BEER AND BURGLARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 260, 2 November 1929, Page 9

BEER AND BURGLARY.

WAS THERE A MICROBE?

COUNSEL'S . NOVEL

SUGGESTION.

CLIENTS VISIT CELLAR

"Whether' there is a microbe in the beer or not I don't know/' said Mr. Noble with a puzzled air this morning, when pleading for two men who were up for sentence at the Supreme Court for breaking and entering. "There must be an epidemic of breaking and entering," continued counsel. "Several instances have been before the Court, and in every case the accused were drunk. If a murder microbe' got into the beer, goodness only knew what would happen." The prisoners were Henry Collins and Henry Girling Arnold. . Some time back they -were found one afternoon helping themselves to some cordial from the cellar of the Shakespeare Hotel. One of the men was down below, having evidently simply lifted up the street grating, and he was handing up bottles _to his mate. ' Several bottles of cordial, valued. at 7/7, were recovered. Both men were under the influence of a much stronger water than cordial. His Honor Mr. Justice Smith pointed out that each man had an extensive record already. It was most difficult to fix the exact sentence that would meet such, a case as theirs. He believed they were under the influence of liquor at; the time they committed the offence of which t r hey had been found guilty; he did not think it had been deliberately planned. A constable found them come out into the open street in the light. The record of the prisoners showed that they could not be regarded as first offenders, and he thought the case would be met by sentencing them to eighteen months' imprisonment with hard labour on each charge, the sentences to he concurrent. .