SUPREME COURT, NAPIER.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 336, 25 December 1875, Page 2

SUPREME COURT, NAPIER.

(From Nuuier papers.) December 18tji 1875. (Before His Honor Chief Justice Prendergast.) Robert Magill was charged with an assault on his wife, on the 19th day of October last; he pleaded not guilty. (Mrs Magill sworn gave evidence similar to wbichhas already appeared in our columns.)

By prisoner; I never authorised Mr. Caulton to take proceedings agninst you. I gave evidence on instruction from the Judge. I asked him if he would go away if I would endeavour to get him out of pewon. By the Court: I assaulted Mr. Magill in [A lm:g aad desultory discussion here toolWplaee oil the part of the Court, from which the Prisoner was told that he had no right to take the law into his hand, and that th* Court was not the place for the ventilation of domestic quarrels aud mntters not rel<» vant.J J,,-. * By prisoner: On Monday I got the work to do. I came home-1 believe about a quarter past ten. I got sraor breakfast ready for you on the Tuesday morning. You never spoke to qie that morning. You struck me on the head with a whip. The skin was abraised.. You struck me more than once with a whip. I did not strike you first, until you.knock.ed me down, when I did so. I did not call you an Isish pin or au Irish swine. I made use of no other bad laugirige. I did call you au Irish pig when you knocked me down and jumped on me. 1 did not knock you with a brush. I saw blood running from your head after I had struck you, but do not remember saying I wish you were dead. You said you were very sorry for what you had done aud I forgave yoy, I said I was sorry we had the row, because 1 thought I should not get over it. I did ifot get cold ‘while lying on the sofa. By the Court: I have told (he whole truth. After he knocked me down I could not get up. He rammed his knee into my stomach. I told my sister the day * of the assault, but did not tell Dr. Spencer at all. It was Mrs. Caiiltou that told the doctor. Dr. Spencer said Mrs. Magill's life was in danger for some period. further evidence was of a medico-tcchamiuature and therefore not of a character for publication. ■ The prisoner then desired from the Court to ask his wife some further questions, which was conceded, but they were all of a puerile aud qoh-pertinent character. The clothes _pn the sofa on which she slept, he asserted, induced the inflammation, and not the assualt, and her people waited to implicate him seriously. \ The jury returned a verdict ’of aggravated assault, with a strong recommendation to mercy. The Court then sentenced Madill to six months’ imprisonment with hard labour.