MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 May 1920, Page 6

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

NEW PLYMOUTH SITTING. . The following cases wore dealt with yesterday at a sitting of the Magistrate's Court at New Plymouth, at which Mr. T. A. B. Bailev, S.M. presided:— On the application of the police a wail named Olarkin, who was brought up on remand 011 a charge of being an idle and disorderly person, was further remanded for eight days in order that he might be placed under medical observation. A VISIT TO V )WN. Wtn. Stubbs pleaded not guilty to charges of drunkenness and committing n. grossly indecent act in a public place on Wednesday evening. Accused denied both charges. Replying to Sub-Inspector Hutton, accused said he had had about seven or eight hee'rs that dfcy, but was quite steady. In answer to the Magistrate as to where he was working, the accused said he was "'making the main line to Auckland away lfeyond Stratford"; and when asked what he was doing so far away from his work, replied that he had come to town "to see about the pony that all the fuss was about." This was explained as some trouble between accused and Inspector King over the impounding of a pony. On the charge of drunkenness, accused was convicted and discharged, and on the second charge he was fined 20s and costs, in default 7 days' imprisonment. A ROYAL CELEBRATION. John Joseph Larkin, who appeared on charges of a br"*eh of a prohibition order, and with being found on licensed premises during the currency of such order, pleaded guilty. Mr- R. H. Qnilliam represented accused, who, he said, had for some time at least been endeavoring to keep in employment and to, leave the drink alone. On the occasion in question, which took place on the 3rd May, defendant, who had been in the Navy and served .with the Prince of Wales' father, was celebrating the visit of the Prince with a.friend with whom lie had been in the army. Tlje engineer of the Taranaki Meat Co., for whom Larkin worked, also stated that defendant was making an effort to keep much straighter. The Magistrate took a lenient view of defendant's lapse, and in spite of his long list of previous convictions merely convicted and discharged him, with the warning not to come up again or it would probably mean Rotoroa for him. LOSS OP A BICYCLE. JohnSteller, for whom Mr. A. C. Lawrey appeared, pleaded not guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting David S teller, in the theft of a bicycle, on April 24th. Robert 0. Ellis, county clerk, deposed that his son lost a bicycle on the date mentioned. Detective Fitzgibbon gave evidence that defendant met witness in town and told him he had found a bike in his garden that morning. Witness went out and found the bike just inside the gat? and defendant's boy doing something to it. He questioned the boy, but his father called him away on some pretext or other. Defendant gave evidence in which he said the first he saw or knew of the bicycle was when he found it inside the front fence and he went straight into town and told the police, lie asked his boys about it when hj» found it, and when they said they knew nothing about it he gave them a Mding because he thought they wero telling untruths, but he had found out that they were innocent. The Magistrate commented on the very unsatisfactory attitude of the defendant throughout, and, in discharging him, warned him that next time the police had occasion to inquire of him about anything to be more straightforward. with them

Defendant left the bos muttering something about his innocence and the police having no business to come to him.