FINE OF £40

Evening Star, Issue 19022, 18 August 1925, Page 11

FINE OF £4O

MAGISTRATE OH BOOKKAKIHG [Per United Press .Association.] , NELSON, August 17. Reserved decision was given to-day by Mr T. E. Maunsell, S.M., in a case against W. H. Moxey, who was charged with using his premises in Trafalgar street as a common gaminghouse. Defendant was convicted and fined £4O, In the course of his decision the Magistrate said that there wore race cards relating to three different race meetings in defendant’s possession. He also had a considerable sum of money, and what Constable Hall called “ betting slips.” These slips contained the names of various horses which the constable deposed had won races shortly before, and various sums of money in pounds and shillings opposite the names of the horses. These slips defendant had tried to swallow. Defendant made bets with total strangers, which fact did not indicate that tho bets were casual Ones. When asked if ho were acting as principal or agent, defendant said he was acting as agent for a man named Maxwell. On the premises was a New Zealand ‘ Referee ’ containing a list of acceptances for race meetings held about that particular time. When Hall offered to bet with Maxwell in defendant’s prescnce ; Maxwell said: “Give it to Moxey, ho is ray agent,” and Moxey did not deny that he was Maxwell’s agent. Tho evidence was clearly sufficient to prove Moxey to bo a bookmaker, as a bookmaker was defined by the Act as including a bookmaker’s agent. Defendant worked on the premises in question for Iris father as a fruiterer, and it had been proved to His Worship’s satisfaction that ho was using the premises as a common gam-ing-house. Counsel (Mr Moynagan) asked for leniency. When imposing tire penalty the Magistrate said defendant was liable to throe months’ imprisonment, but he supposed if magistrates imposed imprisonment for cases of tins sort juries would be more loth to convict than they were at present. “'The Government,” proceeded the Magistrate, “ does not seem to have found a natural enemy for these parasites. The amazing feature about the matter is that fellows who bet with them do not seem to be able to realise that if the chances are equal the bookmakers would not be flourishing. They continue to live in affluence and rendex no social service whatever; but I suppose their customers are suffering from an incurable disease, and tnat is the evil of it. I will not commit defendant to imprisonment. I should have imposed a smaller penalty but for the fact that defendant endeavored to destroy the evidence of his guilt by attempting to swallow the betting slips. [» inflicting the penalty, I have no doubt that his principal will pay the fine.” Counsel; That is not so. The Magistrate: Very well, he is fined £4O.