SUPPLYING LIQUOR TO A NATIVE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XIX, Issue 1948, 8 April 1924, Page 5

SUPPLYING LIQUOR TO A NATIVE.

THE MITOHELL-MeDON ALD CASE. CONVICTED AND FINED. Mr F. AV. Platts, S.M., delivered reserved judgment yesterday in the case in. which the police prosecuted John McDonald and James Edward Mitchell for supplying liquor to Ngaronga, a native. After traversing the facts of the case as previously published, and quoting legal precedents, His Worship observed that the facts were strongei than those on police v. O’Connor or Police v. Tully. McDonald and Mitchell took the keg of beer to the residence of the native. They drank from it until they andi McManus became quite intoxicated. They then left it there and Ngaronga took possession of it. If their evidence is true that they did not intend it for Ngaronga they took no precautions to see that he did not obtain it. Indeed ,their actions were such as to ensure that the native would obtain possession of the liquor, and lie did obtain and drank part of the contents. McDonald would be fined £lO and Mitchell £7 10s.

The police withdrew the charges against McDonald and Mitchell of introducing liquor into a Maori kainga. The rest of the 17 informations in the case were dismissed.