A RANGIORA ROW.

NZ Truth, Issue 127, 23 November 1907, Page 5

A RANGIORA ROW.

A BEER DEN BURST BY THE POLICE.

A Charge of Keeping a Disorderly House.

Merely Mary Ann Steven's Shanty.

Beer and harlotry appear to travel m the same train. The woman of the town patronises Mr Fermented as frequently as she herself is patronised by that portion of the public who create a demand for goods m her line. Mrs Mary Ann Stevens, who is a North Canterbury product, and who may or may not be a widow, or a grdss widow, is a lady of "wet" proclivities with a penchant for men and language of a low down character. She met her doom at Rangiora t'other day. when she was charged with being bad, and was tried by a bloke named Good. The latter had an accomplice on the Bench, but his name is forgotten for the moment. At any rate the lady of loose mor- , als was charged

WITH KEEPING A DISORDERLY

HOUSE m Blackett-street, and she denied the foul aspersion on her conduct with a great deny. She was represented by Lawyer Van Asch, who didn't have any sort of a hope of getting her out of it. Mrs Stevens had been living m a shack owned by J. Lilly, and he solemnly and sincerely declares that he never had any complaints from anybody regarding the conduct of the woman who occupied it. But the. police did, ami they acted with promptitude when the last tongue disturbance took place. It happened this way : That on the day of the Rangiora Show, Michael O'Connell, who had a winking acquaintance with Mrs Stevens, had a conversation with her, the upshot being that she invited him round to her house m the evening. Mick, who comes from Ohoko, said he'd' be there all right. Well, lie turned up, accompanied by aWoher O'Connell, and a mate, T. Quinn. After securing a footing inside, Mrs Stevens is alleged to have made most improper, proposals to Mick O'Connell <: he swears she did, at any rate. ' Whether he responded isn't stated, but that is a mere matter of detail. However, Mrs Stevens launched out m a tirade of language of a . most abominable character. Probably had she been sober she wouldn't have so far forgotten -herself. When the trio had time to look round, they discovered that they weren't the only pebbles on the free and easy beach. There were two other, w.cn there, looking quite at home for the time being, but one of them had evidently been m the wars ; his face was cut about fearfully, and what hapnened him wasn't easy to conjecture; but at all events he complained of a lost coat, and wailed that somebody hatl done him for it. O'Connell avers that he never made any row himself, nor d'kl he use language that would/ shock society; the missus performed that part of the business. He had only two drinks that night, and they didn't •do him the slightest harm, or make him row or talk oftener and, louder than usual, or anything of that sort. Both Mick's mates, Tom Quinn and B. O'Connell, gave evidence of a similar character. The row, or whatever it was, lasted till as late as one o'clock m the morning, and it must! have got pretty strong as Mrs Steven's little boy, who is, unfortunately. m the charge of a dissolate woman of

A MOST ABANDONED CHARACTER. called at the Police Station and asked Sergeant MacKay to hurry along as there was a row at their house. A man whom he didn't know called and stated the same thing, departing quickly as soon as he gave his message, and the Sergeant didn't know who on earth he was. However, the foorce all by himself hurried along to Blackett-street, but halted m the roadway opposite the house to listen to some of the choicest language that he had ever heard. It was a woman who was giving it lip, and she, apparently, had a good penetrating voice. Some josser was standing at the door when the Sergeant happened along, but he speedily moved away. Then MacKay knocked, and, on being admitted by the lady of the house m a nice, lovelike way he asked what all the row was about. Her reply was characteristic ;> she said, "There is no b row." Mrs S. was plainly under the influence of hops. He found the other three mates there, and another joker, who, on pressed to give Ms name, said it was Johnston, and that he belonged to Christchurch. He didn't say that he was Mayor of Christchurch, or anything of that sort, but that he was Johnston. He questioned the bloke with the bruised dial about things, and received a reply that he had lost a coat ; his disturbed, dislocated countenance didn't seem to trouble him, but his coat did, so the officer said he would have to get out a search warrant to see if he could find the garment. The missus of the mansion here interpolated that she had made no row, but that her visitors had. They all trooped off. On looking round the Sergeant saw the son of the mistress standing m the doorway, and m ahother room there was a man who didn't offer the slightest excuse for bein-g on the premises. He was an

INDIFFERENT SORT OF CUSS, and elected to stay there with all the undisguised nonchalance of a bored individual. The officer incidentally mentioned that the noise was so bad m that disreputable house now and again that it was serious to a neighbor who was ill. Lawyer Van Asch got no change out of the witness under cross-examination : there was absolutely cone to get, and there was nothing for counsel to do but to throw the case up. He did this with much reluctance after consulting with his client, and m the result Swankied Silly Sally Stevens was mulct m a couple of quid with costs amounting to £2 16s. Beery amours do not nay, and are apt to get the cold, glassy eve of a strict living public cast on the delinouent, and then there is blue uniform, Mne paper, and blue devils, so to spe-ak.