THE HOWELL CASE

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 143, 14 December 1933, Page 11

THE HOWELL CASE

CHARGE DISMISSED '

A POINT OF DOUBT

Amos Howell, an." Upper Hutt borough councillor, appeared before Mr. J. S. Barton, S.M., in the Upper Hutt Court yesterday, charged that, being incapacitated from being an Upper Hutt councillor, he attended meetings of the council on four occasions. Ho was also 1 Charged that on.July 7, 1933, being a member of the council, he voted on a matter in which, to his knowledge, he had a pecuniary interest. Mr. C. Evans-Scott prosecuted, and Mr. A. J. Mazengarb appeared for the defendant.. . , ....-.■ Mr. Mazengarb said, he had conferred with Mr. Evans-Scott on the charges of Howell attending meetings of the council, and if a plea of guilty was entered on the charge of attending a meeting on December 11, 1931, the other chargeswould, be withdrawn. A plea of guilty was accordingly entered. - Concerning the charge, relating to tho defendant voting on a. matter/ in which, to his knowledge; he had a, pecuniary interest, a plea .of not guilty was entered. . ■ , ■ .> ■■ ;■•■;. '■ 'Mr. Evans-Scott said that the charge was laid under the Municipal Corpora-: tions Act, 1920, and the amount involved was £5 10s. : The defendant was elected a councillor in May this year, and signed the necessary declaration. Between May and' June this year certain blacksmithing work was carried out in a shop in Camp Road of which the defendant was the-proprie-tor, and the account was made out in the name of the defendant's employee, Johnson. The defendant admitted that Johnson was his employee. The account for the work was passed a"t a meeting of the council .on July 7 this year. The defendant was shown in the minutes of the council meeting as having been present, and there was no record of dissentient votes or absentees from voting. ' QUOTES FOE JOBS. Detective W. McLennan said that he interviewed the'defendant on September 22, and a statement was made by Howell to the effect that he put Johnson into the blacksmith's shop. It'was arranged for Johnson to put in quotes for -work to the council in his name, Howell also stated that the blacksmith 's business was in his own name, and there were no shareholders. The evidence of George Bates and Wilfred Fortune, members of the Upper Hutt Borough Council, was to tho effect that Howell was at the meeting of the council when the accounts were passed for payment, and there were no dissentient votes. Angus John . McCurdy, Mayor of Upper Hutt, and John Purvis, a borough councillor, said that at the meeting at which the accounts were passed, that part of the business was dono right at the'end of the meeting, and by that time Howell. had gone home. The Magistrate said there was a doubt whether Howellhad voted, and the defendant was entitled to the benefit of that dpufcC There should be a more exrjlicit 'way. of, recording votes on such matters, • The ChaTge was dismissed. Mr. Evans-Scott said that the Audit Department had been in touch with the council over the need for more- explicit records in cases of this kind, and the system had been amended to provide for this. i _ Concerning tho charge to which Howell pleaded guilty, Mr. Barton said that the Chief Justice, when, the case was in the Supreme Court, had imposed punishment on an aspect of the whole .thing. A fine of £3 was imposed. '