Around and About The Courts

NZ Truth, Issue 1216, 21 March 1929, Page 2

Around and About The Courts

JUST when Charles Henry Lord, late salesman for Srnlth, Wylie and Co., jiadv a,„ chance of repairing his rriatrimoriial wrong : s/ v he; got himsel. tangled up in-,the meshwork of: crime. < In October and September last, Lord was busy trying to impress upon the Hamilton district the potentialities of reafforestation. From George Albert Frear,yL6rd received three sums of money, amounting to £ 20, arid ' from J. '■']_. Keahy the sum of £2/10/-. These payment's were m respect of reafforestation bonds, which Lord was selling on behalf of Smith, Wylle and Co., but the firm did not see the money. "His wife asked liim to make it* up with her, and wanted him to be with her instead of. going back to the North Island," said Mr.yß. S. Irwin. A glance at a record showing three previous convictions .for theft- arid fraud, decided Mr. J. R. Bartholomew,S.M., and Lord was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labor. '•'-.*• •'.■■•:*.... *..- .:*.'■ HERBERT ROBERT i COLE, of Dunedin, seems to be a very worried husband, unable to 'keep away from the troubles of litigation because of a maintenance order m respect of his. wife. ■ ■■-.'■'' ■'■ ■ His recent appearance at the Dun-

edih maintenance court was m connec- j tion with arrears amounting to £21 18s/'6d. At the same time, Cole.; wanted the order varied, and pneseiited . his application through Mr. B. G. Irwin. Mry G, .T.Baylee appeared for Mrs. :eoie:-;^y>y '.■'...-'■ Cole told the court that his financial position was not what it had been. To. Mr. Baylee he admitted that he had a. wonian as a "partner,'' but she kept herself,, and her maintenance was no drain on his "own resource. In return for her privilege of. belonging to the Cole household, she supported herself arid '"carried out certain duties." : "But you told your /wife that you had met your rspiritual affinity ?'*.'•- queried Mr.' ; Baylee/ ■■<..-.■:■','.'. . • ' "I did- not. I wouldn't -know it if I saw it,','.; retorted Cole, ; to the amusement of thte court. Mr. H. W; .Bundle reduced the order to £2 a week, and reniitted all. arrears over £10. On the other hand Cole must comply with the oi-der and pay 2/6 a week off the arrears or go "m" for three months, '.''-...'.-"■'■

TN the Dunedin Supreme Court, reference was being made to a girlprisoner's earlier conviction for urson, and Mr. A. C. I-lanlon (appearing for accused) had somethingto say. "This offence occurred- when the girl was only thirteen years of age,", he - remarked, "and it appears to have been m connection with a school. If it was her own school, no one need wonder at it. I, ' ms'self, when a boy,- often felt like burning down the schooli Of course, I never actually did such a thing!". - »■ '#. ■ ■■': * ' VWHEN James Blair * Campbell, . aged ** 52 years, met a young man named William Jamieson, it must have been a case of loan at first sight, it was m June last at Oamaru, and' Campbell soon got on the right side of his young friend for a sum of £30. The next month the plausible James borrowed £2, followed by sums' of £14, £1/10/-, and £1 m succeeding months. His tale was of a prospective boot-repairing business which, however, never eventuated. When Campbell appeared at the Dunedin Police Court on a charge - of having stolen the sum of £2 from Jamiesori, Chief-detective Cameron, told Mr. Bundle, S.M., that accused ■was more partial to beer -soaking than boot-mending. Two months' gaol was the sentence. * # ' ''[:* i t '*..'.. E"ULL of knowledge oh the tangled * ' subject df Sovietism^ Richard Francis Griffin returned from a lengthy stay m ■Siberia. ... "riear the Tiuth about Soviet Russia," he advised the public per medium of his little .handbills'. His wealth of-in-formation on the Soviet question, ho\yever. must have crowded out of his mind some of the minor matters of .his own country's legislation, for he pasted some of his bills on telegraph poles. It cost Griffin ten shillings when his forgetfulness was brought before the novice of Mr. Bundle, S.M., at the Dun-, edin Police Court. ..'•-■■■«.. -'- fV. ; • •' / CUB-INSPECTOR. MCCARTHY (to defendant).: What were you doing throwing cement at each other?;; • Mr. Brice Hart (defendant's counsel) : Perhaps they were trying to jceriient the friendship.

Subrinißpector (also to defendant): Well, it's hardly likely that a man would come off the train drunk, is it? Mr. Hart: That often happensi It's the only way to be on the main trunk. ■-■yy .--■ •''*.,' ■■ ■'■ «r'i ; y i:. \. *.. ASKED; if lie had any special dislike ■y} , for the .Chinese, a witness m the Wellington Magistrate's Court raised a srriile when ; ; he .replied: "Weil, I wouldn't say that, but when I can't get what fruit I want there is. usually a row m the Bhop-y-that is if I have been drinking." '; : ■■■'.•,: '■'■■..■. ' , y.;,y.'y---'- ''»■;,■.. •• " •/.■ yy QEVENTEEN' summers have failed to: y inculcate; the' Ttiiowiedge of right arid (wrong,: m (the head of a girl fi ; om England, and she so far forgot herself to ; v stear a, suit-case which contained a pair of shoes, an. overcoat, and three frocks. The total: value of the articles was given at £4/10/-.. . .. ! ' r" The girl, whose name, was suppressed, was staying, .atr .a house m We^lingy ton. She and; another girl decided ta go .to Trentham 'm search 'of a" position, :b,ut : the ;- accused wanted some changes, of frocks and , so helped, herself tp, the articles, y - ; '. " :, Senior- Sergeant Butler told the court that tlie girl I was more than. a: handful. Her sister -could do nothing .wlth.'her. She had the habit of sleeping out at night, ' arid had 'a wide • choice; Sometimes she slept* m railway carriages, motor-cars,. and parks. 'She was; also but a great deal with boys.;' '■"' ■:'■ V Mr. Hunt, •■'S.M.,' admitted the girl to jirobation for 12 months, six of which are 'to be spent ihthp Salvation Army Home. ■; .•''■.'•■-■■'

W/ITNESS (Dunedin Police /Court): ™ Accused had two baskets m nis hand, and was standing there with thum on the ground. A strong Scotch accent saved the Irish race another "bull." « • •■■■_'■ |y|OST men can take a hint and profit m by it, but John' Burke, although convicted on a Saturday, committed a similar offence on the following Wednesday. "./'•• . • ■ • He pleaded guilty, before. Mr. Hunt, S.M., m the Wellington < Police Court to charges of trespassing on his wife's property while a separation order was m force; with assault, and with a breach of his prohibition order. Burke took a lot more liquor than was good for him, and visited his wife's home. He produced a razor and intimated that it was his indention to cut ms wife's throat. He was arrested, however, and was very sorry for himseif when he appeared ln court. His promise to stay away m future did not convince the magistrate, and Burke was sent to prison for three months for, trespassing and convicted and discharged on the Other two counts. ■ • ■ .'*'.' - * ' TAMES - ALEXANDER SCORRINGE J pleaded _ guilty .m the Wellington Police Court to charges of theft of money and converting \a motor.-cycle to his own use. . Scorringe, on adventure bent, took a

■ i - ■ ■ ■ , •• motor-cycle from outside a house m Taranaki Street, and, after riding it for over 700 miles; he abandoned the machine. While ■he was staying at a boarding-house m Stratford he robbed his room-mate of a wallet containing He was said to have a bad criminal history, and had only recently completed a term of four years' reformative detention. Mr^ Hunt, S.M. : He seems to have been "m". all his life,' and the only thing is to send him back again. , Scorringe will spend nine months m prison on the two charges, to be followed by a term of two years' refor-" mative. detention. .■*•-..:'.'• • LIE was. one of life's unfortunates. ?■■ His own home town offered no opportunities, so he came to Wellington m search of. work. But Fate was cruel, and weeks of -searching left him stranded,; alone and. penniless. Charged at the Police Court with being an idle and. disorderly person without means ; of support— he had been, found sleeping m a railway carriage, foodless and cold— a- sympathetic magistrate discharged the man, and the '.' Salvation Army authorities agreed to take care of him.