£7000 LOTTERY

Evening Post, Issue 122, 26 May 1933, Page 8

£7000 LOTTERY

<i" A LOCAL VENTURE

PROMOTION CHARGE

TWO MEN PLEAD GUILTY

Charged beforo Mr. E. Pago, S.M., at the Magistrates-Court today with establishing a lottery known as tho "Empiro and Foreign Amalgamated Consultation," whereby £7000 in money was to bo distributed by chance, Melton Allan Inglo and William Craighead pleaded guilty, and were* each fined £15. Detective-Sergeant Revcll said that in December last the two men decided to promote tho lottery and approached | a local firm to print suitablo tickets. Tho first, prize was to bo £.3000, the second £1500, tho third £750, the fourth £350, and the fifth £200. There were to be 100 prizes of £5 and 700 prizes of £1. Fivo hundred tickets were printed, and tho defendants proceeded to sell them -themselves and through agents. They wero approached by Detective-Sergeant Hall in Marih, and as the result of an interview with him they ceased selling the tickets. They said that they, had sold 150 tickets. . .'■ TO BE DRAWN ABROAD. ; The defendants, said Mr. Bevell, would havo had.to sell 56,000 tickets for a start. Only 500 tickets were printed, and as tho lottery was to close on March 31 and was to be drawn on April 14 the defendants had very little time to sell the required number of tickets. They proposed to get a con: ■.'cession Ho draw the lottery in somo foreign country, such as Tahiti. Mr. Rovell said that it was obvious that the defendants could not promote- the scheme, but he did not suggest that it was exactly, a. fraudulent scheme. Counsel for the i defendants (Mr. Evan Parry) interjected that there was no suggestion of fraud. Ho regarded Mr.' Revell's remarks as a definito breach of faith. The Commissioner of Police had been interviewed in connection with the-matter, and he had given an assurance that there was no allegation of,fraud. • Mr. Revell: I do not suggest that . these men wont out to defraud people, but I suggest that they could not possibly sell the required number of tickets. ■ , Mr. Page: You mean that the scheme would have, fallen through? Mr. Revell: Yes. ■ V - DEFENDANTS' INTENTION. ' Mr. Parry said that the defendants intended the lottery to be an honest, one, and they were endeavouring to obtain a 'concession ,in somo foreign country for the drawing of it. Mr. Page: Would that have validated their action ■in selling these tickets? ' ' n .- Mr. Parry: Yes, I understand it would sir. • • Mr. Parry went on to explain that a big company had been started in New Zealand with the object of running a lottery which was to be drawn in Tahiti. There were even Cabinet Ministers ' and members of Parliament amongst the shareholders, he said. > Tho defendants, continued Mr. Parry, began to get alarmed' when they found that they could not get the concession, and consulted him. He advised'them to return the money to those people whose addresses they had A A difficultyarose, however, in communicating with other ticket holders, whose addresses j they did not have. The '■ Commissioner of Police was. consulted, and he advised that an advertisement should be put in the papers offering to return the money to tho ticket holders. . .•; MONEY RETURNED. Mr. Page: Has the money of those ■who applied been returned to them' — Yes,.in every, case, sir. Counsel asked the Magistrate to deal leniently'with the defendants, as the matter had fallen very heavily upon them. vAs far as he could make out the Commissioner of Police did not view the matter very seriously. Mr. Page (to Detective-Sergeant Bevell): Was the initiative taken1 by the defendants in reporting the matter to the police? • Mr. Bevell: This matter was brought under ■ the notice of the police, nnd Detective-Sergeant Hall took up the inquiry, and went along to visit these nien. • • Mr. Page:. They: suggest that they took steps to tcrminato the venture prior to the investigation of the police? —Probably, your Worship. Mr. Page said tjiat a statement made to the police by one of the accused indicated that they had heard of the police inquiries before they, took steps to terminate''the" Venture. / Mr. Parry, asked the' Magistrate to ■grant the1' defendants three months iii which to pay their fines. Neither of them, he said, was in a-good financial position. One month was/allowed in which to find the money. TICKET SELLER FINED. Herbert Henry Waters, who pleaded guilty to a charge of selling tickets to the lottery, was fined £1. ; Mr. Parry said he was satisfied that Ihe defendant was unaware that he was committing an illegal .act.