COURT RETURNS

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4605, 4 October 1934, Page 5

COURT RETURNS

PROSECUTIONS INCREASE. FIGURES FOR LAST QUARTER. A fairly substantial increase in prosecutions, including criminal offences, is shown by the local Magistrate's Court returns for the quarter ended September 30th, there having been 102 prosecutions as against 82 for the corresponding quarter last year. OS of these were directed against males and four against females. The increase was an allround one as far as can judged, the traffic inspectors and police, etc., all being busy. Owing to the season ragwort prosecutions did not swell the total. These cases were dealt with in five Magistrate's sittings, as against six for the period last year, and 14 Justices' sittings, there having been the same number last year. Fines payable to the local authauthorities, including the Main Hiehways Board, show a very marked increase over the corresponding quarter of last year—£79 Is as against £ll 10s. Civil Business. The number of summonses for debt issued showed a decrease for the quarter of from 60 to 48, but this position was not reflected in the total of the amount sued for. It increased from £913 7s Gd in the quarter of 1933 to £ll9O 3s 4d for the quarter of 1934. The applications heard in chambers last quarter numbered 15 as against 20. Civil warrants issued decreased from 8 to G, but this was offset by the judgment summonses increasing from 15 to 20. Civil business was dealt with at the five S.M. sittings and nine Justices' sittings. These courts disposed of 102 civil cases in all during the quarter, a big decrease from the 200 of the previous year. The total amount claimed for in such cases showed an even greater drop last quarter from £6853 13s to £2870 Is 9d, the total amounts recovered being £6682 2s 9d and £2763 5s 2d respectively. The difference is largely due to the number of claims for rates disposed of in the 1933 quarter.

Otorohanga Court returns show somewhat more than half the totals of the Te Kuiti figui-es—for instance, Otorohanga had 56 prosecutions as against 102. In the number of warrants of committal issued, however, Te Kuiti's figure of 6 was surpassed by 2. The number of summonses for debt totalled 31, as against Te Kuiti's 48.