LIQUOR NEAR DANCE HALL : NINE MEN CONVICTED

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 October 1948, Page 2

LIQUOR NEAR DANCE HALL : NINE MEN CONVICTED

A police “raid” when a dance, was being held in the Gladstone Hall on September 18 resulted in nine young men being charged in the Magistrate s Court at Greymouth today, before Mr Rex C. Abernethy, S.M., with having, intoxicating liquor (one bottle of beer in each case) in their possession in the vicinity of a dance The defendants were Leslie Wells, Joseph Francis Murphy, Peter Guy Saunders, George Curtain,. John Whelan, James Sontgen, Alexander Brady, Patrick Harrington and William Raine Green. Wells, Saunders and Whelan had OtahuhU addresses and the remainder of the defendants were from Greymouth.Curtain was the only defendant to appear and he pleaded guilty. Complaints Received The prosecutions, said Senior-Ser-geant R. C. Mcßobie, arose out of a visit to the dance hall by two constables. There had been complaints and apparently a number of men were drinking near the hall. Evidence that they had found the defendants in possession of beer at various times, about midnight, in the vicinity of the Gladstone Hall was given by Constables W. J. Hill and-G. D. Beardsley. Constable Hill pointed out that Curtain was only 17 years of age but was employed as. a mine trucker and was earning about £7 a week. In reply to a question by the Magistrate, Curtain said he had no explanation to make. The Magistrate: How old are you?— Seventeen. What are your wages?—£7 to £9 a week. “There is a Limit”

“I don’t want to read you a lesson—that should be for your father and mother,” said Mr Abernethy, addressing Curtain. “I am not going to say that liquor should not be taken by anyone kt 'reasonable times —some think it should be taken and some do not. However, there is a limit and it is not a good thing for a youth like you to be found drinking in the company of other men, especially in the vicinitv of a dance—that cannot be a matter,for a difference of opinion by anybody. You do not want to start getting round dance halls drinking like this—there are times and seasons for taking drink and this is not one of them.” Each of the defendants was fined £2 with costs, las in the cases of all but Sontgen whose costs amounted to 12s. Twelve first offenders were each fined 10s with costs on charges of being found on licensed premises after hours The costs were 10s in all but one case, where 2s extra mileage was incurred. On a charge of casting offensive matter in Gresson street at 10.45 p.m. on September 26, Cyril Brown, who did not appear, was fined £1 10s with 10s costs.