RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 397, 7 November 1868, Page 6

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Monday, 2nd November. (Before J. Gi'es, Esq., E.M.) ASSAULT. Henry Magui"e was fined £1 and costs,for a trifling assault upon a female named Gretta O'Rcgan. CIVIL CASES. Robert Barker v. Michael Hays—No appearance ; struck out. Fred. Green v. Robert Dutton—This was a claim of £sl 12s, for wages alleged to be due to plaintiff as master of the cutter Volunteer. The plaintiff entered into a long statement of his engagement by one Norman, of the various voyages he had made, of sundry mortgages and re-mortgages of the vessel,of her successes and misfortunes, and finished by producing an 1.0. U. piven him by defendant for the amount claimed. The latter admitted the authenticity of the document produced, but stated that.plaintiff had had the

handling of all the earnings of the vessel since sho had been in his charge, and that he, the defendant, had only received from him the sum of £8 odd, daring the whole of that time. The 1.0.tT. being undisputed, his Worship gave judgment in favor of the plaintiff for tho amount claimed.

Thursday, sth Nov. ASSAULT. A man uamed M'Leod was charged with assaulting Sergeant Williams in the execution of his duty. Sergeant Williams gave evidence of the prisoner having struck him about twelve o'clock the previous night. Mrs Hogan, of the Harp and Shamrock hotel said, the gentleman, (alluding to the prisoner,) came into my house about twelve o'clock, and asked for accommodation. He was verymuch under the influence of liquor, and refused to go out of the house. I called Sergeant Williams in, and the attar then put him out. The gentleman then struck the Sergeant, and I ran and fetched constable Pringle from the camp. Other witnesses stated that the assault was of a very violent and unprovoked character, and marks of it weae visible on the sergeant's countenance. The prisoner was sentenced to a week's imprisonment with hard labour. STEALING. John Hunter was charged with. stealing a watch, the property of constable Rooke. It appeared from the evidence of the prosecutor and other witnesses, that the prisoner received a packet containing the watch in question from, constable Eooke, for the purpose of j carrying it to Griles' Terrace, and there deliveriug'it to Mr Harrison, the storekeeper. In place of doing so he had sold the watch to a miner for £l, and a pair of boots valued at other £2-, and Eooke afterwards saw the watch, in Mr Bruce's shop, whither the miner had sent it to bo repaired. Being cautioned in the usual way and asked if he had any statement to make, the prisoner entered into a long story, the gist of it being that Rooke had entrusted the watch to him for the purpose of being raffled, or otherwise disposed of, and he bad done the best he could to follow the instructions he had received. He was committed for trial at the next sitting of the District Court, bail being taken for his appearance, himself in £SO, and two sureties of £25 each.

The West Coast Times says : —" Intelligence was received in town, on Saturday morning, that as the Persevere was crossing the bar at Grey month through a terrific sea, her chief officer was washed overboard and drowned. The deceased, whose name is John Jones, was a tetotaller of thirty years standing, and was highly respected by all who knew him. lie was unmarried."

Very good reports come in from tho new diggings discovered to the northward of Deadman's Creek. Quite an excitement on the subject prevails in the townships of Caledonian, arid G-iles', and a good many men are knocking round the neighborhood of the new ground situated under Hatter's Terrace within two miles of the Waiuiangoroa river. It is estimated from the prospects obtained by the prospectors, M'Gowau and party, that the diggings will pay about £ls to £2O per man. per week.

The Nelson Government " G-azette" of the 28th ult., notifies the acceptance by his Excellency the Governor, of the resignation by Alfred Greenfield Esq,, of the Wardensbip of the Nelson South-west Goldfields; of the appointment of receivers of land and gold revenue at Charleston, "Westport and Cobdcn, in the persons of Charles Broad, Joseph Giles, and J. E. Dutton, Esqrs., respectively : also notifications of insolvency by Henry Bradley, publican, of "Westport; of Thomas Tracy, storekeeper, of Addison's Flat; and of J. H. Graham, miner, late of Packer's Point, near "Westport. A handsome tea and coffee service has been purchased in Dunedin by a few of the passengers by the ill-fated Taranaki, when she was lost in Tory Channel, including the Bishop of Lichfield and Lord Burghlcy, for presentation to the wives of two settlers named Bowden, in recognition of their hospitality at that very critical time at Bowden's Bay. Late Auckland papers state that a number of minors have proceeded to Ohinemuri from Shorthand, as a depution to wait upon Te Hira with the view of inducing the native chief to open up the district of the Upper Thames. It appears to be very doubful, however, whether the mission willbe attended with success, as Te Hira's party are said to be altogether opposed to the presence of the .pakcha i in their country.