MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2558, 4 September 1915, Page 13

MAGISTRATE'S COURT

SELLING ADULTERATED MILK MM-YENDOR FINED £20 Tiro charges were preferred against Prank Staveloy and Oliver Weight (milk vendors) on the information of Inspector Oowdrey in the Magistrate's Oouit yesterday, (.1) selling milk which was below the, standard, ill solids other than butter-fat, (2) selling milk containing added ..water.. . Mr .V. It. Meredith, prosecuted, whilo ifr. A. ,W, Blair appeared for defendant. . .-i, In entering a plea of guilty' to both charges; Mr. Blair said his clients had bean recommended by Plunket nurses as having tie most reliable milk. As far as the added witter was concerned defendants were prepared to swear -that they personally had not added water. Defendant's , milk came from two sources, Otaki and'the Hutt, and unfortunately they were unable to. say. whii& particular soxirce-.it camo from on the day in question, Referring to the shortage in solids other than fat, Mr. Blair said tliat this was due solely to tha failure of the driver of the cart from which the, milk'"was purchased to stir the milk can. Mr. Blair quoted figures in support of his statements.'.In Ilia evidence defendant Staveley said, that the temptation to drivers ;of milk carts to, sell milk to oilier milk cart drivers who approached them in tlie course of their rounds was "simply enormous." -This was inore apparent this 6eason owing to the shortage of milk. In, this way. the vendors wore penalised for the offences of their servants) Mr. Meredith submitted that 'defendant,: haying been previously convicted, should have been warned by this to take precautions. to eliminate the possibilities of water being added from other than personal sources. < ■ • ' 'Hie Magistrate (Mr. D. 6. A. Cooper) remarked that the public ; had to be protected from what was at one time a scandal.. He. sympathised with' defendant in his difficulties. He would not- look upon the .offence. as being a second! one, in view of the fact that it was .two years before defendant was previously convicted, and had since had hundreds of samples taken ffom liis ■ milk. '. . Defendant, would be fined £20' on tlie'charge of adding water, and convicted'and discharged on the.-, other charge. Costs. totalling £1 18s.. 6d. were ordered to bo paid. OTHER CASES; , A' young: woman'named Eya .Grace Toohill admitted two" theft' charges, (1) stealing a-pair, of shoes-, the property of Mrs. Bernard. Page; (2) at Lower Hutt'.stealing various articles. 6fladies' attiro, and £3 in money. She had been previously convicted at Christc'liurch for, theft-in 3901). Mr. P. W. Jackson ; pleaded for leniency for accused.. 'i,'lio ' Magistrate, said iaccus'ecL ..would ,be:convicted and discharged' for tlie first , offence, and sent to'the,Salvation Army for twelve, mouths on'the second. Accused was also ordered to refund the value of the' missing boots,, while the other property, which, has been recovered, is to be returned to tho owner. For insobriety, Daniel M'Farlaue was fined 205., in default three days' imprisonment, and John William Lucas was iined- l(k,' or 48 liriurs' imprisonment. ' ' DEFAULTING TERRITORIALS. •A lengthy list of prosecutions; under the Defence Act came before the Magistrate. . "One of the .worst cases for a number of years," was the comment of a Defence.officer in Tespect to the case of James, George Veitch, charged with failing to attend drill. The officer in question said Yeitch had .'only sis, attendances in -1913, and none' in 1914 or ' 1915. Tlie Defence Department had had considerable difficulty in locating defendant, and now .that they had him they' asked for the maximum penalty. On accused's behalf, Mr. H. F. O'Leary said' that this was the first Aumnions served against defendant. He lmd recently enlisted. A fine of ,£3, with costs 75., in default 14 days' military detention, was imposed. Edward James Pay ton was' fined a similar amount. . The following were also fined:—Robert Burns, ss,,'costs 75.; William John Hunter Brown, "20s.j. costs 7s. j Edwin Arthur Child-s, Leonard Wilford Colvorwell, Arthur. Henry Monton, and Walter Sydney Point-on,' each fined' 205., and costs 75.; Maurice Grifiin Carmody, Vernon Stanley Smith, George Frederick Holloway, Stanley Odlin, Robert Matthew Clausen, each fined ss.,'Carmody and .Smith being in addition ordered to pay 7s. costs. By-LAW BREACHES. ' ' For committing breaches of the vehicular by-laws the following were penalised, as mentioned':—Henry M'llroy fined '405., with"costs 75.: Bert Darnell, 10s., oosts 75.; and Jatnes David M'lveown, 55., ;costs -7s. For allowing : livo slock to wander, John Hamilton was fined £1, with costs 135., • and Mrs. Alice Wickha-m fined 10s., costs 7s. , , RESERVED JUDGMENT. ' .The reserved judgment of Mr. Poynton, S.M., was read in the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning in the case Alfred Gustofson v. Alice Mary Addison. The plaintiff claimed a refund of a-deposit of £50 paid by him to-the defendant in zespcct of the, purchase of the Wairau Valley Hotel 011 the grounds, that the contract for purchase was incomplete, ' and that the defendant's agents had misrepresented tho:trade of the hotel. Judgment was entered in favour of tlie plaintiff for the amount claimed, with £6 3s. costs, security for appeal being fixed at the amount of the judgment, with £10 additional. Mr. 0. Bcere appeared at tho hearing for the plaintiff, and Mr. A. W. Blair for tho defendant.