ASSAULT CASE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 132, 27 January 1932, Page 5

ASSAULT CASE

FRIENDS FALL OUT S.M. INFORMS DEFENDANT MAY SOQN BE QUARRYMAN, NOT BUSHMAN. SOME UNSAVOURY FEATURES. ^ An . ass.ault case with some unsav-, ojjjy fpatures culminated in the Roto, : rua Magistrate's, Court on Monday,". when a young Te Whaiti bushman, Thomas McDonald, who was charged on summons with assaulting another.. hushman, Leslie Henry Dwyer, was " informed by the magistrate, Mr. S. L, Paterson, .SM.,. that if he did not.. moderate his demeanour in the wit- * ness-box, he would soon be a quarr^man instead of a hushman. The case arose out of a difference of opinion between McDonald and Dwyer regarding the relations of McDonald with Dwyer's wife. After hearing the evi- " dence, the magistrate stated that hehad no doubt in his mind that Dwyer had given a correct account of the affair, and remanded McDonald in custody for sentence this morning. . In evidence, Dwyer stated that he" and McDonald had been the best offriends until this difference arose between them. He alleged that Mc- - Donald, prior to Christmas, had" b^ought two cases of whisky, onel case of beer, one case of stout, and half a bottle of gin into camp and that a drinking bout had eventuated. "Loved McDonald." On the afternoon of December 17, Dwyer alleged, he had been lying with his wife on a bed in their tent, and McDonald had been lying on a bed in an adjoining tent. His wife had made a remark to him that she "loved McDonald," whereupon he had' given her a slight push and told her not to talk like that. His wife had commenced to cry and had called out * to McDonald that Dwyer had struck * her. Immediately following this, s^cording to Dwyer's story, McDonald had come up* to him and saying that he would not see a woman struck, had punched him (Dwyer) on the jaw. Then, half an hour later, Dwyer said, when he was standing in the kitchen of the camp, McDonald had again attacked him, knocking him on the floor and blaclring both his eyes. Refused to Return. Following this, the husband stated that his wife went off with McDonald and that although he went to the • single men's camp that night and asked her to return to him she refused to do so. Dwyer further alleged that McDonald and his wife were - guilty of improper conduct later in " the night when they returned to his - tent together, and that they packed . up and left the camp in company the nqxt morning. The husband finally alleged that after the departure of the pair he . heard various things coneerning his * wife's behaviour with McDonald which enlightened him as to their re- ; lationship. Misconduct Denied. McDonald denied the allegations of misconduct ip. toto, and said that Mrs. Dwyer had never been more to him than a friend. He stated that he took her to dances at the request of her husband and claimed that Dwyerwas the aggressor in the brawl. According to McDonald's story he was in the same tent with (Dwyer and hi? wife, when complainant commenced to ill-treat Mrs. Dwyer. McDonald said that he endeavoured, to hold Dwyer off, with the result, that complainant struck him and he" was eompelled to strike back in selfdefence. He denied that after blows were exchanged he took Mrs. Dwyer away and did not return with her until an early hour in the morning. He admitted that they left the camp together the next morning, but said that he only aecompanied Mrs. Dwyer at her own request and beeause she wa? afraid of her husband. According to McDonald, Mrs. Dwyer refused on any consideration, to return to her husband. He said that she aecompanied him to Rotorua, where he took her to his married sister, with whom she was still living while she was endeavouring to obtain employment. K.O. Specialist. Dwyer cliamed that McDonald was an amateur pugilist of some ability and that his speciality was knoekouts. McDonald denied this last soft impeachm'ent, but said he was stronger than Dwyer and that complainant was so useless with his hands that he would not strike him., The morning following the departure of Mrs Dwyer and McDonald, Dwyer came into Rotorua, where he interviewed the poliee in fegard to the alleged assault. Evidence was given by Senior-Sergeant Carroll that at this interview Dwyer had both eyes blackened and a cut across the nose. Evidence was also given by the ten-year-old son of the complainant, Owen Dwyer, that he had seen his mother and McDonald "hugging" and that his mother had threatened that" she "would give him a hiding" if he said anything? to his father. McDonald was inclined to be aggressive in the witness-box, and after receiving one warning from the magistrate was finally informed that if he did not moderate his attitude in answering questions he mjght find himself a quarryman instead of a bush-; man. After hearing "both sides of the story, the magistrate said that he fiad no doubt in his mind that Dwyershould he believed. His Worship said that he had not decided what to do with McDonald and remanded him for sentence until this morning. An applieation for bail was refused.