RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1282, 17 May 1880, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

THIS DAY. (Before T. W. Parker, Esq., P.M.) DRUNK. John Lawson, charged with having been drunk and disorderly, did not surrender to his bail, which was ordered to be estreated.

Thomas Cranwell pleaded guilty to having been drunk and disorderly, and was fined 40s, with the option of going to gaol for three days. Robert Ward did not surrender to his bail on a charge of having been drunk and disorderly, and his bail was ordered to be estreated.

Francis Henry was charged with having been drunk and disorderly while in charge of two horses. Accused pleaded guilty, and was fined 30s with the alternative of three days' imprisonment. STOHTJNG. Robert Keenan and Richard Dalton were charged with having disturbed the public peace by fighting in Exe-street at an early hour this morning. Both pleaded guilty. Constable M'Caughiran having given evidence in support of the charge, his Worship fined each accused 20s. ASSAULT. Thomas Cranwell was charged with having assaulted an old man named Michael Ryan. The complainant expressed his desire to withdraw the complaint, which his Worship permitted to be done. LARCENY. Lucy Thompson was charged with having, at Oamaru, on the 14th inst., stolen a carriage lift of the value of 18s, the property of Walter Hodgson. Accused pleaded guilty. Walter Hodgson, after giving some evidence, said that a friend of the accused had paid him for the atand and he had promised not to press the charge. This was after the accused had been taken into custody. His Worship remarked upon the illegality of the course pursued by the owner in selling the stand after the accused was arrested.

The witness replied that if he had done anything wrong it was through ignorance. Detective Livingstone gave evidence. His Worship sentenced the accused to three weeks' imprisonment with hard labor. VAGRANCY. Mary Sullivan was charged on remand with being a vagrant and having no lawful visible means of support. On the previous hearing of the case, Mr. O'Meagher, who appeared for the defence, pointed out that tho information was defective in that it was laid in the past instead of in the present tense. His Worship said that it' was now too late to amend the information, and he would dismiss the case without prejudice. ALLEGED LARCENY. William Rayner was charged on remand for that he did, at Oamaru, within the last four months, steal, take, and unlawfully carry away 10 dozen of Stormer and Baker's patent lemonade bottles, of the value of L 3, the property of Daniel M'Carthy. Mr. Newton appeared for the prosecucution, and Mr. O'Meagher for the defence.

Mr. Newton applied for permission to amend the information by substituting " one dozen" for "■ ten dozen," and stated that it was not desired to press the charge heavily. Mr. O'Meagher said, that, in the event of the amendment being allowed, he would ask for an adjournment. The amendment was allowed, and the case adjourned until Thursday .next. A similar case against Thomas Gurline, charging him on the information of Daniel M'Carthy with having stolen JQ of Horner and Barker's patent lemonade bottles, was j also adjourned until Thursday next.