POLICE LIQUOR RAID.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 38, 14 February 1910, Page 4

POLICE LIQUOR RAID.

(By Telegravh.—Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, this day. As a sequel to a police raid in the prohibition district of Ngahauranga James Steore was to-day fined £20 and costs for keeping liquor for sale; and William Anderson, cattle drover, was lined a similar amount.

A page of the sealed (book which shows how much liquor ie taken into a nolicense district was opened at the Wellington S.M. Court on Friday, during the hearing of a charge of sly-grog selling at -vgahauranga (says the "Dominion"). A wholesale wine and spirit merchant was called upon to produce his book to show Mow much beer had been consigned to a certain address at Ngahauran<-a since January 5. The latter read 108 gallons, or G kegs of IS gallon, each. Counsel for the defence proceeded to show that under no-license it was quite possible for men to lawfully drink more beer under the above conditions than they could have done under hotel license. It was stated that the beer cost £2 for 18 gallons, so that the men who imported it got more for their money than if they had spent the money over a hotel bar. The pro*", was something approaching 250 per cent., so that saying they only spent the same amount of money the men could drink nearly three times __ much. Tlie witness to'whom these suggestions were put believed that he was not the only merchant who supplied beer to the district in question. "No, it's hot weather, and there are about 90 or 100 butchers there," explained counsel, and 'the Court appeared to understand.