RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, GISBORNE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1064, 22 April 1882, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, GISBORNE.

Thursday, April 20. 1 [Before M. Price, Esq., RAI.] Daniel Jones was,charged on the information of Robert.Cobper with using jn#ulting language to him, calculated td'provolie a breach of the peace, at the Masonic Hotel, on the Uth April. Mr Brassey for complainant, Air Einn for defendant. Defendant pleaded guilty. Air' Finn-urged,-in-extenuation, that defendant was drunk when the offence was committed, and regretted it, saying that it Should not ocqur again. Air Brassey stiid--Cooper was under sureties of the peace, and the language ,W(as, tery provocative. Drunkenness was no palliation of the offence, and he hoped the Court would so .mark their sense of the gravity of it, that a recurrence of it would be effectually prevented. His Worship said that drunkenness, so far from being a palliation of the offence, rather enhanced it. Tbe defendant had no excuse for his conduct. He should impose a line of £3, and Ils. costs. In default, three weeks’ hard labour in Napier gaol.

A case of sureties of the peace against fhe same defendant was withdraw it on the ap plication of Air Brassey. ALLEGED ATTEMPT TO EXTORT MONEY. Thus. Alc’Anneny, on remand, was charged with thfeatening to accuse One Charles McFarlane of committing an abominable crime, with a view to the extortion of money. Air Rees and Air Finn for plaintiff, and Air Brassey for defendant. Mr Rees was unable to appear through illness. Peter McFarlane deposed : I am a farmer residing at Makaraka. I know prisoner. On the 28th March last prisoner came to me in Gisborne, at the remains of my Hall which was burned: It was between nine and ten o'clock a.m. He was there about twenty minutes, and then came forward, and said, “ I want to speak to you.” 1 stepped off some yards with liiin, and he said “ Your son Charley has npt used me well; he owes me money, ami lie would not give it to me.” 1 asked what the money was for : he said, “ I don’t wish to say; it would do you no good to know ; it’s disgusting 1” 1 told him it was no use saying that unless, he said what the money wasfor. lie said” Itis a debt of honor, Charlie owes me a great deal of money ; he promised to be a friend to me, and. told me to say nothing of what I had seen, and he would always be able to get me two or three pounds when I wanted it. lie said further that he had seen Charlie do what would give him seven years’ imprisonment. Before this be said, “He promised to lie my friend, but when 1 got into difficulties be told me to go to b , and would give me nothing.” I immediately called Charles, and told him what prisoner had said. My son asked him what it was. Prisoner replied that he had no cause to ask, as lie knew. My son said that he knew nothing at all about it. Prisoner said, “Don’t you recollect my catching you in the scrub with Aluldoon’s mare?” Aly son said “ No.” Prisoner said he could bring a witness to prove it. Aly son said, “ Prove it.” Prisoner said he could bring three or four witnesses. 1 told him his proper course was to •prove it; He then expressed himself, with some little show of temper, that he would prove. it. By the Court ? Prisoner did not say what Charles was doing with the mare. 1 understood him to mean bestiality. Prisoner then left. My object in telling him to prove it was that I wished him to understand that I would not be a party to compounding crime. I don’t think 1 gave him a chance of asking for any money. Cross-e.xainined by Mr Brassey: I am perfectly sure 1 have given the full meaning of the conversation with pri-soner-on Alarch 28. Prisoner has not attempted to speak to me since. I will not swear that prisoner meant that my. son had committed an infamous crime, but I inferred so from the conversation. He did not ask me for money, or say he would hush it up if I paid him. 1. believed from the conversation that he wanted to obtain money from me which he had failed to obtain from my son. He did not ask me to pay the money which he stated mv son Charles owed him.

Patrick Malone sworn, deposed: I am a saddler, residing at Makaraka. I know the prisoner; he was in my shop about three weeks ago I don’t think any one else was present. Prisoner said, “ There is a b — goes about here with a stand-up collar; if the b — won't dub down .£5O I will give him seven years’ imprisonment.” 1 asked him who, and what, it was. He would not tell me, but said I should know all about it soon. Two or three days before the Easter Encampment we had another conversation about this matter in my shop. I asked prispner if he knew what trouble he might get himself into by talking like this about McFarlane, and trying to obtain money to get a thing like that hushed up if it -Aas true. He said he did not care a damn ; that he had asked the loan of a pound from young AlcFarlane, and he would not give it, but told him to go to b —. I asked him which of them, and he said “ Charlie,” and when ho went to the old man to get it he was damned shirty over it. 1 told him if the thing really occurred he should report it. He said “No, if the police come to me they will know more about it.” He said it would be a b —• sight costlier to young AlcFarlane than riding over a fellow in the road. I asked him whether AlcFarlane ever rode over him, and he replied that that was his business, and that it would cost McFarlane more than a fiver. He said he caught Chas. AlcFarlane in the scrub (here unfit for publication), 1 asked him when it was, and who had seen him? He replied “ Never mind, if he does not dub down I will give him seven years.” That was all that passed. I have had no,conversation with prisoner since. Cross-examined by Air Brassey: I started the subject at the second conversation in my shop, having heard it canvassed outside. Prisoner then said he had asked for the loan of £L ; he did not say that he had asked for £5O to bush up the. matter. He said he had gone to the old man to get money out of him, but he was so damned shirty he would let him know more about jt. He made use of those words. 1 believe he referred to the £5O he wanted to hush the matter up. I have no doubt of it jn my own mind. He mentioned the £5O two or three times. He talked about the offence with the mare before he spoke of the £5O. I do not believe William Rowley was in my shop when the secund conversation

took place. I told both the AfcFarRineS wliat I had heard. From what Charlie AlcFaflarte and his father said to me, they did not appear to know what prisoner wanted the money for until I told them. I did not tell prisoner that if he informed against McFarlane he would be hunted out of the place. lam quite sure prisoner said- he had been to the old man to try and get something out of him, but I caunot swear that he used the words “ to hush up.” Wm. Rowley sworn, deposed: I am a laborer residing at Makaraka. Tho day before Pakirikiri Races prisoner called me outside the hotel at Makaraka, aud asked me “ Are you. on for a good thing ?” I asked what. Prisoner said, “ We will go up to McFarlane’s, and you stick to me, and we’ll knock some money out of the old man; we’ll swear we eaught his sou (here unfit for publication). I turned round and swore at prisoner. Devery came in at the time. I did not have any talk with prisoner from that day to this. This took place on the day before St. Patrick’s Day. Cross-examined by Mr Brassey : I know Mr Malone. I never saw the prisoner iu Malone’s shop. 1 have not said a word to Malone about this case since the adjournment at 1 o’clock. I swore at the accused and went away. After I Swore at prisoner he went down the Makaraka road. I did not ask any questions when prisoner made the proposal. Prisoner just came up as I stood by the hotel. We had been together about ten minutes when ho made the proposals. Prisoner named Charlie AlcFarlane as the one he proposed to accuse. lam quite sure of that;

Charles McFarlane, sworn, deposed: I am a son of P. McFarlane, and reside with him at Matawhero. I am 22 years of age. I knew prisoner two years ago. On the 22nd March last, 1 saw him on the road in front of our house, about 10.30 to 11 a.m. No vhe else was present. The prisoner asked for the loan of £l, to engage a lawyer to defend him in an action with D. McKay, who had summoned him., I put him off, saying I had not got it then, but would see. I next saw him on the 28th Alarch last, at the Roseland Hotel. No one was present. Ho said, “ a b fine young fellow you are; see the scrape you have got mo into because I could not engage a lawyer.” At the same, time shewing signs of temper. I told him to go to b . Prisoner said, “ You d rascal, I’ll be upsides down with you.” He appeared to be going to work, and had a shovel on his shoulder. I went on to town. 1 next saw him the same day between 11 and 12 o'clock in Gisborne, at my father’s hall, aud in my father's pretence. He spoke to, my father, who told me that McAitoeny said I had been guilty of a crime he could get me 7 years for; I asked what it was. Prisoner said, “ Don't you remember my catching you in the scrub.” 1 said no ; and he said he could bring four or five witnesses to prove it. 1 told him he could bring fifty if he liked. He then turned to go away, and passing me said, “ I’ll let you know in 24 hours. My father told him his proper course was to prove it.

Plaintiff, in cross-examination by Air Brassey, acknowledged having laid the information not from any knowledge of his own, but from what others had told him. No attempt had been made by the prisoner or by any one on his behalf to obtain money from him.

Constable Walsh, sworn,,deposed—• I know accused. I saw him at Makarakft on the 13th of this month. I asked him if he could give me any information —. He said he did’nt care to tell. I left him and reported the matter. I saw him again on tho 15t.1l at Makaraka, and told- him I would like to get information which I heard lie could give me respecting this matter. He said he did not care to tell me; he was afraid he’d get into trouble. I told him he need’nt bo afraid of that; he'd get into no trouble. He then said, “ I can tell you all, for I am the man who saw ” He said it happened about last Christmas, either before or after. He said he saw Chas. AlcFarlane a few days afterwards at his father’s place at Matawhero. I saw prisoner again on the 17th. He said then that the offence was committed in the month of August last year. He said he.could bring no witnesses in support of what he said. He again repeated the nature of the offence. I arrested him tho next day, the 18th, on a warrant. Ho said, “ I thought that’s the way he’d try to get out of it.” He asked me some time afterwards how he should plead. I told him I could'nt tell him that.

Cross-examined by Air Brassey:— I think the prisoner understood tho charge ; I cannot say for certain. I read the warrant over carefully to him at Alakaraka, when I arrested him. Prisoner distinctly told me that no ono saw the offence committed except himself.

Air Brassey called no witnesses, but submitted that no prima facie Oise had been made out. There was ndta tittle of evidence in support of the information. Even the plaintiff admitted that when he laid, the information he did not understapd i£ The accusation must be coupled with the attempt at extortion, and it was admitted by plaintiff that no such attempt had been made. There was no evidence before the Court to shew an attempt at extortion, or to support the establishment of

a prime. facie case for a jiwv. His Worship iq summing up, said 1 that the sole ; duty of a Magistrate in ! such a case as this was to consider . whether a prihia facie case had been i made out. He looked on this as the third in the Seale of heinous crimes. Murder was the first, rape the second, and this the third. A fter the evidence of the Messrs McFarlane, father and son, he thought no pri ma-, facie case could he made out. or otherwise he would push it to the utmost. He cautioned th,e .prisoner that he had placed himself in serious jeopardy. In the face of the evidence he must dismiss the case. Dismissed accordingly.