judge yesterday that he really should have procured a lawyer.

Acting Magistrate the Wor. Edward Bailey had often had to act as both judge and defence attorney during the course of the two-day trial, adjourning the matter twice so the 20-year-old defendant could produce witnesses and frequently asking questions on his behalf.

"I am bending over backward for you, and giving you every opportunity to get a fair hearing,'' Mr. Bailey said at one point. "You really should have obtained the services of a lawyer.'' The man, who is accused of having intercourse with a 14-year-old girl and of giving her gonorrhoea, responded that he had paid more than $3,000 for a lawyer who "did nothing'' during the two years that it took the trial to get to court. The defendant also claimed that his mother had looked into the prospect of legal assistance, but he could not say what had come of her enquiries.

Yesterday, the accused produced his only witness of the trial after Mr. Bailey adjourned the case for a few hours and urged him to get someone to corroborate his story.

The man has pleaded not guilty to having had intercourse with the girl, whose doctor testified on Thursday that she was successfully treated for gonorrhoea at an STD clinic in the Caribbean.

Yesterday's witness, the accused's 16-year-old niece, was an acquaintance of the girl's.

"She (the girl) had told me that my uncle had taken her virginity,'' the witness testified.

"And what was your response when you heard that?'' Insp. Duffy asked. "I told her she was lying.'' "Why do you think she was lying? You wouldn't have been with your uncle all the time.'' "I know my uncle,'' the girl replied. Later, the judge asked, on behalf of the accused: "The defendant is your uncle. Would you lie to protect him?'' The girl replied that she would not.

The accused said he could not offer a reason why the alleged victim might fabricate the matter. Insp. Duffy characterised the teenager as a "witness of truth'' who would not have humiliated herself publicly if the acts had not occurred.

Mr. Bailey will deliver his verdict on Monday.