LAY OF A LAG

NZ Truth, Issue 1181, 19 July 1928, Page 3

LAY OF A LAG

*__ Annie Lund's Itching Fingers (From "N.Z. Truth's" Wellington Rep.) By the time an old "lag," man or woman, has suffered twenty or thirty scratches on the family escutcheon, it would seem that further inflictions are regarded as futile bagatelles. "In for a penny, ,m for a pound," you might say, ' and so they blithely trip from one misdemeanor to another.' CIPTY-four-years-old Annie Lund, or * McCartney, according to mood, had another blemish placed upon her re-, cord when she appeared before Magistrate • Salmon' m the Wellington Magistrate's Court the other day, but it is doubtful whether her further three months of reflection m gaol will deflect her one cubit from her penchant for incorrigible roguery. Annie is a perky soul, a veritable corner-stone of confidence and- instability m the hall of roguery and vagabondage, and her appearance m the dock of the lower court is a stimulus for strayers-in to keep their ears a- cock for some sharp witticism at the expense of her accusers. ENIGMA FOR SOCIETY. She and her kind are an acute problem to social workers, who', while essaying to iron out the mental kinks of incorrfgibles, fail to assuage the itch for wrongdoing which assails the finger-tips as soon as the prison gates have clanged shut, leaving Annie and her companions to their own devices m the street of life's adventure. ■ . When she clambered .up the two steps leading to the dock, last : Monday, she ; . blended her feelings of amusement and indifference m a look she gave Sub -inspector Lander when he read little excerpts from her "list;" m support* of the latest charge of her being ah incorrigible rdgue, as well as her having twice broken a prohibition order. v It appears that, her qualifications m crime are extremely well varied, ranging between drunkenness, theft and obtaining credit by fraud, towards a gradually swelling total of thirty bad marks. ' • . : Lund merely sniffed when the officer observed that, she had only ■'■ recently left prison, and uttered a sharp ejaculation against him when, he voiced an opinion that she. was a woman undeserving of consideration from the court. The magistrate asked to see the list. He. pursed his lips ;•. as his glance transferred its focus . from, one escapade to another, and Annie must have experienced an inward feeling of resignation as she .observed Magistrate Salmon's changing expressions. ;!'Yes,'' „ he began. "Three months' imprisonment on the first charge. Convicted and • discharged on the two others." ' "" ' ■ • •'.'■■ • That is that, was the attitude of Lund as she hastened to leave the dock, leaving behind her a memory which, if nothing else, is picturesque m its method of recurrence. " > Woods' Great Peppermint Cure For Influenza Colds.*

spoke was not sufficient to secure justice for Woodley. The application for re-hearing came before Magistrate Meldrum on October 3, together with the application to have evidence taken m Auckland. In his written application, Woodley stated- that he was particularly, anxious to attend the court at Hokitika, as' he felt sure a reconciliation would take place. He had always been on' the best of terms with his wife. His counsel stated: "The present proceedings are being taken at the instigation of his wife's mother." The prisoner was not represented by counsel at the application for rehearingl . . 1 ■ . In his affidavit to the Supreme Court, Magistrate Meldrum said: "I duly considered the application for an adjournment. I examined the plaintiff's wife and her witnesses and arrived at my decision. . "I decided that the plaintiff's statement that the proceedings were taken 'at , the instigation of his wife's mother 1 was quite untrue. "It was quite clear that the plaintiff's wife had ample cause to apply for a separation order long before her mother visited Auckland. "I also came to the conclusion," the magistrate added, "that the plaintiff's story was a fabrication ; there was proof that he had borrowed £300 from his wife's mother which he dissipated m riotous living."' The S.M. said he found that the wife, who, up to this date, had lived with her mother m Kumara, Westland, had secured a position as murse at St. Helen's Hospital, Christchurch, and that an adjournment of the case would be a hardship. It was essential that she should take up her duties at once. Magistrate Meldrum arrived at, his verdict on these facts. On the application for a re-hearlng> after giving full consideration to the facts m all their aspects, he refused to re-try the case. Delivering judgment, his honor qb^ served: "Woodley's application for a re-hearing; was summarily refused, notwithstanding the letter from the visiting magistrate which was placed before Magistrate Meldrum. "He knew, further, the cause of Woodley's unavoidable absence," continued the judge. "Instead of giving the plaintiff an opportunity