A FINE OF £5

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21714, 22 February 1936, Page 7

A FINE OF £5

UNREGISTERED REVOLVER (PBESS ASSOCIATION TSLEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, February 21. Mentioning as a mitigating circumstance that he had not realised that possession of an unregistered fivechambered revolver was an offence, and that he had given it to his son to play with, James Leopold Looner, a hawker, incurred the astonishment : of Mr W. F. Stilwell, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court to-day, and. a fine of 1 £5, in default one month's imprisonment, was imposed. Detective-Sergeant Revell said two detectives who had occasion to visit defendant's home found'the revolver, and Looner could give no satisfactory explanation of how he came by it. He said an unknown man had given it to him some five or six years ago, but he could not describe the man or give anything that would lead to his discovery. A search of the arms register also failed to disclose any details. The magistrate said he could not accept any proposition.based on ignorance. "These prosecutions have been going on for years; and it has been well ventilated in the press that possession of these firearms is prohibited,' he said. VI must therefore inflict a substantial penalty, as the whole object of the Arms Apt is"to have firearms fegistered. ,, • _