Resident magistrates’ courts ordinance

In 1846, an Ordinance to provide for the establishment of Resident Magistrates Courts, and to make special provision for the Administration of Justice in certain cases was passed.   A fit number of persons were to be appointed as Magistrates from a pool of candidates who were Justices of the Peace and were appointed by Her Majesty.

Each area needed a place to hear cases and in April 1858 Mr Kelling requested that Richmond Reading room be procured at a sum of £12. Up to this point cases were being heard in public houses, which was not seen to be appropriate.

The cases before the magistrates were varied - traffic offences, assaults, larceny, debt, burglary, inquests, defamation and many others.

In April 1859 at Richmond the case of Charles Palmer vs John Kerr was heard before C. B. Wither and J. W. Barnicoat, to recover £5 from the defendant for having sold one cow and calf one day before the time allowed by the ordinance.

Plaintiff gave the evidence that the cow and calf had been impounded and, in the advertising of the fact, in which the owner felt the description was improper, resulted in him being unaware his stock had been impounded until after the sale when he had promised to pay £5 to redeem them from the pound keeper who had become the purchaser.  The defendant was ordered to pay £5 to plaintiff with costs and was severely reprimanded by the Magistrate for having kept the pound in a very loose and irregular manner.

In April 1877 before J. Barnicoat and G. Talbot, Mrs Berkett was fined one shilling per head and costs for allowing three head of cattle to wander at large.
September 1878 saw Robert Bright, butcher, charged with driving 15 diseased sheep along a public road at Richmond.  This case was dismissed.

The same month, Thomas Green, a seaman on board the barque Helen Denny, was charged with embezzling a bottle of rum on the passage, but the case was dismissed. He was also charged with assaulting the cook on the barque, the assault was proved, and Green was ordered to pay a fine of 10sh and costs £2 5sh or, in default, to be imprisoned for 24 hours.  Green took the 24 hours.

In January 1913  a sensational case occurred concerning a Richmond man who was charged with allegedly attempting to murder his wife.  Being such a complex case, the evidence was heard in Nelson.  According to evidence given, Robert Schwass, on December 19th at Richmond, discussed with Charles Warnock that he would do something that night that would surprise the district.   That night he went home and cut his wife’s throat with a sharp instrument. Miraculously, she survived.

The circumstances were detailed before a packed court but the victim was unable to be in court.  The accused was committed for trial at a sitting of the Supreme Court.

February 1895 at Brightwater, before J. Barnicoat, G. Talbot, H. Martin and F. Kelling, John Savage and Benjamin Lines were charged under the Fisheries Dynamite Act for unlawfully using dynamite at the Motupiko bridge.

In 1893 the ‘Resident Magistrates Court’ was renamed to just ‘Magistrates Court’ and their responsibility and authority was extended.  In 1980 the court was renamed again to be the District court and Stipendiary magistrates became District Court judges.