THE COURTS.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17742, 19 April 1923, Page 5

THE COURTS.

SUPREME COURT. j

IX BANCO. (Before his Honour Mr Justice Adams.)

PAYMENT TO CKEDITOK. | Th? Official Assignee in the bankrupt e3- j tate of Fred Thomas Smith, builder, sought I an order that a payment made by Smith to j K. Kccce, Ltd., be declared void, on the grounds of fraudulent preference, i Mr A. T. Donnelly appeared fir th= I Official Assignee and Mr W. J. Sim for E. ; Keece, Ltd. \ Mr Donnelly contended that tho banirrup'. i had clcaiiy shown, a acudulor.t piefe j to the defendants. ! Mr Sim stated that his c!i >nt3 had ic- ' feptcd the payment in perfect gorxi fa-it i vr.d that v.i.3 a sufficient answer to in ' "■laim. 'J he cJ!!];:«,nv was not aware thai Sir.ith was in d fficuities. i ii'.s honour stated that def.'ndar.is' tran3- ', actions with Smith appeared t) l.v entirely '• n.-'raii,'. The app icatio.i was dismissed, h'.a Honour adding that it had bo.n, neceis.ry :<-r tit? Offi'-ial Assignee '..> bring the matter bt-ioio th.- Ojliii.

MAGISTERIAL.

WEDNESDAY, i UJefoio Mr Wyvern "VvTson, S.M.) nKU.VKEX.VESS. j A llrti offender was lined IPs, in default I -1 nourd' imprisonment. j TWO .THEFTS. j Vicbr Huj;h Greavoa, aged 23 yeirs, pleaded guilty to having- stolen mi overcoat valu-'d at £5, the property of C ifford Art .nr Goodwin, and ?. ;u,; valued at £.', Iho property of some person unknown. Senior-Sergeant Lewin: Ho admits that he stole the rug from a roctor-cur and th:it | he tool: the coat from a dance hall ii S.vl- i en ham. It raj siated that accused had ro'd t'l2 stolon article?. He had been convi.tcd a.id sent- to Weraioa in 1819. T::e Magistrate convicted Greaves anl pcol-pcr.ecl sentence until April 17th, i.t order that the probation officer might m"3pare a report. HEMAXDED. George Lloyd Evans, aged 42 Years, was charged that on April 13th hi obtains] from YV. Strange and Co., goods to t.e valus of £2 8s Cd and £4 Ha Cd in mono;- by mear.3 of a valueless chequs on the Bail.*: of Now Zealund at ChriulchuroH f.ir £7. On the application of the police ho waa remanded till April tllith. UXDEit THE COUNTEE! Wiiiiam Brown, the Hcemieo of the Masonic Hotel (Mr 11. J. Gresson) pleaded guilty .o charges or having on March llth exposal liquor for sale after houis, ui.t of having failed to admit the police to the bar. I Seu-ior-Sergcj-nt Lewin Eaid that at 5.22 I p.m. Sergeant Peterson and a. constable entered the hotel by tho Gloucester street entrance and saw through a glass panel in'ths bar-door that a woman was behind t!u counter. They knocked on the door, but got no response, and could find nobody on tho premises who had any authority to opan His door. The police wuited until 10.15 p.m. before the licena o j cama in. He stated that Mrs Brown had tha j koys- of tho bar but she was tit the pio turea, he believed. However, a duplioats was found and the bar was entered. When the lights were turned up, three men anl the licensee's wife got up from behind the counter. The Magistrate: They had besc. there for some two hours? Mr Gresson. stated thai; both the offencei' had been committed in the absence of the licensee from the premiseß. The li er.soa's wife had nothing to do with the management of the bar. She had been giving the men drinks, and when the police came, sli? lost her head. Brown had been throe years j at the hotel and 12 months ago he had been convicted for having one person on the premises after hours. I The Magistrate remarked that n.s .far aB Mrs Brown was concerned, she had learnt something of a- lesson. Nothing would make mora of a.n impression on- .her nervous astern than, that she had cr-v-ched down in tho dark for two hours. This was the second time that the licensee hsul be?n before the Gonrt. He lied broken the lnw, and he would have to suffer tor it. Mr Wilson said that he would not consider the question of endorsing the license, us- the licensee was not on the premi3»s, but if there was a third conviction againßt him. that question would have to be considered. Defendant was fined 40i and cost* on the charge of having failed to admit the po I ;©}. £5 and costs for having sold liquor after hn'irs. The three men, who were found W-ind the polluter. Thomas Hart, Norman Oldridgi and Edward Alexander itattrav wero each convicted and fined 2Cs mid costs. STALE MILK. James T. Priest (Mr K. M. Gresson) pleaded guilty to having sold milk that v;ai not fresh. Mr Gre>son said that the inspector had not found that defendant's cans were tinclean. The milk had probably not been cooled sufficiently. A sample had been taken from milk which defendant wa-S: delivering at 7 o'clock in the morning, and which comprised some milk which he had obtained the nv?ht before from a supp'ier. The Magistrate imposed a fine cf £lO, and said that the only way to make milkmen careful was. to make it too dear for them to he careless. ILLEGAL SALE OF CIGARETTES. John Dalton, a fruiterer and confectioner, was charged with having sold cigarette* after hours on February 19th. Evidence was given, that defendant said he "didn't know what the time was" when the Inspector of Awards spoke to him. "It is urilair competition, and th.»t is th 1 reason why the penalty must be li-pt up," remarked the magistrate. Defendant was fined 40s and c-sts. Margaret Sullivan, aho a oon'cctioner, was fined 40s and costs for a similar offence. COMMITTED FOB TRIAL. Ernest James Ab:rnethy, azed 18 years, and Svdney Edward- Loose, aged 22, wers charged that on Decembor they brok and entered the shop of Lc-uiEa Mat.lda Gregory and stole watches, ear-rings, necklace! and jewellery to the volui of £3lB 6s 6d. Mr A. J. Malley appeared for Abernethy, and Mr C. V. Quigley for Loose. Evidence was given by the owner of th.-? shop, by a secondhand dealer, and oth?r people who had received articles of jewellerv from accused. Detective James Bickerdik? said that when lie interviewed Lt>ose, accused sail 'The game is up. Tou got the jewellerj from a Miss Keaton. She did not xnoi< I had" stolen it. I told her I had bought it. I did not do the job, neither did Abernethy. I am not going to say who did it. ' Witness knew that Loose and. Abemeth' were matr.i. Both men had previously denied that they had committed the the't. Accused reserved their defence trnd pleaded not guilty. They were committed to ths Supreme Court for trial. DISMISSED. There was no appearance of comp'ainaat in the case in which Molly Annie Wright -h'id leid an information against Percy Turnbull (Mr D. H\ Hall) for assault. Sneior-Detective Gibson, said the girl had called at the police station and Btated that she did Rot wish to ro on with the case. The Magistrate said it seemed there had been some cauflf for complaint, although tho act might- not have constituted legal assault. The case would be dismissed for want of prosecution, but cs complainant wa/i a <*irl of 1" years, costs -would not bs allowed against her. KAIAPOI. (Before Messrs J. H. BbiclcweU and T. H. Leifhead, J.P.'s) Patrick Kyau, alias Blanks, alias BarJts, alias William Walsh, charged with tho theft of £-, was sentenced to two months' imprisonment.