MOTHER'S NIGHTIE WAS EASY TARGET!

NZ Truth, Issue 1185, 16 August 1928, Page 8

MOTHER'S NIGHTIE WAS EASY TARGET!

Proved Herself Heroine In Defending Cottage Against Intruders

SHOTS SHATTER PEACE OF RURAL LANDSCAPE

(From "N.^. Truth's" Special Representative.) . THE MOON SHONE brightly on the peaceful rural landscape . . . and not a sound disturbed the slumberers m the two houses that stood within earshot of each other m sleepy Otaio, South Canterbury. ■ But, of course, it was 3 a.m., when all respectable citizens are abed. Presently, too silent figures walked up the pathway and m a few minutes the moonlight peace was shattered. Voices were raised, shouts and execrations were exchanged . . . and four shots rang out. The intruders waited for no more, but beat it for shelter, carrying more shot-gun pellets m their anatomies than could be suffered m comfort. One of the nocturnal prowlers made for the next house. Crash, bang, crash 1 Windows shivered and parted from their frames, whilst the householder said he dodged a beer bottle and prepared to expel invaders with a fire shovel

THE intruders hobbled their painful frames away, to finish up In the Timaru hospital. And thus did Bernard Lewis Blackwell and Ernest Gladstone McCunn come within the law, charged with breaking and entering with intent to intimidate and with intent to commit a crime. A further charge of assault was preferred against Blackwell. The pair stood their trial at Timaru, before Judge Adams and a jury last week, and after a three days' hearing McCunn was acquitted on all counts, while Blackwell was found guilty of being unlawfully on the premises. • He was sentenced to twelve months' probation with stringent conditions. The story of this rural adventure really belongs to the realm of comedy. The principal characters were an irate husband, a mother-in-law and a cousin-in-law by marriage — or something like that on the genealogical tree. The plot of this rural rumpus did not lack action. In fact, there was too muoh action for the principals. It is no joke to bo peppered with gun- i shot m the wee sma' hours — and then to have the ordeal of trial by jury and all that this implies. But then, Blackwell and McCunn brought the trouble on themselves, although their motives were other than criminal, as the Crown alleged. Blackwell claims ownership of a mother-inrlaw, who, according to his standards, justifies all the hard things that have ever been said about the species. i Ma-in-law, oh the other hand, did not think very much of her son-in-law and objected to him on the principle that he fell short of her idea of what a good husband should be. With such a clash of ideals on both sides, there were provided all the ingredients of a first-class family row. It did not take long to develop — and thereby hangs this tale. Caroline Dora Ancell, a rugged rural type who - knows what's what, lives next door to the home" of Bobert Barr, a relative. In the Ancell abode lived Mrs. Blackwell, not yet twenty-one. Her mother, Mrs. Ancell, held strong views about the rights of young wives, and when Blackwell was not able to come up to her expectations, trouble brewed. The story, as told to Judge Adams "I'll Murder You " and the jury, took three days m the telling. > When one sffts the mass of evidence and separates the irrelevancies from the facts, the position can be stated quite simply. . Blackwell' s bone of contention was that he had been given a very rough spin at his mother-in-law's place when he .went to see his wife. On his return from a contract job m Ashburton, he went up to the Ancells' to live, but according to what he had to say, Ma Ancell gave him a very unpleasant time, indeed. So hot was it made for him, he alleged, that he went to live m a bach occupied by McCunn, to whom he confided all his troubles and told about his mother-in-law, who, he complained, was separating him from his wife. Thus It dame about that on the night of May 10 last, Blackwell conceived the Idea of calling on the Ancells m order to see his little wife.First of all, he went to a dance at St. Andrews, In • company with McCunn. Hearing his affairs were being discussed, Blackwell 'did not stay long at the hop. Later, he and McCunn met a man named Stowell, who picked them up m his car and a trip was made to Makikihi, where a visit was paid to the hotel. Then Blackwell suggested that Stowell should drive him down to the Ancells' to see his wife. After a bit of discussion, this .was agreed to. Arrived outside the Ancell domicile, a lot of argument ensued as to who would accompany Blackwell on his call at the house. Stowell made It dear that there was nothing: doing so far as he was concerned and. finally McCunn was persuaded to lend moral support to Blackwell. Off they went — and the events that followed m quick succession are best told m the words of the Ancells and Barr. Caroline Ancell, telling the tale, flescribed how she was awakened round about 2.30 a.m. on May 11, by the sound of a door being pushed open. "I sang out that the door was locked," she told the jury, "but the only answer to that was that the door was pushed harder. "I then called out: 'Who's there?' and a voice replied, which I recognized as Blackwell's." Things began to move after that. Fluently and with force, Caroline expounded m indignant tones the story of the desecration of her home. "The door was kicked down," she declared, "and when that happened I got up out of bed ... He went up into my daughter's bedroom and then he went Into my son's bedroom, into, which I followed him. "I took- with me the gun, but I did not do any shooting. I handed the gun to my son, Raymond, and told Blackwell to get right away from the house. "He did not go away and went to strike the boy over me, but I put my right arm up and stopped the blow." Blackwell, said Caroline, then left the room. When she went out after him, she saw another man standing inside the doorway, but she could not see his face or identify him. Meanwhile, she said, a struggle for the gun, m which Blackwell, her son and herself were involved, was raging. During th.c tussle, she called uponj

Lhe other man to come to her assist- i xnce. i This he did not. do— and Caroline i concluded that he must be an accomplice of Blackwell'a. < "These two men went out through the same door they entered by," she < continued. "I turned to go back into the house, when I heard the shot from a gun. My son had fired the shot. "We then came back to the house and had barely got inside when I heard the crash of glass over at the Barrs' place. "We • both went outside again. It was moonlight and I could see a man Standing In Barrs' back door, which was barely 35 yards away. "This man was demanding that the door be opened to him, but I knew It was not Blackwell. "I heard his voice later, calling out: 'Shoot them, Charlie! They have shot at us and we will shoot at them . . . and murder the !* " iniiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiuiiiiiiiiiinuiiimtiiiniiiiiiuniuiiiiiiHiiiiiu

Caroline, who waa careering about In her white nightgown^ retorted: "You start shooting." "My son," she went on, "came towards me and told me to get Inside, as I would make a good target m my nightgown." Both she and her son again returned to the house, when they heard another crash of glass at the Barrs' place; her son went outside again. To Lawyer Inglis, Caroline stated that she remembered saying that if Blackwell came prowling around her house m the early hours he would stand a good chance of being presented with a charge of shot. She did not,, however, tell Blackwell that he would be shot if he came near the place. She denied that she was separating her daughter from her husband, though she admitted having told him that he should bestir himßelf to find a home for his wife and pay his debts. It was not true that she had struck Blackwell with her clenched fist. "I struck him with my open hand," iimiiiiimiilimmmiimimim mititiiiiiiiiiiiii m titimnm i mimiinm m m iiilimmiiniimiiiiimimiiiiim mitmmiiiiimn i inn iiiiiititimiui mini m

Bhe added, somewhat paradoxically, explaining that her dignity had been ruffled to provocation; On another occasion, said Mrs. Ancell, Blackwell came to the house and "sneaked" Into her bedroom. He asked her what she had against him and whether It was his religion. She replied that his religion had nothing to do with it, but she had "the drink" against him. She told him that he owed it to his wife to look out for himself and straighten up generally. "When he came to the house m the early hours of the morning of May 11," went on Mrs, Ancell, "I had a gun In one hand and a slipper m the other. "I told my son to 'shoot the beggar* when Blackwell was running away. I was m a good enough temper at the time to say anything, but I did not mean any real harm." Robert Barr now takes the spotlight. His story, if anything, was more iiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiifitiiK

sensational than that of Mrs. Anaell, hie sister-in-law. He was awakened, he said, by the sudden breaking of the frontroom window. A little later on, the bedroom window went orash. While waiting for something else to happen, a hand was thrust through the window. The next Incident was the smashing of the window m the children's bedroom, into which, said Ban', Blackwell was trying to force his way. ] "I made for the kitchen," continued witness, warming to his tale, "and grabbed the firßt thing I could get." It happened to be the flre shovel. Into the children's bedroom rushed Barr, who told the jury that he found Blackwell sitting on the bed. "Blackwell said to me: 'Now, I've got you, Barr ... I will — — murder you and I will do it to-night!'" But at this stage the flre shovel came actively into play and Blackwell got out through the window, "calling me a coward." No sooner was one hostile intruder expelled, than another was kicking up iiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiinininimiinmmiitnintniNnimmmtimimmimimniniiiinmiHimniiKHi iiiiiiumiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiitiimiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiniiin

a shindy at the back door, demanding admittance to the house. There was nothing doing and he did not get In. A minute or so later, when Barr was putting on his boots, .Blackwell did further execution on the window and pushed the sewing-machine over. "He was halfway through the window and I stooped down to pick up the fender, aB I had made up my mind to split his head open when a beer bottle was thrown through the window. It had been aimed at my shadow." What with the row of smashing glass, the sound of gunshots and the general hubbub, things were only middling, but the battle honors did not rest with the two accused. They claimed no part m them. They both stopped more gunshot than was good for them— and both finished up m hospital. McCunn's defence was that he was not guilty of any of the charges. •His story was that he simply accom-. panied Blackwell to the Ancells' place In response to a request from Blackwell that he should come along and see how he was treated. Blackwell wanted to see his wife. As he had been to see her on previous nights arid had not returned to the bach until the early morning, McCunn saw nothing unusual m the lateness of the visit on the night of May 11. He had no intention m the world of doing anybody any harmAfter arriving outside the Ancells' place, it was arranged that, McCunn should stop outside while Blackwell went m to see his wife. He remained outside and never went on to the verandah. After a while he heard voices. Blackwell was asking to see his wife, and, said McCunn, "Mrs. Ancell came out and threatened that if he did not get off the place she would shoot him like a cur." A shot was fired and^ McCunn said he was hit m the back^ proving that he was not the aggressor. He fell down and his leg gave out on him. He heard glass breaking, but denied that he was ever on Barr's property. BlackweH's story of the affair was that his mother-in-law was refusing to allow him to live with his wife. (This was denied.) The day after his baby was born, counsel declared, Blackwell went down to the Ancells' and., stayed there for ten days. There was a row and he went off. Bedroom Invaders On the night of the trouble, after attending a dance and a keg party, he asked Stowell to drive him up to see his wife. Arriyed at the house, he pushed at j the door, whioh was locked, this being unusual, he said. He denied , that he kicked the door down, but admitted that when he pushed the door to open it, "it came adrift at the bottom hinge." It was alleged that the door was very much worm-eaten and . this was advanced as the reason for the unhinging. His intention m going to the house was to see his wife. He wanted to see her particularly, as he had secured a Job m ABhburton. fdr a married couple. He wanted to discuss the matter with her alone, as he considered that If her people were about there would be no ohanoe at all. 1 There was no separation between him and his wife. When he entered the house/ he found that his wife was In a different room from the one she had previously occupied. He declared that oh entering the room he was greeted by Mrß. Ancell, who threw a shoe at him and began talking about "being shot." He said he would leave the house and did so, picked up McCunn and made off down the drive. He alleged that he heard Mrs. Ancell shout out: "Shoot the cows!" He turned round, and, as he did so, a shot was fired, hitting McCunn. _ Blackwell ran on, not standing upon the order of his going, when a further shot was fired, hitting; him In the face and chest. He then made for the gap m the hedge by the Barr's back door, but before he could get there he received a third shot. He then went round to the children's bedroom, thinking: that Ancell had a commanding position over the Barrs' house. He admitted trying to get through the window, but was ordered away. He then ran round to the front window. He broke the bedroom window m his effort to get In,' but was refused admission, so he went round to the dining-room window m the hope of getting m there. But it was no good anywhere, so — wearily and sorely — Blackwell and McCunn found their way back to Stowell's car . . . and the hospital. 'Their troubles were not over by any means. Detective Nuttall took a hand. He Interviewed the pair m hospital, charging them with breaking and entering. Blackwell received the shock of his life. "I did not expect this," he told the detective, "as I was going to take action myself for assault." As for McCunn, he kept mum and said nothing. The story was told, after many de-, lays caused by the Introduction of irrelevaneies, and the jury was not long m making up its mind. McCunn was acquitted on all counts and Blackwell was found guilty on the single count of being illegally on premises. i He was sentenced to twelve month's* probation with stringent conditions, among them being that, he renewed his prohibition order, kept away from his relatives, except when authorised by the probation officer, and kept the peace to all "His Majesty's subjects." He was also ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution and to make good the damage to the windows of the Bajra 1 bousa, . ' ■■ ,