RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1218, 12 March 1880, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

THJS PAX. * (Before S. E. Shrimskj and W. H. S, Roberts, Esqs., J.P.'s.) BREACH O? RAILWAY REGTJLATJOHS,. Edward A. Rowland was charged with having committed a breaqh of tho Railway Regulations by driving aorass the Severn-street railway crossing while a train was approaching. Inspector Thompson prosecuted, and the charge was denied. Thomas Windle Barker, Resident Magistrate, deposed that on Tuesday evening about six o'clock he passed tho Severn-street railway crossing, and was about 40 yards on the South side when he met a buggy driven by the defendant, After he had gone a few yards he heard the whistle of an engine, and turning round he saw the top of the funnel over the bank. He looked towards tho ; buggy and saw it proceeding towards tho crossing. From the position in which he stood he was not sure if the buggy would clear the engine. The defendant w»8

about 30 or 40 yards from the crossing when the whistle sounded, and as the horses were going steadily he could have pulled them round into Itchen-street if he had chosen to do so, or might have pulled up. Had one of the horses' shoes caught in the rails while crossing there would not have been time for the inmates to get out of the buggy before the engine would have been upon them. On the application of the defendant a Temand was granted until to-morrow morning at ten o'clock to enable him to obtain the attendance of Mr. Grant as a witness.

DRP>-K£3TSESS. . John Bradley pleaded guilty to having teen drunk and disorderly m Tees-street last evening, and was fined 10s with the alternative of 43 hours' imprisonment with hard labor. James Blair also pleaded gudty to having been drunk and disorderly, but as this wits his first ofFence he was cautioned and discharged.

(Before T. W. Parker, Esq., K.M.) ULBCESY. John Madden was charged, on remand, iwrtih having, at Oamaru, on the Gch mst., ■stolen a gold watch and a hair guard of the value of LG, three Ll-note3, and 10s in silver, from one Sarah Gorman, aluts White. The prisoner made an application to have John Hawker, a prisoner at present in the gaol, brought into Court to give ■evidence on hi 3 behalf. His Worship remarked that the application was one he could not grant except Hinder very exceptional circumstances, and 2ie did not feel inclined to depart from the «3ual course in the present case. So far as any evidence that might be given by the man Hawker was concerned, he would not be prepared to accept it as of any very great value, as it would bear very much the appearance of having been a concocted story. At anyrate, if the prisoner chose in another Court to seek the attendance of the man Hawker, he would have an opportunity of doing »o. John Franklin was then called by the prisoner, and gave evidence to the fact of having been in the house of the prosecutrix on the night in question ; that the -prosecutrix and prisoner had appeared to .ba on very stood terms ; and that he had not heard the prosecutrix ask prisoner for .the watch, or say that he had atolen it. Mr. Newton then called witnesses to rgive rebutting evidence. A man named Stewart deposed to having heard the prosecutrix ask prisoner for rthe watch, but the accused did not give it -to her. In reply to the prisoner, witness ssaid that it was when he was arrested that :the prosecutrix asked for the watch. His Worship said that the evidence ■wihich had been given was such that he oould not do otherwise than commit the prisoner for trial. Toe prisoner then said that it was no use taa " wasting his wind" by making any farther statement, a3 he was about to be committed for trial, but he would ask that he might be committed to Dunedin. Mr. Newton : The case will have to be .heard in Dunedin. The prisoner wa3 then fully committed -to take his trial at the next sitting of the .Supreme Court at Dunedin. HOESE STEAIXXG. John Scott, Stewart Doig, and James Anderson charged with having, at Wai«mate, atolen three horses, the property of, Messrs. J. and T. Meek and Co. were; -then called up to hear his Worship's decision in the case. HisWorshipsaid that there was evidence against the accused parties to make out a prima facie case. He had not, therefore, much to say upon the matter. The horses had purposely been taken away by Scott, with the connivance of the others. He would commit Scott for trial at the Supreme Court for stealing the horses.; and Doig and Anderson for being accessories to the fact. The accuseds each reserved their defence, and were then commuted for trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court *o be held at Timaru. Bail was allowed —the principal in each •case in LISO and three substantial sureties < in LSO each. KtDECEST ASSAULT.

John Darkin wa3 charged with having, at Oamaru, on the sth inst., committed a •criminal assault upon a girl 13 years of .•age named Elizabeth Ann Evans. Inspector Thompson prosecuted, and Mr. O'Meagher appeared for the prisoner, who pleaded not guilty. The evidence in the case is unfit for publication in its entirety. Elizabeth Ann Evan3, the prosecutrix, and the daughter of Mr. George Henry Evans, hairdresser, stated that the prisoner had entered her father's employ. On the morning of the och in3t she went to her father's shop in Tees-street at about 10 o'clock to mind the sales part of the "business. Her mother and the accused -were in the shop, and her brother left at one o'clock. Between one and two o'clock the accused committed the offence, and was disturbed by someone entering the shop. "Witness went home and told her mother what had occurred. Mr. O'Meagher cross-examined the witnew ;ataume length with reference to the maaaac in which the offence had been committed* jnnd,as to whether she had not on various occasions been guilty of indecent conduct. She denied haying been guilty of such conduct, but admitted giving been in the back room of Gordon's •hoc* shop with a man on several occasions. J3he.d#nied that anyone else had previously iindecsmtily molested her. At tbeso;icluaion of the cross-examina-tion, Mr. O'Meagher said he would require to have her recalled, in order that she might he ,coofrouted by witnesses whom he purposed jailing. Ee would ask that she might be kept apart from her parents, and that do communication should be permitted .to take place between His Worship made the order, and the, girl was removed under the care of the Dr. J. S. Wait was then called, and gave evidence to the effect that the last witness had been brought to him by her mother, who had stated that the girl had been criminally assaulted. He examined the <nrFs person and clothes, but did not find°any indication of the offence having been committed as detailed by the pre-, rv;ous witness. Had the offence been committed as stated, even without resistance, there would have been indications of it. He had given the child's mother his opinion tfc*t it would be difficult to prove .that the ofe«ce had been committed. The witness w«s then cross-examined at 3ome length as to the evidence that would have been forthcoming had the offence been eoajmjtted, and stated plainly that he did not believe the offence had been committed. Mr. O'Meagher then asked his \\ orship if he thought there was any necessity ia go further with the case, as the medical evidence was conclusive that the offence had not been committed. Inspector Thompson said he did not hjmself think there was any good to be The only other witness that he could call was the girf's mpthsr. flia Worship remarked that the girls evidence was scarcely reliable, while that of the medical witness pointed conclusively to the fact that the ogence had not been committed. The only evidence that the girl's mother could give would of course be based entirely upon what the girl had told her. Mr. O'Meagher remarked that_ the accused had been placed in a very painful position, and if he were sent away with simple dismissal some stain might attach to hia character. His client was a yooug tq»n striving to push his way in the world, and he would ask that His Worship ahoold discharge him without a stain upon

his conduct. He referred to several statements made by the girl, and said that he would have been in a position to prove that the girl had behaved in a most flagrantly indecent manner, and that on one occasion she had been chastised bv the man for conduct of the kind- He also knew that she had previously complained to her mother of another man taking liberties with her. There was more at the bottom of the ca3e than had come into court. The accused had been engaged as hairdresser in Mr. Evans' shop, receiving half the takings as his payment. Finding that he could not make sufficient to pay for his meals, he left and sought employment elsewhere during Mr. Evans absence. On his return from Southland, the case had been trumped up. Mr. Evans had, out of pure malice, sought to degrade his daughter and the accused. The girl had been degraded in the eyes of the public, but he (the learned counsel) hoped that the accused would be discharged in such a manner that he would not be degraded by the proceedings. His Worship then dismissed the accused without a reflection upon his character.