RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4368, 20 March 1875, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Friday, March 19. (Before J. C. Crawford, Esq., R.M.) DRUNK AND DISORDERLY. Several persons were dealt with under this category, the eccentricities of one individual in particular, named John Firam, who had borrowed a little gay disregard from the flagon, calling for special mention. On Thursday evening he passed through the gate at Government House, and was proceeding to disport himself in a manner not to be mentioned to ears polite, when he was brought up short by the constable in attendance and marched off in durance. On the way to the lockup he assaulted the constable, and tried to tear his uniform, all of which proceedings he could only explain in Court by supposing he must have been mod. His Worship charitably accepted this excuse, and let the prisoner off with a fine of 20s. VAGRANCY. Samuel Smith, a social outcast, who was found sleeping on the steps of the court on the previous evening, was confronted with this charge, having informed the arresting constable that he had no lodgings to go to. In answer to his Worship, prisoner said he was a shoemaker by trade; and Mr. Crawford, thinking there was no need of a man with such a trade at his fingers' ends becoming a vagrant, remanded him for a week to work off the sparkling effects of treble X, from which prisoner was evidently suffering. FALSE PRETENCES. William Graham, the ingenious individual who succeeded in negotiating a considerable: amount of worthless paper, in the shape of orders drawn upon the Man m the Moon,- was again placed in the dock, charged with obtaining money under false pretences. The documents, as already described, enjoined the recipients to " supply Mr. Graham with anything he might require," one in particular, which was " payable on demand," calling upon the innocent person to whom it was presented v to pay Mr. Graham the sum of £8 15s. None " of these documents had any signature, and although it was difficult to conceive howpersons could have been foolish enough to make, advances on such " orders," it was still more difficult to bring the prisoner within the pale of the law, simply on account of the absence of the signatures which were necessary to establish the false pretence. It was elicited in evidence that the prisoner is not unknown to criminal fame. In January, 1873, he was charged at the Supreme Court here with stealing from a dwelling-house at the Hutt, upon which charge he was found guilty and sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment. Upon that occasion he was also charged with obtaining money under false pretences, but the evidence being insufficient to establish the charge it was abandoned. Prisoner said he had been keeping a restaurant at the Hutt, which brought him in £7 a week, but this was evidently a fabrication. However, his Worship was of opinion that the present ehai'ge could not be sustained, and it was withdrawn. Graham was then charged with being a vagrant, upon which his Worship took the occasion to remark that, although the prisoner's " orders " were evidently intended to defraud people, he could not believe that any sensible person would have been taken in by them. However, it was no fault of the prisoner's if he did not succeed, and upon the evidence placed before him he had no hesitation in sentencing the prisoner to three months' imprisonment with hard labor. LARCENY. Owen Rourke, a raw blade, fresh from the Emerald Isle, was charged with stealing- a scarf and pin, the property of Jas. Fenton, landlord of the Royal Tiger, Cuba-street. On the day of the occurrence the defendant was commemorating a double jubilee, the first joyous event being his advent to the colony of New Zealand (having just arrived in the Dallam Tower), and the second the perpetuation of the honors due to St. Patrick. It may be at once stated that there was no theft in the ease at all, although Rourke did snatch at Fenton's scarf during a scuffle arising out of some roystei'iug joviality, during which Fenton exposed the red rag by " chucking green on the counter," which he admitted was an injudicious proceeding, as it gave Rourke offence, by touching his national pride in some way or other. After the alleged theft Fenton went to the immigration barracks to look for the prisoner and his scarf and pin, and the scarf being found, Rourke was given into custody of Sergeant Grigg, A.C. His Worship did not think there was any felonious intent, and the case was dismissed. REFUSAL OF DUTY. J. Nicholson, Wm. Avery, and Martii* Ornsen were charged on remand with refusing duty on board the Dallam Tower. Captain Campbell was still unprepared to proceed with the case, and prisoners were remanded till Monday.

CIVIL CASES. All the civil cases on the list were settled out of court.