MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 230, 15 September 1914, Page 4

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Mercer -Thursday, September 10th. | tfefore Mr F. V. Frazer, S.M. | H. S. Valentine and Co v. W. Montgomery, claim £3 lGs Gd. Judgment lor amount claimed, by default, with 5s cost". Free Bros. v. A. Sha.-p, claim £5 16s. Judgment by default for amount claimed, with £1 lis cost?. Same v. James Hill, claim £4 13s Id. Judgment by default for amount claimed with George Hcnr.ing v. Wi Maki, claim £2l Os 4d cn a judgment summons. Debtor, win did not appear, was ordered to pay the amount, in default 21 days' imprisonment in Auckland prison. H. S. Valentine and Co. v. C. Rogers, claim £5 ISs lid in a judgment summons. Debtor appeared and was txamiucd, ard an order made for payment at the rate of £1 every four weeks, in default 6 days' impusonment in Auckland prison. Geo. Tetzlaff v. K. H. Daveney, claim £3, balance on sale of a horse. This case was defended, the defence being that the sale was not to defendant personally, but to one Carey, who had bought defendant's farm. Correspondence was put in by the plaintiff admitting a liability, and after hearing evidence the Magistrate gave judgment for the amount claimed with 15s costs. A CURIOUS CASE.

Police v. Wm. Hayward. A report was made to Constable Bevan that accused, a smooth-faced yGUth of nineteen, who was not known in Mercer, had visited the local sawmill on the arrival of the Rotorua express that day, and had requested the loan of a file to remove a pair of handcuffs. Constable Bevan proceeded to the sawmill and arrested him on suspicion on a charge of escaping from lawful custody.

When accused was arretted one handcuff had been removed and the other was partly tiled through. He was then brought before the Court and detained pending inquiries as to the tiuth of his statement that he had himself put on the handcuffs, which were his own property, at the railway station at Tuakau, in order to show a railway porter there how easily he could free himself. The experiment, however, was unsuccessful, and was likely to produce disastrous results, as the sequel showed. On the Court tesuming after lunch, Constable Bevan stated that his enquiries by telephone had resulted in the confirmation of accused's story, and asked leave to withdraw the charge. The Magistrate, in granting leave, alvisrd the young man to be more careful in future in his experiments with such sinister articlej, and Hayward left the Court with an air of relief.