APT WORDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 139, 15 June 1939, Page 12

APT WORDS.

PICTURE PUZZLE. ORGANISER CONVICTED. BREACH OF GAMING ACT. In ii rcsencd judgment delivered by Mi. ('. K. Oil- Walker. S.M., in (lie Police Court to-day, lie held that a com net it inn iirjjii nised and conducted liv Kenneth Marcus . Douglas. and known as tin l IncuraliU' Cripples' Henolit, was a ltrt'acli of section 41(a) of the (la in inn Act. The prosecution. brought 1»V the police, alleged that Doujlas esty blished a lottery, and the case was heard on May 1!». The facts were ready in.', disputed by Mr. I!. I'. Hunt, who repre sented defendant, and the question wa whether defendant conducted a lottery within the meaninjr of the <!ainin;r Act. Mr. Walker said that the competition consisted of choosinjr the most apt wilds to dcscrilie the pictures shown on the picture pu/./.le and tilling in the missinjr letters in the hlank spaces. There was nothing shown on the picture pu/./.le form to indicate who was to he the jildfre of the most apt words, hilt it wan proved in evidence that defendant had decided that matter and had pi iced in safe custody an envelope containing the list which he had decided on as the most apt word*. It was therefore in reality a competition a* to which of the entrants jjot all or nearest to the words decided by the. defendant. There was no evidence to show what particular qualifications he held for <iej ei<linjr on the aptness.

Mr. Walker said that he could lot see that the competition was other than one of guessing which of several appropriate words the defendant, without any particular qualifications for doing so, chose or had chosen as the most apt words. He chose what he considered the most applicable and cleverest answers, the intention being to award the prizes to those whose answers were nearest to his "kov solution."

His Worship said that iie was -ntisfied that the result of the competition depended wholly on chance, and he enter a conviction.

lii pointing out that defendant had made no money out of it himself, though others did in the way of large commissions. his Worship said:—' Defendant established this lottery to raise money for :i laudable object. I do not think ill the circumstances tin; offence calls for a penalty, and lie will be ftrilei e.i to pay costs only."