RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2246, 27 August 1891, Page 3

RESIDENT MAGISTRATES COURT.

Geraldine —Tuesday, Aug, 11, 1891. .J fßefore C. A. Wray, Esq., R.M., and H. W. Moore, Esq., J.P.] JUVENILE LAPJUKINISM. Four boys were charged with on the K . 2nd day of August, 1891 they did unlawfully and maliciously damage certain trees at the G eraldine school; also with, on the same day, writing certain indecent words on an outhouse of the public school. The boys, with the exception of one, pleaded guilty. James Aitken, head master of the Geraldine school, gave evidence to the effect . that on the Monday morning following the day on which the offence was committed his attention was drawn to certain indecent words written on the outhouse of the school. His attention had been drawn to it by a respectable boy in the school, whose name had been signed below the words. He immediately went out and saw the words. In one place they seemed to be written with a sharp instrument, and could not be rubbed out; in another place they were written with a piece of charred stick. He rubbed out what he could, and then called the attention of the School Committee to the words written by the sharp instrument. He then called the attention of the keeper of the place to the circumstance, and she said her boy had heard that some »of the boys charged had been seen about the school on the day of the offence. He found, besides the words written, four yourig trees with their tops broken off. To the Bench: He had occasion before to complain of indecent writing on the school walls, but he never had been able to find out who.had done it. The usual course would be to punish boys found guilty of the offence, if they belonged to the school. The boys charged, with one exception, were not schoolboys, and consequently were not under his supervision.

The boys, in reply to the Bench ’ said that three of them had written the words. The other one had not. The boy’s name written below the words was not written to throw suspicion on that. boy. Mr R. H. Pearpoint, representing the School Committee, said that the parents of the boys were able to pay a fine, but he thought it would be better if the case was dismissed on the understanding that the boys got a good sound thrashing. The Bench concurred with Mr Pearpoint, thinking that punishment of that nature would better meet the case than any other. A parent said his boy was just returning home when he fell in with the other boys, but he did not participate iy the oftence.

The Bench said the proper punishment was a good sound flogging, but they would like to see the parents of the boys first before they dismissed the case on that consideration. The case would stand over till next Court day to give the boys’ parents time to attend the Court. 'The case against one would be dismissed, The Court then rose.