A DIRTY DRUM.

NZ Truth, Issue 84, 26 January 1907, Page 6

A DIRTY DRUM.

Ilenry and Jessie Convicted. A Horrid ft'utch Narks a Neighborliood.

Another den of iniquity has just | been squashed out of existence m Ohristchureh. It was a most diminutive den. 'comprising two rooms m nil, but the smallness of the domicile was compensated for by the facttiiat there was a lawn and garden attached to it; front and back. However, ,ihe police took cognisance, of the; existence of these few bits *ot, timber, and Henry McOormack aPP.eaxed before Mr Day, S.M. on two* cTiarges— k6epijig a brothel, and. allqwing- vagrants to frequent it.- Thew are always two i';Jjarges, laid 'm these cases, now.-a-dfysV Jessie McCormack, a sister-mr law, was also, piaced on the rack v on a charge, .of. In'tlie runnins' iuf the brothel.' . Both def€iidants ; pteattT t^. not ■-guilty^' ; and " were iretiresented bv.-.l^TCietiJaallex __._i^i.^.

The police presented a" very -strong Case: Ca ; bman.. Hugh McFar'ane,; who.; 1 i vcs in ' (&sjJ!s^t^fa:s}i4x<& -Ihe^oli-; Jbad p^^^^m^tm^so^i FW& r;Hp*a^c^i^S--'^lj|^wOini©l whose : xjftm^s* he >rfi^i? MbwSetfitfr :6ne. ;of thepnt,- a ; stiJs7^fo/A;;'w^%aii. Jrf the^ street.' proved ~%) , riotfe %feher , than Jefesie ■v/MGBWatni'-O-'iyhb'i-'-'-was 'then' in-' Court.' ,'tAsk?d:>iwiati the house was noted I'for,1 ' for, ..-iwitness said AND CURSING AND , .'..-. SWEARING ....;• •until two o'clock m the morning." ■The language was filthy, and he had been disturbed m his house by the row. .It was a very disorderly house. Replying to Mr Malley witness said he knew the male defendant by sight, but didn't know what he did for a living. . Rows had taken place on several occasions m the house to his knowledge. They might have arisen from men under the influence :of drink. He couldn't tell the . names of any of the men. visitors as ho didn't know" them. During the past fortnight two or three men had been going there regularly.. {

Joseph Ayres, employed by the City ; Council, said he couldn't stand George street on account of the house m question, arid he shifted out of it on the I orevibus Saturday. He worked from I 5 a.m. until 8 p.m., with meal times : off. of course ; and only three-quar-ters of an . hour was allowed for dinner. What kind of sweating does the Dufolic call this ? HoweveV, to" get j back to the, charge ; the witness spoke > of rows occurring m the defendant's palace of, piety both day and .night, i It was of freaiient occurrence, and the language was. vile. Several men and , women had been seen by him visiting .the place. One reason why he left the street was that he had children, and he ■ didn't Want them contami- ;, ■,■■■■■. .;natei^ ,;;■<,- ... ■ ■■ , : .The. class of people- wlio called at defendant's. tfe^ti&'gfiojL, by that he, ' t : The testimony;: tif^^eloii^ted Con- ,,- stable Jim Harvey was direct and to ,the point. At about half-past nine on the mornin- of the, Bth January he blew m to McCormack's, and' found him m• a half drunken state with two lovely black eyes. He had pack-_ ed Jessie McCormack's things up and placed them outside the gate, saying jthat she was going, to Dunedin by the exbress.. - - i The Bench: Is she his wife?— No ; lie told me she was his "brother's wife; his own wile is dead. ," ; Continuing, witness said defendant had told him that he had put the jfroman out, and she was going ■■■ to clear south. On 1 the afternoon of the same day the constable again visitH the. house, and found a prostitate framed' Bessie Kelleher m the ki?t--shen.. The defendant invited him to look through the house, which' was ionly a two-roomed one and didn't itake much looking through. It was m si most filthy condition, -and after looking at it be went to the front door with defendant. Just then Leonand McCormack, son of defendaait, wjho. Ss a sailor on H-M.S. Pioneer, came jalong and went inside. Then the wwrag fellow said to Ms father : •"Who is that woman you have got infcide?" "Have a ldok and sec for Yourself," wasthe answer. After haying a cook at Bessie Kclleher -the Jjrounjf fellow said : "WHY, THIS IS A' BROTHEL 1 ; :S n fact it is worse than a hroithel, it's, a pigstye." While the son was italking to the father Jessie McEwan and another prostitute named Linn /Came along m company with a man-y-warsman, but when' they saw ithe .witness there they walked on, and stood talking oh tbe iroad for some : it ime. Witness them left. The reason ;whv he had paid visits to this house Was because complaints had been •made to the police about the conduct »f the plaice. ' i f- Cross-examined by Mr Malley, Har-—i-*ey said he had known the defendant T.-io^ some time, and knetw thathetrajN^ed for some firm m ChriS',tchurch. VTebsie McCofniack wasn't visible when be | paid his afternoon visit o«i the . Bth. She may have heen at the back, Ibut not m the house. There were ©nlv two rooms, and to him iti was ■* matter of surprise where they icould stow all the people that called. Court Orderly Arthur Scully, who served defendants with blue paper, .siajted he saw Jessie Mac at the back; .though not absolutely drunk she . was tin a drunken state. There was a, man iVis ble to him also (aot the male defendant) who was m. a similar conIdition, and he heard the voices of a «©tple more inside. The appearance of itfce house was one of ■ SQUALOR A2>7D DISORDER Mil m keeping with the charge. Now, at half-past two o'clock on JsHb morning of the da.y m whioh these ftbarges were heard MJcCormack heard jtalfe m his garden, aril he sallied out for a policeman. He found Copper. ißo:;s, . who parts his hair so nicely m Ithe centre, and ga ve Thomas Blue and, Jessie McEwan m charge for bein? illegally on his premises. They weife locked up. and! Se'rgt. Norwood now utilised them as witnesses against the defeiKl/jaits—a cunning tnoVe. Th-3 man Tbe mas Blue, -a dirty loolnnc rcllo^7 a bandaged band. s*vi:l h:- vra:. -, platelayer, and j frad hceJi workir f. at B.tolkt. River. 4Jad cdma xc iv&n ,i« i-he holidays j

and hadn't yet gone bade. How .he got to McCormack's place and was arrested there was this : He met Jessie Mcilwan near the Caversham Hotel on the nieht previous, and went with her, after buying, a flask of whisky. as well as some - m a lemonade bottle, to McCormack's . plaoe. The woman took him there.

Sergt. Nocwood : For what purpose? —She told me it would be "all right."; \ , ■ ■ ■ And afterwards both yoii and the woman were arrested' for being illegally on premises ?— Yes . , He believed th^t'.it was on the information of McCormack that he was arrested.

Were you m the house ?— Yes, • Spend any money there ?— No, but I have spent money there.

How much ?~A pound m one day. Anything else ?— Yes, I went, with a woman.

. Mr Day, >S.M. : Was McCormafck the>e last- night ?— Yes.

; iiWii.V' did he have you arrested ?— Because I got drunk and fell down m -the baclc yard. ,; Then he sentvfor

Djd you" pay the defendant any \m<mij- for the use of his house last ►-'.in.'.answe.r to Mr Malley, witness ;3aid he had had some drink m him. before, he vwent to the Caversbam, . but Tie thought he iyou^d be m a condition to state what happened when he reached defendant's house, McCormack had some of the whisky witness bought. ' . .' ••.

The lady who accompanied the last gentleman m ■ his nocturnal, wanderin'^ Jessie McEwan, was. also' plac-' ed m the box. .but her memory was at fault as to the previous, night's dissipation. ' She denied' being m defendant's house at all, /but on being told what Blue had 1 sworn to said sha was- very much under

THE INFLUENCE OF SWANK EY and didn|t remember. In answer to th§ Sergeant,- McEwan said she had often visited the defendant's house, and had been there half a : dozen times during; the past fortnight. Other women that she had seen there were Jessie McCormack, her sister-in-law, Bessie, Kelleher, and witness's own sister, Mrs Haliburton. She had seen men . there ; they came to have a glass of beer Avith McCormaclf, and not for any immoral purpose.

How dp you know they didn't go there for ah immoral purpose ?— I know because I was. there: I have never seen anything wrong going on m that house .during the time that I have been m it. ,

'Tec Gibson said that . complaints began to come m about this house over sii 'months . ago, and he visited the place, and found the two defendants' there. Warned them, and McCormack put the ' Maine -on the woman.^ Told him that the house was his, and he was responsible. McCormack then said that his own sister and his sister-in-law took men m and misbehaved with them on the lawn. Jessie McEwan, who constantly called .at. the house, was' one of the worst characters m Christchurch, according to 'Tec Gibson, and had 'recently been released from gaol rafter doing a long stretch . The:* women Haliburtori and ! Kelleher were prostitutes, and BLUE WAS A CRI|ffiINAL. ; Under cross-examination, witness said he had known the male defendant for about four years. He had occupied >pood positions,- but drink had been his ruin. For the defence Mr Malley \ said he admitted that the charge against the woman was rather strong. She was unfortunate m giving way to drink as she had occupied good positions and would still occupy a good berth -but for the love of grog. However, she intended taking out a 'prohibition order • agaiinst heraeif to see *if that would curb the evil. She had been frequently before the Court for drunkenness, and had been m 'gaol, and it was there- that she met these undesirable women who had since been calling round at her house. The male defendant was a traveller, a man who worked hard, and who was m a billet at the present time. He had excellent testimonials from everybody for whom he had worked. He intended leaving ' George-street on the following Satur- I day, so the police would have nothing further .to complain about. He put the . defendant m the box, and he denied that immorality had ever taken place m his house with his ■ knowledge. He was out most of the day and occasionally at night. He never saw- men there at any time. As for Blue being m the place thq night previous it was 1 , quite urittue, nor did witness drink any of his whisky. Knew. .that -certain women had called, but was quite certain that when they did So there were no men there. I Sergt. Norwood : Complaint has been made about the conduct of your house ?— Not to me personally. ' =, Didn't Detective Gibson warn you ?. —Well, he did say : something to nic some time ago. The house is a respectable one. And yet youir own son tells you to your face that it's a brothel ■?— He was excited at the time. He saw a woman named Kelleher there, . didn't . he'-?— He saw . nothing wrong. ■ - : /■■.•■ The S.M. convicted both accused on the charge of running a brothel, and ordered them to come up for sentence when called upon. The second charge of encouraging vags to go to the house was dismissed. The object. was to shut up the house, and if defendants were convicted of another offence later on, they would be sentenced on ths present charge.

' The man Blue and the moll McEwan (who informed the bench that that was merely her maiden name), ware then placed m the dock and charged with being illegally on the premises of the last defendants. Under the circumstances the S.M. didn't take a serious view of their philanderings m the back garden, seeing that they were accustomed to calling there and had been m the house that night. So he • discharged them without calling upon. them to plead.