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POLICE NEWS,
The man Robert Hall, who, on the 13th inst.,
stabbed himself whilst standing near the Fish
Market, was yesterday brought before the City
Bench, charged with attempting to commit
suicide. Hall, who had become thoroughly sober,
acknowledged that he had been drinking heavily,
and his wife, who was in attendance, promised to
look after him. He was therefore discharged
after Mr. Call had administered a few admonitory
remarks. Thomas Jones was brought before the
same court yesterday on remand, charged with
having robbed George Hall of a watch. The
prosecutor, who is an employé of the South Mel-
bourne city council, was unable to show that he
had lost the watch while in prisoner's company,
and Jones, who was defended by Mr. Duffy, was
consequently discharged.
. The ever-verdant country cousin made his
appearance yesterday in the City Court, when
Emma Williams was charged with having robbed
Thomas Hawkins on the previous evening of a
purse, containing four £5-notes. Hawkins, who
had been employed on the Tallarook to Yea rail-
way, was walking up Elizabeth-street on Monday
evening, when he was accosted by three women,
who asked him to "shout." He handed Wil-
liains a threepenny bit, when she put her hand in his
coat pocket and took the purse. He gave her in
charge to a policeman, whom he met shortly
afterwards, but the money was not recovered.
It was stated in evidence that the other two
women remained at the street corner until their
companion was arrested, but the policeman did
not interfere with them. The woman was re-
manded until Friday next. Some amusement
was caused when Mr. Call told prosecutor to
leave his address, so that the police might for-
ward his money when recovered. Hawkins at
once said he had no hope of ever seeing his money
again, and meant to get out of town as soon as
possible to earn some more.
. At the Hawthorn court yesterday, a boy named
George Dowd was again brought up, charged
with being a neglected child. He had been re-
manded on several occasions to enable the
police to trace his parents, he having stated that
his father was killed by falling off the Exhibi-
tion Building. After considerable trouble, the
police succeeded in discovering the father, who
appeared in court and stated that his son ran
away from home in April last. The father took
charge of the boy, and he was discharged. Henry
Patterson, for threatening the life of his wife,
was further remanded for one week. He had
been remanded for medical inquiry, and had not
sufficiently recovered to appear.
. At the Collingwood court yesterday, a young
woman named Catherine Lennox was summoned
by the police for making use of obscene lan-
guage in public. It appeared that she had on a
previous occasion been fined £10 for a similar
offence, but as she had not been married
more than a month, the bench were not de-
sirous of nipping in the bud the matrimonial
bliss of the newly wedded couple by imposing too
heavy a penalty. As, moreover, the lan-
guage complained of was used late at night,
the penalty was limited to a fine of £2, or four-
teen days' imprisonment. A laboring man named
Richard Harris, who, it was alleged, has de-
serted his family for some time, was summoned
before the same bench for neglecting to see that
four of his children attended school regularly.
The bench ordered the payment of a fine of 2s.
6d. for each child.
. At the Williamstown court yesterday, two
youths, named Robert Campbell and Henry Jack-
son, were charged with having assaulted W. H.
Fitcher, a member of the Salvation Army. . The
assault took place at a little distance from the
Alexandra Hall, where tbe army holds its
services, and was witnessed by Mr. D. Aiken,
J.P., who himself arrested one of the delin-
quents. Campbell, who received a bad character
from the police, was fined £5, or three months'
imprisonment, and Jackson was fined 40s., or
fourteen days. Campbell was then proceeded
against by summons for having been guilty of
insulting behavior, calculated to provoke a
braach of the peace. It appears that on the 9th
instant he visited the Alexandra Hall, and
threatened to strike a niece of the former prose-
cutor, W. H. Fitcher, in the face. When the
latter expostulated with him, prisoner followed
up the assault with a volley of abuse.
For this he was fined 40s., or four-
teen days. An appeal against excessive
ratage by Pilot Blanchard was met by a reduc-
tion from £70 to £60. Peter Candler, lighterman,
of the hulk J. B. Were, was fined 25s., with 2s.
6d. costs, for having no position light. Duncan
M'Innes, steward of the ship Loch Rannoch, was
charged with embezzling five bottles of "Long
John" whisky, valued at 15s. David Thompson,
second officer, remembered seeing prisoner drunk,
and on looking round found a half-emptied
whisky bottle in the pantry. On his return to
the ship, after an absence of two hours, prisoner
asked him to have a drink out of another bottle.
He then examined the storeroom, and found four
bottles missing, which he reported to the captain.
Prisoner was fined 15s., in addition to a month
in gaol. The samo prisonor was then proceeded
against for having, on the 3rd of August, while
on the high seas, stolen a silver open-faced
watch, the property of James Bowry,
carpenter of the Loch Rannoch, valued at £5 10s.
Michael Crawcour, pawnbroker, stated that de-
feudant had pawned the watch on two occasions,
once in his own name and subsequently in that of
Jones. A boatman named Sparks said that
M'Innes sold him one of the pawn tickets for 10s.
Prisoner, in defence, said he bought the watch
three years previously. He was sentenced to
three months' hard labor. A fireman named
Martin Jordan, belonging to the steamer Gulf of
Venice, was charged with assaulting Captain
Swan. It appeared that prisoner sought to force
his way into the cuddy, and when ordered for-
ward assaulted the captain. Sentenced to twelve
weeks' hard labor.
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