A COUNTRY LOCK-UP.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2413, 10 December 1880, Page 3

A COUNTRY LOCK-UP.

At the Wanganui Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court, before Judge .Richmond,Francis.Rumsey was charged with rescuing a Native' girl named iionon. Rikihana from the lock-up at Otaki, > while the /said Tioriori was under arrest for l&rceny, Prisoner (wo learn .from the /Wanganui Chronicle ’) pleaded not guilty.—Tioriori Rikihana, girl aged lsVf esiding at 6'taki, remembered having been arrested for larceny and placed in tlie Idck-up at Otaki, . Rumsey came to the lock-up >j D a " * s no pl ace for you, as dead’people Rave been put here.” Hd also said he would break open the lockj up. She told him hot to. Rumsey tbcii .broke open the door and-asked witness ■■ corne out which she did. He broke the bottom of the door, and assisted her to crawl through hy'pulling her neck. Prisoner made a long statement, in which he, attributed this case to; ,tho animotitjr borne him by Constable AJitchell. for .refusing some.time, ago,to go to Paikakai’ild 'to trap a man who, was suspected of sly grog-selling there.; » Prisoner’s ‘ Missis ” had been confined

iiytliQ lock-,up,.ior being drunk, itnd prisoner went,to tl|,e; to see her, hut she had been bailed out. He found the girl, Tioriori in the..coll ..and com-; menced talking to her. She told him she was arrested for larceny, and was frightened stay aloho/ as dead men bad been in the place—the lock-up was used as a morgue.; ‘He (prisoner) was half-drunk at the time, and offered to sit outside the door and talk to her,and the girl kindly, passed out a blanket to him. He sat on the ground for some lime, and fell asleep. Tle : was awakened by a sort of-gasping sound, arid found it was Tioriori trying to get through the hole. She had got her head and shoulders through and the edge of the door was across her stomach. She was struggling violently,.and cried out to him in gasps. “ Pull J, -.pull!" He caught hcr ; by the. shoulders,,. and pulled her out. She had no clothing on hut her chemise. When she had Sot out she put her baud through the ole and pulled out her clothes. He then asked her what she was going to do, and she said she was afraid of the policeman. He told her she had better go .somewhere to sleep for the night, and give herself up in the ' morning. The flooring was broken four years.ago. A man named Garcy was drowned in the Otaki river, and as ’ they were, taking the coffin into the cell the mail; who was carrying the end of it got his lingers

jammed; as there was no room to turn, and dropped the end of the coffin., which broke away the rotten cuds of the flooring hoards, leaving, a. gap which was enlarged by the wear and tear of persons walking through the doorwrj". He had seen a sow and litter of pigs run 5 for shelter in to the cell through this hole, and had often had pint bottles of beer passed to him when he had been locked up-for drunkenness. The jury found a verdict of “ Not guilty,” and His Honor discharged the prisoner, cautioning him against making another appearance in the dock.