JUDGMENT

Taylor J:

In this case the accused, who is a lorry driver, was charged with house trespass with the intent to intimidate the occupant and also with assault, under s. 352, Penal Code.

The case for the Crown was that the accused went to the complainant's house and protested against the alleged participation of the complainant's son in writing a petition against certain persons, including the accused; after some argument the complainant asked the accused to leave his house but he did not go and threatened to hit the complainant. The accused also made as though to strike another person with a torch but the blow was averted.

Now it should have been clear from the charges and the opening statement of the prosecuting officer that no blood had been shed and that the offence, if any, was not serious. But all concerned, including I fear the learned Magistrate, partly lost their sense of proportion and instead of sticking to essentials and ending the case in an hour or two they allowed it to grow into a local cause celebre, the record of which extends to thirty pages.

I am well aware of the difficulties which attend cases of this kind, of the litigiousness of certain classes and o