NAUGHTY NIGHT NYMPHS.

NZ Truth, Issue 135, 18 January 1908, Page 6

NAUGHTY NIGHT NYMPHS.

Wf MEN ON WATERLOO QUAY. The Police Make a Raid. Who was tbe Respectable Young Man?

The proneness to casual sinfulness of persons who saunter down Waterloo Quay after dark has been causing the police some anxiety of late, and the scenes of debauchery m the vicinity have materially impaired Wellington's reputation for unimpeachable morality. Two peelers m plain clothes were accordingly told off to investigate, and found the place swarming with women, who charged various sums for pandering to the lustful nropensities of sundry male persons. Maud Basan an''Catherine Malkin (alias Kitty Smith) were nabbed, and protested their innocence m Wellington Magistrate's Court. The ladies, who are of generous build and voluptious, were stylishly dressed, Maud's decoration being a scheme of black, with heliotrope hat and' black feather, whilst Kitty's "fevvers" were tinged with green and brown. Constable Stewart stated that he had known both women as prostitutes for the past two years, but he acknowledged to Mr Jackson (for the defence) that a charge of vagrr.ncy latclv preferred against Maud Basan had been dismissed, m consequence of evidence that she was being kept m Howe's lane by a man named Gunn. Do you know if she received money from men for immoral purposes ? — No. Do you know that the woman Malkin is a married woman ?— She hadn't been till recently. Do you know if Maud Basan ever kept a house of ill-fame or received money for purposes of prostitution ? —No. The grim constable stated, further, that whether Lady Malkin was married or not, she was one of the MOST PERSISTENT BATTLERS m Upper Willis and Ghuznce-streets, and both women were known to the police as Magdalenes of an unrepentant sort. Constable Clark's knowledge of the accused's irreligious behaviour dated back eight months m" the case of Malkin and four months m that of Basan. He had personally seen the females ■ soliciting m Waterloo Quay, accosting drunks and low people like that for blushful purposes. Particular dates sworn m \me December 16 and 20, when Clark noted shameful happenings., and stored them up m his brain pan and pocket book. Basan (who turned her face from the crowd m the dock) and Smith-Ma lkin (who looked anxious) were m the habit of sticking up pedestrians m Featherston, Panama, Stout, and other streets, and retiring to lonely spots with questionable object. Mr Jackson : Do you know of your .own knowledge if these women received any money from anyone ? — No. The most disastrous evidence frojh the point of view of the accused was tendered by peelers McLeod and Blake. These officers were on duty on Waterloo Quay between S.ln and 9.30 p.m. on January 5, and McLeod said Malkin and Basan arrived on the scene at 8.40. From that time till .9.30 each woman took four men into the timber, and fractured the seventh commandment— if this sanctimonious paper doesn't make a bloomer. The bobby said the women had the reputation of being prossies. and he was pretty certain the indictment was correct. To Mr Jackson : He didn't know if the women accosted the man m each case, or the man bore up to the woman. Were there any other women there? —A great many. \ Did" you arrest any of the other women ?— No. . Why ? V WE -HAD OUR HANDS FULL with the two. We couldn't drive them m like cattle. McLeod said he knew a female named Burns, who wore a white dress, but it was incorrect to ..say that he and Blake stood talking' to her for a quarter of an hour. A young man overtook the woman Basan and spoke to the bobbies. What was his name ?— He is a young man of respectable family, and I understand he does not want to give his name. Counsel : I will not press it. He has a brother m the police force, I believe. Did he not say, "She is with me ; you are not going to take her from me ?" and did you not refuse to let him come to the station to lay a complaint ?— That is not so. Mr Riddell : It is a preposterous question. Counsel : There was very nearly a fight, Wasn't there, and a policeman drew his baton ?— I drew my baton. There were five men there, and as I them of being bludpers I wasn't going to take any chances. , There was only one man near you ? .—Yes ; but the others were danger.ously close. Malkin started to run away, and she was apprehended by Blake. Did the women have any money on them when they were searched ?— No, but I saw the woman Basan pick up two coins which she had dropped. If a woman had been COMMITTING IMMORAL ACTS with men, would you not expect to find some money on her ?— Yes. To the Sub-Inspector, McLeod said the accused had ample opportunity to throw any money away. Blake, like the puisne judges m the Higher Court, concurred with the above remarks. Solicitor Jackson, for the defence, submitted that as the charges were laid under section 23 of the Police Offences Act, 1.884, it was incumbent upon the police to prove that the women were common prostitutes, which they had failed to do. Counsel defined a "common prostitute" as a person who hired herself out for gain for purposes of immorality. There was no evidence to show that either woman had evei received money for immoral purposes, and he pointed to the fact that they had not a shilling on them when arrested, to indicate that coin had been received. If i the Court was satisfied that the wojmen were prostitutes simply because the constables said they were, then

no woman whose character was not of the very, best cculd venture out into the street, and run the risk of being callod a prostitute because an unscrupulous policeman said she was one. He pointed out that the woman Basan had never en convicted of anything m her ..i'e, and Malkin was a married woman living with her husband, who had respectable employment m the city. Counsel relied upon the fact that proof had not been adduced b^ the prosecution that Waterloo Quay was a -"üblic place. He quoted an analagous case where a person had been fined £5 at Oamaru for sly-grog selling, but the conviction was quashed because evidence had not been submitted that Oamaru' was a prohibited district. The Bench . got over this last objection by permitting /the police to recall bobby McLeod, who testified that Waterloo Quay was a public place v -•' ALTHOUGH MU JACKSON PROTESTED that the witness wasn't qualified to say whether it was or not. For the defence, Maud Basan stated that on the evening m question she arrived by tram at the Government buildings, and was joined by Malkin at 8.30, when the two went for a walk down on the Quay. The Sub-Inspector : For the fresh air ?— Yes. .< The most suspicious things on the Quay were bobbies Blake and McLeod talking to the woman Burns for fully 15 minutes. Maud was stopped by a young fellow, to whom she was talking when the villainous McLeod came up without warning and took .her by the shoulders. The young fellow said, "You are not going to take this woman from me." McLeod replied, "This woman asked you for money." The young man reioined, "No, she didn't." She denied taking four men into the timber, and had immorally accosted no one. In reply to the Sub-Inspector, Maud said she was living with her sister m Abel-Smith street, and she had been kept for three' years by a gentleman ndfoied Gunn, who was m regular work. The young man who interfered with the police was named McCoy, and she was introduced to him at Plunderland on Boxing Day. He had since gone to Christchurch. How old are you .?— Twenty-three. His Worship CONSIDERED BOTH CASES PROVED, and served out. a month each, withhard labor. Convulsive sobs were subsequently heard from the prisoners' room, and it was suspected they emanated from Maud. A female bearing the singular name of Alice Winspear was run m for loitering and importuning male persons m Victoria- street, and the principal witness against her was bobby Hitchcock, who, with peeler McGregor, saw Alice lead a man over to the reclaimed land m the vieinibv of Te Aro railway station, and there do something shocking, of which the constables were eye-witnesses. She ran away ; m any case, it was not a public place, and it was doubtful if they could pinch him. Alice was sent up to the Terrace to practice rectitude over the scrubbing pail for the space of a month.