A COMEDY OF SYMPATHY.

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 129, 1 June 1921, Page 4

A COMEDY OF SYMPATHY.

" The bookmaker may be occupying an amount of space in news these days that irritates many people, but lie iias the merit of contributing indirectly something to tlie humour of the time. Here we have a deputation going all the way from Christehurch to Wellington to present a request to the Government for the release of Wliitta, the Christchureli bookmaker who was sentenced three

weeks ago to six months' imprisonment. The spokesman said that the case had aroused more public interest than any-" thing that had occurred in Christehurch for a long time. CuristehuTch, we hope, will duly appreciate this tribute to its ideals. The case for Wliitta as presented is quite amusing. He is nearly 50 years of age (i)iiitc aged in fact); he is married (marriage of course is a perilous adventure); he sent two sons to the war (being in this respect quite exceptional); he is in poor health (he was in good enough health apparently to conduct a large illegal business) ; he did liis bookmaking openly; lie was the first bookmaker to be convicted by a jury, and it did not seem fair that he should have to stiller for the ollences of all his brethren. The most remarkable of all these reasons is the failure of juries to convict other offenders. This failure in the face of clear evidence has become notorious, and now it is suggested that in the one cane in which a jury folldwed ita duty an injustice was done. The thing is G-ilbertian. Parliament pasties a law to meet certain cases, a man defies that law and is sentenced to imprisonment, and ten thousand people are ready to say to the Government: ''Please release this unlucky fellow." Sir hrancis Bell and the Minister of .lustice treated the deputation with rather more consideration than it deserved. Mr. Lee said he would consider the representations and give a reply later. There is nothing to consider. There is already iprovisibn for consideration of tlie prisoner's health, and on no other ground is there any justification for any mitigation. There is the law, and it ought to be enforced. If the Government has doubts about the line it is taking about bookmakers, or if it finds that tbe law cannot be enforced, then it should consider the alteration of the law. There is nothing whatever to be said for making a law of this kind and then preventing it from taking its full course.