COURT NEWS

Grey River Argus, 1 August 1934, Page 8

COURT NEWS

AUCKLAND COUNTERFEITERS.

(Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, July 31.

Sentences of three years’ and six months’ hard labour, respectively, were imposed by Mr Justice Fair today, on Denniston Leonard Bishop and William Leonard Bishop, for their parts in manufacturing and uttering counterfeit silver coins.

Counsel for the prisoners said the father had been evicted, and had a wife and four children to keep on 38s Gd. He was virtually starving. The Judge said ho realised that a great number of people were in difficult circumstances, but that was no excuse for crime of this nature. It carried a penalty of life imprisonment. He was imposing a comparatively light sentence in fixing the terms of the father at three years. He would have liked to grant the son probation, but he was old enough to realise the sori ousness of the crime. MOTORIST GAOLED AUCKLAND, July 31. ‘L-Ls the result of your inexcusable neglect, tlio lives of two human being came to a premature end,’’ said Mr Justice Herdman, in sentencing Frank Impey, at the Supreme Court to-day, r negligent driving, so as to cause the death of two passengers in his car, which was nt ruck by a train. The Judge said that the prisoner should have had no difficulty in observing the approach of the train, and if his car hod been under control, as it should have been, h e wou’d have been al.le to avoid the accident. It was all very well to plead for sympathy ami mercy, but what about, their relatives? When the <a sc got to the length i f a trial jn the Supremo Court, the Io is (hat relatives suffered was forgotten. and tihe Judge, was invited to extend sympathetic treatment to the one responsible for the calamity. In this case, it was plain the prisoner was criminally careless, said His Honor, and he could nothing else but inflict punishment that prisoner would renieinber. prisoner would be sentenced to three months’ hard labour, and his driver’s license would be canceled for five years.