AUCKLAND GAMING HOUSES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 106, 19 April 1912, Page 6

AUCKLAND GAMING HOUSES.

OCCUPANTS FINED HEAVILY.

Auckland, April 18.

The Police Court was crowded this morning when most of the people implicated in the rcent betting raids came befere Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M.

Lofty Richards and John Weston were charged with keeping certain I premises in Queen street —namely, l.xo. 9 British biddings, for the puripose of betting. | Mr. Cotter, K.C., appeared for the [accused and pleaded guilty. He submitted to His Worship that bookmaking itself was practically recognised under the Gaming Act. The employment of bookmaker was in itself illegal, and the act of making a bet was not in itself illegal. The Legislature seemed to put bookmakes in a peculiar position by means of negative provisions. It had been said to him, "You shall not carry on your business there”; "you shall not bet with an infant” ; and so on. But it had not said that his occupation was illegal. He had advised the accused that they had committed an offence, but he asked the Magistrate to take all the circumstances of the anomalous legislation intp consideration when assessing the amount of the fines to be imposed. Sub-inspcctor Hendry, who conducted the prosecution, said the fact remained that these men had carried on an illegal business for a very long time.

The Magistrate said that, so far as the main charge of keeping a gaming house was concerned, the Legislature had definitely provided for cases of the sort. Whatever the anomaly (if thpre was an anomaly) in the law might be. it was perfectly clear an offi,Ce must not be kept for betting. The maximum penalty was £lOO, but all things considered he felt disposed to make a considerable reduction in the present case. At the same time he would take cognisance of the fact that an illegal business had been carried on for a long time.

The accused were each fined £75 and costs.

Leonard Andrews pleaded guilty to a charge of assisting in the management of a common gaming house—the .office in the British Buildings above referred to. It was explained that he was employed as a clerk by Richards and Veston. He was fined £25. Eighteen persons who pleaded guilty to having been in a common gaming house (Richards and Weston’s office) were each fined £l. Two second offenders were fired £2 each. Fines of £1 were inflicted in the case of six persons arrested in Ryan’s billiard-room in Vulcan lane. Three others were fined £o and one £3O. Eleven others pleaded’ not guilty. Charles Taylor and Robert Porter pleaded guilty to a charge of being occupiers of an office in Coombes’ Arcade kept and used as a common gaming house. They were each convicted and fined £75. Four persons who pleaded guilty to being found on the above premises were each fined £l. Daniel Twohill who also pleaded guilty to a charge of having kept a common gaming house in No. 18 Coombes’ Arcade, was fined £75. Five persons arrested in Twohill’s office on the day of the raid were fined £1 each. April 19. In the Police Court John Ryan, keeper of a billiard saloon, and w’ho was concerned in the recent raid, was finect £7O and costs. Fred Williams, and Chailes Darcy, two reputed bookmakers, were each fined £25 and costs.