MAGISTRATES' COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 31, 26 June 1914, Page 6

MAGISTRATES' COURT.

YESTKI!.DAY'S SITTIN U. ■Mr A. Crooke, S.M., presided m-r a sitting of the Magistrate's l\.ir - at New Plymouth > e-terday. BOROUGH BY-LAWS.

The borough inipector (.Ur )■-. Tippins) p ucecdcd against J-'Van.-: :■ 'liiui for having driven a wiwgon iV. hire witlliout a license. Defendant nv le no appearance. The in'>p;ctor m,m,.:, dint since the infoni.alion. was h'.id ■. 'endant had procured his license, i-' u. .1 10s arid 7s costs.

Joe Bond, a Chinaman, fo: ha. mg a vehicle unattended was fined fis and 7s

costs.

DEFAULTING TERRITORIALS.

Frederick Hawke was cha.ged- with failure to attend the annual training camp at Takapau. Mr A. li. fciandish, who appear, d for the defendant, (pleaded guilty on his behalf, and explained that Hawke was particularly busy at the time nesting his father, whose business premises were bin.ncd down two or turce days prior to tlie commencement of the encampment. The magistrate remarked that exemption would undoubtedly have betii given had the defendant applied for it. ■ In the circumstances he would indict merely a nominal penalty of 5s and 7s costs. William Prestney was charged 'similarly. Mr J. C Nicholson, who appeared for defendant, said feu in this case Prestney would, lie thought, al?o have been given exemption if he had known that 'ie had to apply to >a magistrate and not to tlie authorities as he had done. He was a partner in fee linn of Orppen and Prestney, plumbers and dii-trii-ia.is, and at the time of tlie camp the iirm was very bu-|)'. If def: ndaut, who attended to the electrician's work, had been obliged to go to camp his firm would have loUt a good deal of business and money. Counsel took it that the camps were not meant to interfere with young men who were in business on their own account. Defendant liad applied to the authorities for exemption from the first camp, and undertook to go to the second, but when the time came he found that it was impossible to get away. Hi» partner was not an electrician, defendant attending to this branch of the Ibusineiis. The magistrate remarked that the annual camp was of more importance than all the drills of tilie year, and young men should try all they could to get to the camp. In answer to His Worship, defendant said it was impossible to get assistance. Sergeant-Major Metilade, who prosecuted, fjaid Prestney had given a Cot of trouble, and fcad twice previously been fined for not attending drills, while his attendance was only fair at any time. A fine of 10s and 7s costs was imposed.

A DISPUTED ORDER. The police proceeded against Harold Thomas for having obstructed a parade ■of No. 90 Company of, Senior Cadets at New Plymouth on .Tunc 8. Defendant, who pleaded rot guilty, was represented by Mr NUhoteou. ' x 'Sergeant-Major MaJiOnoy gave •evidence that at the parade on the date in question Thomas wn | given, an order by hii section .'omimander, and instead of doing as ordered he turned round and ''started to argue the point" with the sergeant in charge. Witness went over .and cautioned him. .Ivater in the evening, during ride exercise work, the squad was ordered to "slope arms," and while the remainder of tlhe section did as ordered defendant remained with his ride at the "order" and turned round and spoke to a boy in the rear rank. Witness then ordered Thomas off the pariade. Through him the rest of the company w<is interrupted, as all the other boys were looking at him and not attending to their work. The case was .brought as an example. Francis Patterson deposed he was the sergeant in charge of the section to which the defendant belonged. The section was standing at ease, and witness asked him the time. Thomas pulled out his watch and told him. The next order was "attention,"' followed by ''slope arms." Defendant was not in a .position to tarry out the order, as he was putting his watch away when the command was given. The sergeantmajor turned round and caught defendant hurrying to the position of slope anus, and thereupon ordered Thomas off parade for obstructing it. Witness spoke to the 'isergeant-.rn.njor after the parade and told him the circumstances, to whidh Ulie sergeant-major replied lie wwuM hear more of it later. Defendant's conduct was generally good. Ear Her in th-3 evening witness noticed that the first four of the .section was incomplete, and asked Thomas to fill a breach. Apparently ho was under the hnprebsion that the* order was wrong,, as he did not go when ordered,' and it was then Uiat the sergeant-major first warned him.. He was generally up to the mark in his drill.

His Worship dismissed the information, at the same time warning 'defen dant against further offence, it was a cadet or a soldier's duty to obey an order and not to argue whether it wa» right ov wrong. '

i DOMESTIC DISPUTES. Mrs. Celiria Rose tiooeh dhnrged her husband, Thomas Henry Go'och, with j persistent cruelty towards her, and applied for a maintenance order far herself and four children, and for a separation orde r with custody of the children. .Mr. 0. 11. Weston appeared for the complainant. Ilhe case was not defended. Evidence was given by the complainant, by her son 'Leonard (ioocli, and also by Kfjbel Fox. and Harry .West, when the ca-e was adjourned until' tomorrow fo T further evidence from" the complainant's father. Mrs. '/,. K. K. ivisk applied for maintenance orders, paid and present, against her husband, Henry Frisk ~ Ml '\, A - R - * KUmclisli appeared for tlie wife, and defendant did not appear. An order was made for the payment oi vt.O past maintenance and £l, per week trom date Charging and receiving orders were also intide on the Public trustee for the payment of tlho money Irom defendant's share of his father's and mother's estates.