LOTTERY PUBLISHED

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 62, 10 September 1937, Page 10

LOTTERY PUBLISHED

NEWSPAPER CHARGED

ORDERED TO PAY COSTS

A conviction was entered by Mr. J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court today against Truth (N.Z.), Ltd., on a charge of causing to be published on July 21 in "New Zealand Truth" an advertisement of a lottery, namely, a competition known as "New Zealand Geographic Competition No. 1." The firm was ordered to pay costs only.

E>etective-Sergeant P. Doyle said that recently four local residents conceived the idea of running a competition as a speculative venture. They obtained no legal advice, but modelled their competition on the type of contests appearing in "New Zealand Truth." After minor alterations, the paper accepted the competition, and also the prizemoney and sealed solution. The competition could be answered in 90 different ways. The defendant company had not appeared before the Court previously on a charge of that nature. The four promoters of the contest had already been dealt with.

Mr. J. H. Dunn, who, appeared for the defendant company," said that it was always the policy of the paper to obtain legal advice before publishing or accepting such a competition. On this occasion a member of the staff who was approached did not obtain legal advice. He obtained a signed statement as to legality from the promoters, and also got references as to the honesty of the promoters.

Mr. Dunn: Detective Murray with his usual thoroughness solved the competition in a number of ways with the aid of a Post Office Directory. The Magistrate: Did the promoters know of the number of solutions? Mr. Dunn: I don't think so, sir. It came as a surprise to them. They knew when the answers started coming in that there were a number of different solutions, but I think that Detective Murray holds the record.