ILLEGAL LIQUOR

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 63, Issue 41, 27 November 1942, Page 4

ILLEGAL LIQUOR

HOTEL PROPRIETRESS FINED. SUPPLY TO MEN IN FORCES. • SEVERE WARNING, GIVEN. The Magistrate’s Court sat at Ashburton to-day, Mr H. Morgan presiding. A long, list' of cases was dealt with. Amending her plea of not guilty, entered when she was remanded on a previous occasion on charges of selling liquor without a licence and of supplying liquor to members y>f the Armed Forces in uniform for consumption, elsewhere than on the premises, to a plea, of guilty, Emily W. Stirling, proprietress of the Commercial Hotel, was convicted and fined £ls on the first charge and convicted and discharged on the second charge. A large quantity of intoxicating liquors, including ale and brandy, had been found on the premises said Sen-ior-Sergeant Cleaijy, and there had been glasses and a, towel on a small table. i

The, Magistrate said that the finding of such a large quantity of liquor on the premises pointed to the fact that the trafficking had been going on for some time.

The accused: I used to “shout” for my tenants when they paid the rent. “That my be so,” said the Magistrate, “but you nevertheless broke the law. There has been trouble over this offence in Ashburton for a long time. First I dealt out fines, with comparatively little . effect. Then I tried imprisonment, and there was a' diminution of the offences. If you think that because you are a woman you will not be punished you are wrong. Moreover, if you come before me again, you will be imprisoned.”

Suspended Sentence Given.

Charged with the theft of a B flat cornet, the property of the Auckland Wiatersiders’ Silver Band, Harold James- Narman, a soldier aged .18, pleaded guilty, and was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within two years. An order was made for the restitution of £lO to the band.

Senior-Sergeant J. Cleary, who prosecuted, said that accused had joined the band, and after a short period had left Auckland, taking with him his uniform and the cornet, which he had later sold for £lO. He was a few days under 18 years of age when the offence had been committed. Norman’s commanding officer, who appeared for him, admitted the jurisdiction of the Court to deaf with defendant. The charge for the offence had been hanging over him for some time, and had so worked upon his nerves that he had staged a suicide, leaving his uniform outside a bathing hut at St. Kilda, Dunedin, and decamping to Christchurch, where he had donned- mufti. Although a member of the Army, he was waiting to be called into the Navy. 4 “You are just a youth yet, but you are old enough to realise the seriousness of your offence,” said the Magistrate, in passing sentence. “You want to join the Navy, ia.nd it is- your first offence, and the fact that you come of a good family appears to make your offence all the more reprehensible.. There has been a good deal of thieving going on lately, and I am of the opinion that penalties will have to be increased. It is only your youth that has saved you from imprisonment.”

Soldiers “Convert” Trolley,

“These men actually converted the trolley to their own use,” said the Magistrate, when five soldiers charged with offences which involved breaking a padlock valued at 2s 6d, the property of the New Zealand Railway and placing rolling stock (the trolley) upon the main south line without authority to do so.

The soldiers were Robin Campbell (who did not appear), Reginald Cavell, Ronald Tonks, Harold. Webster, and Gordon Clark.

' Presenting the case for the police, Senior-Sergeant Cleary said that the men had been to a party and were on their way back to camp in a car. One of the tyres punctured, and they broke the padlock on a trolley beside the railway line, and rode> the trolly to a point where they could telephone foi; a taxi.

Each of the defendants were fined £l, and Campbell and Cavell were each ordered to pay half the cost of replacing the lock.

In imposing the fine, the Magistrate issued a stern warning to all soldiers to refrain from interfering with property that ivas not their oavd.

Imprisonment for Theft. On a charge of having stolen Government property valued at £5 2s. John Francis Magneil, Avho pleaded pot guilty, Avas convicted /and sentenced to tAVO months’ hard labour. Magneil’s defence Avas that he had seen an article .lying on the road, had taken it to his hut, put it under his mattress and forgotten it. The police evidence Avas to the effect that a constable visited accused’s hut in connection with another matter. Accused Avas requested to throAV back the mattress on his hunk, and Avhen he complied, an item of military equipment was disclosed. I-lis counsel admitted that, accused had a long list, but submitted that most of the offences had been carried out when he Avas under the influence of liquor. “There Avould have been no difficulty in returning the instrument to

the military authorities,” said the Magistrate in passing sentence. “On his own admission, soldiers came to his hut after he was supposed to have found the article and he did not give it to them to be passed on to the authorities.” On a charge of having stolen a 'quantity of foodstuffs valued at 8s from an Army mess room, to which he pleaded guilty, Magneil Avas convicted and sentenced to imprisonment 'with hard labour for one month. The Magistrate ordered the sentences to be served cumulatively. Failure to Enrol. Pleading guilty to a charge of failing to enrol in the General Reserve, Samuel Ralph ToAvnley, aged 22, of Tinwald, Avas fined £7 10s. Threw Glass on Road. “While two constables Avere on patrol in Havelock Street, they saAV a car go past, and heard the sound of glass breaking on the bitumen, .said Senior-Sergeant Cleary, giving evidence in a case in which Ronald Small Avas charged Avith having throAvn glass 'in a public place. “One of the constables flashed a torch on the spot and haw the pieces of a broken bottle lying in the street.” “In these days, when conservation of tyres is such an important matter, his is a serious offence,” said the Magistrate in fining Small £l. Claim for Maintenance. After hearing evidence in a claim by Agnes Crocker against EdAvard Crocker, for a separation order, maintenance at £3 a Aveek, and the guardianship of tAVo children, the Magistrate adjourned the case for in. fortnight, 'pending the submission of evidence 'regarding the legitimacy of one of the Children,

Civil Case. Mrs D. A. McDoA\ r ell obtained judgment' by default against A. A. Hood Tor £ll 15s, and £3 7a costs.