MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 805, 30 April 1910, Page 14

MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

(Before Mr. w; G. RiddeD, SJH.)

BEAUTH; DEPARTMENT ACTIVE.

• A charge of selling peeper adulterated trith starch was protend against B. H. , Crease and Son at the Magistrate's Court yesterday. Defendants, •yfho were represented by • Mr. Johnston, pleaded' guilty.' Counsel ' stated that although has clients were a. manufacturing firm, they had been unable recently to meet the large demand for pepper; and as a result they had to purchase outside; It was m respect of the stock-thus purchased that the complaint was made. Counsel asked the Coart to regard this as an. important point, 'defendants being anxious, to observe the, requirements of the Act. They had purchased the goods minnooencej but;.had 'received no written guarantee, which would have saved the purchasers. 'Ha understood "tibe Health Departmont. did; not. press for a heavy penalty. • ; Sub-Lispector Norwood, pointing to the special section of the Act, remarked that tho mixing of starch with pepper was absolutely prohibited,'. , ■ His Worship said,'defendants had their remedy when purchasing the goods outside, ; and could,have applied for a guarantee, which'would have absolved them from liability. Defendants probably did not consider'this precaution necessary; but events had. proved that they were wrong.,. ,-, . '.'A uonviction. and;fine of 40s. and ■costs' 12s. : ;WES'lmposcd::■ '■' ' ' A. similar charge.'against Banriatyne and Co. -was adjourned to May-27. . 'S: S. Patterson'was 'fined 20s.' and costs 12s. for selling ' baking powder containing a greater proportion of sulphate than was pormitted by the Sale of Pood and Drugs Act, 1908. Defendant stated that the goods were purchased from the manufacturer before the'regulations came into force, and had been held in stock ever since. ■■ ■'■ '.''■' i•; ADULTERATED MILK. _' Proceedings were taken at the instance of the- Health Departnvmt against Mrs. S. M'Kelvie, of Karon' -South, charging her with having sold milk which contained water, the addition of which is prohibited by the Sale of Pood and Drugs , Act, 190 S. Defendant, who pleaded not guilty, was defended by Mr. P. W. Jackson, .and appeared for the prosecution,' ... /'

Evidence was given hy one of the inspectors ,of the. Health Department that he purchased a pint of milk from defendant's son on . February 23, the milk; being taken from a can whilst the cart was in Vivian Street. He divided the sample fntq three parts,; sending one to the analyst, giving one to 'defendant; and keeping the other. The analysis of the milk showed 13.8 per cent, of water in excess of that permissible as calculated hy the standard. ': For the defence it was argued that eyery, precaution was taken to keep the milk pure, and although defendant nad been in.the dairying business all her life no complaint had ever been made before. On the morning the test milk had been taken, defendant's son had had to augment his supply by purchasing milk from two or three other milkmen. His Worship remarked on the fact, that defendant made no test of her own milk before it' left the. dairy, and advised her. to do this for the future for her own protection. A fine of 20s. and costs 12s. was entered. .

A CASE ADJOURNED.. A similar charge against T. J. O'Hagan, Vivian Street, was adjourned until May 27. CRUELTY TO A HORSE. A plea of guilty was entered by Hi Myors, arabbiter, to having, on April 19, ill-treated a horse. Sidney Joseph Williams, the driver of the horse, was also charged with, ill-treating the animal. Mr. Kirkcaldie, who appeared for the. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, stated that Myers purchased the horse for £3, and took it to Terawhiti to cart rabbits to town. The horse was worked until sores broke out all over it, said'counsel, and until it got into such a poor condition that it had to bo destroyed. Mr. .Toogood,' for • defendants, said Myers did not know the horse waa in the condition described by the prosecution. Myers .rarely saw the, horse, which was in charge of the other defendant, a boy, who had not reported the state of. affairs to the owner. The driver had packed- up the sore back carefully, but the packing had slipped down. His Worship fined Myers £3, and costs £1 125., in default 21 days' imprisonment, and Williams was ' fined 403., amTcosts 75., in default 14 days' imprisonment.

TRESPASS CHARGE DISMISSED. •When:the case William Collins, bookmaker, oharged with trespassing, on the Trentham racecourse on : April 9, was called, Mr. W. H: D. Bell, who appeared for the Racing. Club, stated that Mr. J. J. M'Grath, for defendant, was pre- : pared to admit; for the purposes of. the present action, the title of the Racing Club, its authority to give instructions to its detectives and the. terms of the letter of instruction to the detectives. Counsel for the' defence , was also prepared to admit that '< the ■ detective thought defendant undesirable, from information supplied; although he could hot swear, of his own knowledge,, that defendant was undesirable. ..His' Worship, after hearing, the-state-ment, dismissed the information on the facts as admitted,, withi costs £1 ; Is! The case might have been on a different footing, said, his ;Worship, if the evidence: of person,.'-iWho gave the 'detectives ;the'information about defendant" had been, called. In previous cases of the same kind the Court had ruled that it was necessary for plaintiff to prove that defendant was undesirable, and the case had been brought to test this ruling. 'ATTEMPTED' SOTCEDE: r Jamea Ford was convicted and ordered to come up for sehtenoo when called on for attempting to commit 'suicide on .April IL' A prohibition order waa ordnrcd to issue against accused. . ' BY-LAW CASES. .■" For faffing to register £hroe dogs, George Hunt and Wffiam Wood were eaoh fined ss. and 3»»m 75., and Alfred Hansen and John Radford were ordered to pay costs 75.. : , ; Joseph Shaw was convicted and ordered to pay costs; 7s-j- for standing on a tramcar platform aid failing ,to leave when requested to.do, so. i.'" otberCca&es. ; : A petty dis&rbjuace;; {between .; two rival newspaper: vvendqrs resulted in one Thompson; : who' pleaded notj Euflty, being charged with having, on April 26, unlawfully assaulted Alfred | Roy. After going into the case at considerable length, his Worship fined defendant 20s. and costs £2 . 25. : : Mr.' M'Grath appeared' for tie prosecution, and Mr. T. W. Hislop defence. A plea of guilty was entered by a young woman named Laura Jefferys, a housemaid si; a private hotel, to a charge of stealing a gold chain and a .cross valued at £3, tie property of violet Butler, a boarder at the hotel. The same accused pleaded guihy to a charge of theft of a pair of corsets, also the property, of boarders in the hotel. On a charge of theft-of a bangle, accused pleaded not guilty,, and this information was dismissed. Accused was remanded .'to 'Monday for sentence on the other two ottarges; the police to make the fullest ' inquiries about her in the meantime The Salvation Army authorities 1 undertook to .shelter accused until she comes-before the court again. Mt. P. W. Jackson appeared for the defence. A prohibition order,, to batfe 12 months' currency, was bened against John Alexander Love. A further adjournment to May 13 was granted in the case of Wing Lee, charged that, during the month of February, ho was the occupier of certain premises in Haining used as a common gambling house. Two first offenders for drnnkerroess were convicted and fined, 10a, one of thorn being ofttered to, pay Bs., expenses of two witnesses.