ALLEGED TROUT SELLING.

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 February 1911, Page 8

ALLEGED TROUT SELLING.

A SYMPATHETIC MAGISTRATE. In giving his reserved judgment in the Kumirn trout soiling prosecution yesterday, the Magistrate, Air. J. G. L Hewitt, imposed th? minimum penrlty of £2 in each case with costs. Air. Murdoch ('counsel for defendant) stated he had found a precedent for not inflicting a penalty when wording a conviction, the instance behiu a truancy case. The Magistrate said that in the face of the Regulations laid down by the Legislature, which fixed the fine at a minimum of £2, he could not treat the offence as ia. trivial one. The remdations provide that trout ' shall not bn soldj and defendant (Pearson) did sell trout. ll'V. (a\t justified I)! paying that the police" after having obtained a conviction in the first case were ill-advised in not withdrawing the other cases. Although there were a minif»ft.r of convictions there was only one catch of fj§h. Another thing, he said., was that though jt /nay be in tl:e interest of a certain section of ihu- o:,immunity to have trout protected, we can have too much of a good thing. If, &!] defendant said, trout were so increased j;j numbers, as to he destroying tiie more i;>aidiutal;].e fish, then provjsjon should be made to aj'jow tjsjierjnan to take apd_ sell trout. We were not ttit angjevs mid \i tho|' e are so many trout tiieie projection should be removed. It was very difficult tu gut fresh fish' on the Coast. He considered the regulations, are more stringent t<hSf7 necessary. Had it been in his power to ijismjss. the informations he W'OHid have' done sf). M}>. Murdoch intj ma ted his intention of making lapplicntioti in the Minister for a remission of the linen. \]\r. Worship said he would report in fa-rout' of tw remission.