OLD FINE PAID.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 129, 13 March 1935, Page 7

OLD FINE PAID.

IMPOSED 32 YEARS AGO. (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, March 12. Thirty-two years after being lined in the Wellington Magistrate's Court, a man who had probably forgotten all about his little debt to the Crown paid his fine and costs last week. In 1903 he droye a dray across the railway line without first complying with the notice: "Stop,-look out for the Engine." He was fined £l, but the fine was not paid and a warrant of commitment was issued. . Still the fine remained unpaid and the man was not found but last week a police officer who was seeking the man in the course of, other inquiries referred to old police records and noticed that the fine was outstanding. The man paid the fine and costs without a murmur.

A lawyer, to whom the above message was referred, said that judgment debts, which covered fines, were not forgiven by time but were due till the offender's death, when they could Be claimed from his estate. His heirs however, were not responsible for payment. Though a man could be committed to gaol for non-payment, he was always given an opportunity to pay, no matter how Jong it was after the fine had been imposed.