COURTS AND OFFENCES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 19 June 1926, Page 5

COURTS AND OFFENCES.

REFUSED TO I’TLL IN CENSUS i FORMS. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) AUCKLAND, June; 18. In the Police Court, Joseph Batten, Harry Batten and Alfred Batten were each fined £3, in default seven days’ imprisonment, for refusing to fill in census forms. Defendants refused to accept the delivery of the census forms on three occasions, owing, it is understood, to their, religious ideas or beliefs.

ORDERED TO MAKE RESTITUTION.

GREYMOUTH, June IS

In the Supreme Court, Bert Somerville Nicper, the former Greymouth manager for Wilson, Canham and Co., who withdrew his previous plea of not guilty and entered one of guilty, on five charges that on divers dates between February 23, 1924, and January 26, 1926, he did steal the sum of £674 8s sd, the property of his employers, appeared to-day for sentence before Mr Justice Adams. For accused Mr Joyce had made a plea for leniency, calling witnesses as to. his previous good character.

The judge said that it was not usual in such eases to allow probation, hut the testimonials submitted spoke of the accused in the highest terms, and accused’s confession had assisted to reveal the defalcations. He would treat the ease as an exceptional one, by treating the five separate indictments as one case, and would admit Nieper to probation for three years, on condition that he made restitution at the rate of £2 weekly, and paid £l6 6s towards counsel’s and witnesses’ expenses.