SUPREME COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 December 1918, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

• ■ ■ CHARGES OF ATTEMPTED MURDJOR. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, Lait Night. At the Supreme Court, John Avondale Arnold was charged with having attempted to murder his wife, Eleoor I'reda Arnold, at Alfriston, on October 0, also with having assaulted her witn intent to cause bodily harm, and liiat he had caused, actual Ibodily hann, A third count set out that actual bodily harm was caused in such circumstance's that if death had ensued prisoner would have been guilty of manslaughterMr. Tole, K.G, stated that, afluai a social evening at home, Arnold remarked that he objected to private flor>v.ersatit«js I between bis wife and her father, who lived in tho house,, and on whose' farm Arnold was employed. A. quarrel e» sued, the wife saying she would him next day. With the words: "This will be the end," the man sprang at his wife, caught her by the throat, and choked her into unconsciousness, On ie> covering, the wife staggered into thb bedroom, and the man following, ftgflln , assaulted hev. She again lost consciousness, but regained it. and, opening the window, screamed, "Murder" Tha man pulled her back, pushed her into tho sitting-room, and struck her on tho head with something. The next she rcmeiti: bered was finding herself lying near e cot with her hands bound, while her husband stood at tho door with a, lighted candle and kerosene tin in hip hand Twins, four years old. were in tho cot, and the man attempted to set Are to the bedclothes, his wife, who had released herself, endeavoring to frustrate him. The house was burned to tha ground. Mrs. Arnold denied that she conversed with her father in O.erman, or that he? husband objected to hi 3 presence. John Henry Tlanseh, prisoner's father-in-law, emphatically denied that prisoner ever quarrelled with him on the ground that witness' sympathies, were antiBritish. He declared he had been naturalised for -W ye.ua, his sympathies wore English, and he had no relatives in tented. Counsel for accused said unquestionably accused had committed an aggravated assault, but had no recollection whatever of tha occurrence. The assault was evidently committed in a state of frensy, and Arnpld had no deliberate intention of murdering hi* wife, The jury found accused guilty on the second count of assault with intent, sentence being deferred till Monday. THE BURGLARY CASES.

Thomas Gunn, Patrick Gunn, and Alerander Gunn pleaded guilty to charges of receiving in connection with the recant burglaries in the city. Sentence was deferred. A SERIOUS CHARGE; " Charles Raymond Christie, who was yesterday convicted of having given a girl of 17 a drug for the purpose of procuring abortion, came .up for sentence. Mr. Justice Stringer expressed his satisfaction that the jury had eufftoient moral courage to find a verdict in accordance with the evidence. There had been a tendency among certain juries to look upon the procuring of abortion «* more or less a legitimate employment; which was, of course, a deplorable state of aft'aira. "I think, injaf Msporienoo," j added his Honor, "thi3 is almost the first time a conviction has been rucordod" After commenting on the fact !hat the man was a cripple, rind wduld therefore bo .in embarrassment rather than otherwise to tins gaol officials, and that, for the oamo reason, imprisonment would probably not be much in the nature of punishment for the roan, the Judge ordered prisoner to come up for sentence when called upon. "That means," he remarked, "that you escape the punishment which you riohlv deserve, and which I would have administered to you but for your physical disability,"