A CENSUS ECHO

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 143, 18 June 1926, Page 6

A CENSUS ECHO

REFUSED TO MAKE RETURNS.

OWING TO RELIGIOUS BELIEFS. FINED £3 OR SEVEN DAYS. The first prosecution under the Census and Statistics Act td be brought since the taking of the last census was brought in the Police Court this morning when Joseph Batten, Harry Batten and Harry Alfred Batten were each charged with refusing to fill up the census forms to the best of their belief. When asked by the clerk as to whether he would plead guilty or not guilty, Harry Alfred Batten said, "I can't answer either way." The other two defendants each pleaded guilty. Senior Detective Hammond, who prosecuted, said that when approached by the census enumerator the three defendants refused to accept the census papers.

A clerk in the Post Office who was employed as an enumerator, said that registered letters were sent to each defendant containing census papers, but they refused to accept them. Further schedules were afterwards sent, but returned unopened. So far Harry Alfred Batten had not made his census return.

A sub-enumerator gave similar evidence, and added that the chief postmaster wrote to defendants telling them that they could call at the post office and fill in their papers, the contents of which would be regarded as confidential. However, defendants would not accept delivery of the registered letter containing this information. Witness called upon them on three different occasions when they refused to take the schedules. He understood that they would not fill in the papers owing to their religious ideas or beliefs.

Evidence that defendants refused to accept delivery of registered letters was then given by a postman. When asked by the magistrate, Mr. J. W. Poynton, whether he had anything to say or questions to ask the witnesses, Harry Alfred Batten said that he had nothing to say.

Each of the defendants were then fined £3 in default seven days' imprisonment.