused was one cf these offenders, and behaved in a disgraceful manner. A fine of ,£5, i n default one month's imprisonment, was imposed on the charge of assault. The other charge was dismissed.