PETERSFIELD.
Agent—Mr. G. DUPLOCK.
PETTY SESSIONS.—Tuesday.—Present, the Hon. J. J. Carnegie (chairman), Major Briggs, and J. Waddington, Esq.
— Jane Mullard pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting Martha Trusler, at Bramshott, on Saturday, June the 29th. The parties are near neighbours, and complainant deposed that on the day in question she went to a spring to get two pails of water, when she was met by defendant, who struck her twice—first on the upper lip, and then across the bridge of her nose. Defendant alleged that complainant’s dog had killed several of her ducks and geese, and admitted that in her excitement she had slapped her face, and was sorry that she should have been brought before the magistrates on so trivial a charge. Fined 2s. 6d. and 9s. 6d. costs.
— Henry Whiting and Henry Downes were brought up in custody, charged with stealing, at Broadhalfpenny Down, in the parish of Catherington, on Tuesday, July 9th, three fowls, value 3s., the property of William Hurst. Complainant keeps the Bat and Ball public-house, and his wife, Eliza Hurst, deposed that prisoners were drinking there from about two till four o’clock. When they left there were eight chickens belonging to her husband in front of the house, three of which were soon after missing. [The fowls were produced by P.C. Grant, and identified by witness.]—P.C. Henry Grant deposed to going in pursuit of the prisoners, and finding them at a house at Lovedean about nine o’clock in the evening. He there found, in a bundle which the prisoner Whiting said belonged to him, the three fowls which he now produced—Prisoners elected to be tried by the bench. Downes pleaded not guilty, and said he knew nothing of the fowls till the policeman came and found them in Whiting’s bundle. Whiting pleaded guilty. The magistrates gave Downes the benefit of the doubt as to his complicity in the theft, and sentenced Whiting to six weeks’ imprisonment with hard labour.
— There were two cases of infringement of the orders in council relating to the cattle plague. In both cases the parties had erred through negligence in bringing the stock into Petersfield market without a ‟store stock license.” They had in each case procured from a member of a district committee ‟a license to move cattle within the county;” but, as we explained at some length in our bench report a fortnight ago, this license does not authorise them to take stock into a licensed market for sale; nothing but a ‟store stock” license will serve for this, and this must be signed by a magistrate. The chairman remarked that it was a great pity the members of district committees were not more careful in signing licenses, but this could not be admitted as an excuse, and as the continuance of the market would be jeopardised by a persistence in these infringements of the regulations under which it had been re-opened, the magistrates were determined to put a stop to them; they would, however, in the present cases; inflict only a nominal fine of 1s., with costs 11s. 6d., but in all future cases a heavier penalty would be inflicted.
— Alfred Stacy, of Petersfield; Peter Lumley, of Privett, and George Lillywhite of Petersfield, were severally fined 8s., including costs, for allowing their horses to stray on the highway.
— Charles Stanly was fined 5s., and costs 11s. 6d., for being drunk and disorderly at Anmore, in the parish of Catherington, on the 20th of May last. The absence of defendant from the neighbourhood during the past two months prevented the service of the summons until now.