MAGISTRATE’S COURT

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 December 1940, Page 2

MAGISTRATE’S COURT

TO-DAY’S GREYMOUTH SITTING. The regular Monday sitting of the Magistrate’s Court at Greymouth was resumed to-day, following two. statutory holidays. Mr G. G. Chisholm, S.M., presided, and Senior Sergeant G. F. Bonisch represented the police. A statutory first offender, arrested for drunkenness in Mackay Street, yesterday, was fined 10/—, the amount ot his bail. One first offender, found on licensed premises after hours, was fined 5/-, with 10/- costs. Alexander Denmade Boyd was charged with having received the sums of £3/5/9, £2/2/- and £3/1/6 on terms requiring him to account for them to Ray Vincent Dickey, he did fraudulently omit to account for them, thereby committing theft. Accused pleaded guilty to the charges and elected to be dealt with summarily. Detective-Sergeant H. E. Knight said that the accused had been a motor mechanic in Christchurch, but had been out of work. He was friendly with a traveller who was coming to the West Coast and through this man met another man who was the representative of an Auckland firm. The latter gave accused an order book to canvass for orders on the West Coast, on the basis of 20 per cent, commission. Accused secured six orders, on three of which he collected I only his commission. On the other three, he collected the whole amount, but never forwarded the orders nor the money. Since he had been interviewed, he had paid witness the amount of £B/12/6. Nothing was previously known against accused, who was now in a position, and he had made restitution of the amount owing, with the exception of sales tax. Accused said that he had been in New Zealand for 15 years, and considered that, during that time, he had rendered valuable seiwice to the country and the community. He had suffered a nervous breakdown two years ago and a peculiar reaction had rendered him immobile when he was worried. He had no intention of theft and had intended to forward all the orders together.' He had used a little of the money for his keep, and intended to send it all at once. The S.M.: It seems that you were short of money and just used it as you received it. I will take into account that you have made restitution. In reply to the S.M., the DetectiveSergeant said that there was no suggestion of drinking on accused’s part. It was more hard luck and carelessness.

Accused was admitted to probation for 12 months, on the condition that he made restitution of £B/14/6, being the amount concerned in the charges, plus sales tax.

TRAFFIC OFFENCES Ernest James Burr was charged with riding a motor cycle, without being the holder of a motor vehicle driver’s license. Constable A. W. Honey said that defendant was , involved in an accident, and on being interviewed admitted that he had never held a license. He had had the motor cycle for about five weeks. 4 Defendant was fined £l, with 12/costs. Charles George Wesley was charged with driving without being the holder of a driver’s license and also with driving a car not equipped with two headlights. Colin Spark, a taxi-driver, said that at 12.20 a.m. on November 6, when driving towards Runanga he met a car with only one headlight. A slight collision took place, the mudguards touching. On his way back to Greymouth he met the car again and spoke to the driver (defendant). There was no glass and no bulb in the righthand headlamp. Constable R. Dixon produced a statement made by defendant, in which he admitted that he did not have a driver’s license. He (defendant) stated that there was no glass in the right headlamp, but there had been a bulb in it when he left to go to Runanga. The only suggestion that he could offer was that it had been removed by some person while he was visiting at Runanga. On the charge of not having a driver’s license, defendant was fined £l, with 10/- costs. Referring to the second charge, the S.M. said it was not the usual case where a sudden fault might be developed, but there was neither glass nor bulb in the headlamp. Defendant would be fined £l/10/-, with 13/- costs and 6/8 witness’s expenses.

Hugh Sutherland Valentine was charged with driving without being the holder of a driver’s license and also with not having a warrant of fitness for a motor car.

Constable J. Johnson said that, as the result of a motor accident at Barrytown on October 28, defendant was interviewed and admitted that he was not the holder of a driver’s license, while his warrant of fitness was ten months overdue. Defendant was fined £l, with 10/costs, on the first charge and 10/with 10/- costs on the second. David Methven was charged with not having a warrant of fitness for a motor car. Constable G. S. Murray said that, as the result of an accident at Mawheraiti, enquiries were made, and it was ascertained that defendant’s warrant of fitness had expired ten days previously. Defendant was convicted and ordered to pay 10/- costs. Dudley Mervyn Rathbun (Mr W. D. Taylor) was charged with (1) having no warrant of fitness, (2) driving a motor truck without an effective warning device, (3) parking on the offside of another stopped vehicle in Tainui Street.

Mr Taylor entered pleas of guilty to the first and third charges. In regard to the second he said that defendant was a grocer and with starting and stopping it was impossible to keep the battery of the truck charged. As long as the engine was running, the horn worked, and he submitted that, in the circumstances, the police might withdraw that charge. The Senior Sergeant said that, under the circumstances, he would offer no evidence on the charge relating to the horn. In regard to the third charge, defendant’s truck was parked outside of another vehicle near the Post Office in Tainui Street. It was 19 feet out from the kerb and was causing an obstruction to traffic. Constable Larmer located defendant, who said that he could not find any place to park, while he did business. He admitted that he had no warrant of fitness. Mr Taylor said that defendant had to call at a shop for stores, and the line of the street was filled with cars, making it impossible for him to do

anything but double-park. The truck was there for only a few'minutes. The. other charge was due entirely to procrastination. On the charge of having no warrant of fitness defendant was fined 10/-, «/ith 10/- costs. Referring to the charge of double-parking, the S.M. said, that if persons were permitted to choose when they could break that regulation, it would cause a great amount of inconvenience. On that charge, defendant would also be fined 10/-, with 10/- costs. The charge, of having no effective warning device would be dismissed for want of prosecution. For allowing a cow and calf to wander on the main highway at South Beach, Thomas Lalor was fined 10/-, with 10/- costs. Making a voluntary appearance and pleading guilty, Cyril Heaphy was fined 10/-, with 3/- costs for cycling at night without a light. Jean Teale and Ellen Duffy, who did pot appear, 'were each fined 5/-, with 10/- costs, for the same offence. ’ John Baty was charged with employing an unlicensed driver to drive' a motor truck, and with aiding and abetting the offence of the driver in 'failing to report an accident. Defendant pleaded guilty to both charges. The Senior-Sergeant said that at 2 p.m. on October 2, the unlicensed driver of defendant’s truck had an accident at Coal Creek. He was driving with defendant’s permission. One person was slightly injured in the accident and neither the driver nor defendant, who arrived on the scene im- ’ mediately after, reported the matter ! to the police. On the first charge defendant was fined £l, with 10/- costs, and on the second was similarly fined, the S.M. ■remarking that if there was personal injury in an accident, however slight, the onus was on the driver to report, and it would not do to allow any laxity in the matter. A 15-year-old boy, who was the driver of the truck involved, was dealt with in the Children’s Court, on charges of having no driver’s license, failing to report the accident, and of negligent driving, and was admonished and discharged. On the information of the Transport Department Inspector (Mr D. D. Burdett), Arthur Thomas Gibson and Bruce Thomas were each fined £ 1 10/-, with 12/- costs, for exceeding the 30 miles per hour speed restriction in the Brunner Borough. Arthur Cresswell Jolly pleaded guilty to exceeding the same restriction in the Hokitika Borough, and also fined £1 10/-, with 10/- costs. For not having a motor vehicle driver’s license, Neil McGrath, who did not appear, was fined £l, with 12/- costs.

Herbert Oswald Kear was charged, on the information of Inspector Burdett, with parking on the wrong side of the road opposite Wingham Park and with parking in a prohibited area at the same place. Inspector Burdett said that on October 13, when there was a League match in progress, defendant stopped his vehicle alongside a no-parking sign and also on the wrong side of the road. The S.M. said that defendant, in a letter to the Court, admitted that he parked on the wrong side, but stated that he did not see any signs. The Inspector said that five regulation removal signs had been placed in position, and defendant had parked three feet away from one of them. Defendant was fined 10/-, with 10/- costs on each charge. NO INCOME TAX RETURN. On the information of the Commissioner of Taxes, for whom Mr F. A. Kitchingham appeared, Albert Harold Lawn was charged with failing to furnish -a return of income. Mr A. R. Elcock appeared for defendant and’ entered a plea of guilty. Mr Kitchingham said that the prosecution was one of a number taken throughout New Zealand for the purpose of publicity. It appeared that a great number of people made default in compiling a return within the required period, resulting in the Department making a default assessment. Then the taxpayer immediately got busy and put in a return and thus did the work he should have done earlier. The Department' was put to a great deal of inconvenience in the matter and wished to stop the practice. The prosecution was designed to secure publicity, but theie was a minimum penalty of £2 fixed by the Act. Mr Elcock said that defendant was taken seriously ill in January, and it was not until the beginning of April that he could resume work. In the meantime, a number of his cheque butts, vouchers and receipts had been destroyed, and on turning to his passbook, he found that only numbers

were shown, so that he was in a position that he could- not make a return. Under the circumstances the ‘Commissioner had been asked to ■make an assessment, which defendant would pay. Defendant was fined £2, with 10/Court costs, and £l/1/- solicitors fee.