A SLY GROG PROSECUTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12697, 27 October 1904, Page 3

A SLY GROG PROSECUTION.

VOLUNTARY WITNESSES.

' FINE OP £75 AND COSTS. - A Gbet-Stbeet * resident,' nailed Annie Thome, was brought before Mr. O. O. Kettle, S.M., at the Police Court yesterday, ujion charges of selling beer without a license, -on September 25 and October 2." Sub-Inspector Black prosecuted, and Mr. J. O. Martin defended. , ■:■■ ■ '

Harry Marshall, carpenter, said ho knew the defendant, who lived in Grey-street. On the 9th of October, in company with a man ,"| named- Kirkpatrick, he visited the place.' ,--> \ ; Mrs.; Thorne was there, and Kirkpatrick asked for beer, with which he was supplied. Kirkpatrick - paid, and they went out. As-' they were passing the place later in the*, even- ;'| ing, Mrs. Thome, who was standing at the )'i door, called out that "there was no more beer." He and Kirkpatrick also had beers there on the 2nd of October. When they emerged from the shop on. that occasion two other young fellows entered, and called for drinks. Witness and his companion joined: :; them in the meantime, and they all had "beers" together, Mrs. Thorne being paid' ' by Kirkpatrick for the various bottles they ordered. On the 25th of September he and Kirkpatrick had other "beers," Kirkpatrick . •'-- I paying each time; " , ■'I Sub-Inspector Black: Has anyone request-' .-, ed you to visit this place? Witness: Am 1 compelled to answer that' question? ?-| The Magistrate: Yes. Witness: Well, yes then. * • "' Sub-inspector Black; Did you go at your own option? Witness: Yes. . , Cross-examined by Mr. Martin, Marshall) •: said that he had often had " beers" there* " Ever since two years ago," he said. •Mr. Martin: You knew that it was against the law for her to sell drink?! • Witness: Yes. : '.' : , : You went there, then, with the purpose of getting her to sell you drink, and to break the ... law? She broke the law herself. I could not r make her break the law. : .' .' : ' ; j Who was the first person you told about . = the incident of September 25?—1 was caught ■' coming out, and was forced to. own up to th« truth.:- ■ '.-"' .. • ' But whom did you tell?— police. What officer? Sergeant Hanson. Had you any conversation with the polio©, before September 25?1 won't swear that I, did. ~ :■•;'.•. ,-:■-», ■" :,: M ■■■..-. % Will you swear that you did not?—-No, J. won't..-. . ■' * ■■'. ■■'•■ .'• ■ ''~ *■ ; Marshall further stated that when he met. Sergeant Hanson after September. 25, the sergeant, although he made no arrangement, with him, forbade him to pay any more money for drink at Mrs. Thome's./it was 5 he who volunteered the information about the -s, transaction to the sergeant, and not the ser- ■ . geant who approached him. His reason for doing so was that he thought that sly grogselling should be put dorrn. Notwithstaiid. ing.that, he went there again on October 2, and October 9. Asked to explain why he did so, in spite of his anxiety to jut down sly-grog-selling;" he said he only went because /?; he was " thirsty," and not because he wanted' to get incriminatingjividence. The Magistrate': Honestly now, didn't you go there tor the purpose of getting evidence spinst Mrs. Thorn© for sly grog-selling? ,';'. Witness: Yes. The Magistrate ■; 'Well, why : didn't you tel.l mo before? You have been, fencing thii question all along. » '_'',*, ■, . ' i Witness: Well, you pat it in such a round* i about way. - Marshall, for this statement, was -severely rebuked. Mr. Martin: What are you to get for this? ! ... Witness: Nothing. * ' .',.,-. ■." * • Hugh Kirkpatrick, the ? next witness, said that .'Mi%l Thorne sold beer to Marshall and himself' on. the ; 9th -of October. Although Marshall said he (Kirkpatrick) - paid the money, witness denied that he had he said! Marshall paid for the liquor. • He did not remember being at Mrs. Thome's on October 2,; He.was there, however, on September 25,; but he did not remember whether the beer supplied was paid for on that.date. He ' ..■..!: would not swear positively that ho did not pay for the " beers" on October 9. Sub-Inspector Black: ; Have you erer lit*'a. .'tpproaclied by anybody since these proceedings were instituted? . t . Witness: No, never in any shape or form. Have you not given Mrs. Thorne a written statement of the .evidence you would give in, I Witness, ' in reply, .said he had spoken to Mrs. Thorne on receiving the sub* poena, . - The magistrate demanded that the witness should state what took place. "If you don't answer in" satisfactory manner I will ; commit you for contempt of Court," said Mr. Kettle. "Give your evidence more straightforwardly, and tell the truth." , It was then a quarter to one, arid Mr. Kettle said ho . would .adjourn the Court till two, in order to give the witness time to think out the conversation, , Upon resumption Kirkpatrick gave an account of th» conversation, which, according to him, was of an unimporl ins nature. ; Sub-Inspector Blacit: Did not Mrs. Thorne ask you to swear that you were a boarder? Witness:. No, she did not. he said that he did p*y for the liquor on Oc- ' tober 2, and again on October 9. Mr. Martin: You have seen Marshall since the adjournment, and he reminded you of th»jD'Ss, dates and hours, did he not? Witness: Yes. James Fatt was called to state that ho had' ' seen Marshall and Kirkpatrick drinking together at Mrs. Thorite's,, whether it was beer they were taking he did not know. George Whitcombe (billiardmarker) arid John field! (wine and spirit merchant) also gave evidence. The latter said that Mrs. Thorne, '. since September 3, had j ordered seven cases of beer, containing lour- dozen bottles each, from his warehouse. Sergeant Hanson said! that since September 11.he had been ai-.St-ingy the .defendant V house., Ho saw two -.. toxicated men earning', out oncifi:'! On October '•' 1& he raided the place. He found: seven tumblers containing beer, two mugs, and a corkscrew upon the counter, c case containing bottles under the counter, and empty, gin and brandy bottles in all. the rooms. . Mr. Martin: Is it true that you told Maiv shall not to pay for any more drinks? , > Sergeant Hanson: I told him to watch the ■ place, and tell me what occurred. In doing so I also instructed him not to pay for any; drinks. Mr. Martin, for the defence, said that it was hardly necessary to draw the magistrate's attention to the repeated contradict ion;i oS Marshall, and to his demeanour in the box., ! Before lunch Kirkpatrick was completely con-' fused, but after having a conversation wifchr Marshall, he was able to give several details.The defendant's house was a lodging establishment, in which she occasionally supplied _ her boarders, who were working men, will* glasses of beer. Otherwise they would leave. Being forbidden to drink tea by,. ...!,', 1 Dr. Walker, she herself, took beer. Then, again, her husband indulged. The defendant said she had eleven board-i ers now. Both Marshall' and Kirkpatricfe bad previously boarded with he.-, and sometimes they would call in "for meals. She admitted > supplying Marshall and Kirkpatrick with, beer on the dates in question, but she posi- V tively, denied that they paid anything for ' ; : , it. In accounting for the quantity of beer she had taken .in. she said that her husband I often drank as many as six bottles in a day. u Yj, Mr. Martin called several of Mrs. Thorne"* " < boarders, to testify that they got beer occa- - sionally for their meals. .This concluded th« ■ Ai l case for the defence. ' ' < '<(,' The maeistrate recalled Marshall and Kirk- • Patrick for the purpose of questioning them ■ as to whether they were in the, pay'of the , police. They said that they were not, that they had not been promised anything, and that they did not expect anything. ; ' The magistrate then said that -he- was con* vinced that as neither- Marshall nor Kirk-> patrick, expected anything in the event "of a conviction, their evidence , was reliable. - lie could not' believe the evidence of the defend- * ant, and he had no hesitation in finding that liquor was sold to Marshall and Kirkpatrick on the. days m question. It might be that liquor ,was supplied to (.he hoarders,' free of charge, also, but that was not the question. Ihe defendant would be convicted on each information, v He believed that there was a. good deal >of?; sly grog-selling going on in Auckland, not only on Sundays, but also at> : other,;: times. ;;;; In his opnion, the present ewes. had,.■;been. clearly proved, though Marshall and Kirkpatrick had differed! on several points. On the first information ' \ he-- would fine the defendant .£25, on the second £50, and on the third he would order her to come up for sentence when called!' upon.; "In doing so," said Mr. Settle, "I - . warn you that if you are convicted befora me again you will be liable to imprisonment upon,the present offence." .Had the defendant been a man lie would hav> sen* gaol. "I am convinced." said Mr. Ki *»*» "that it is not the'slightest bit ot ra»«° posing tight penalties in sly-giog eises. att df Mr. Martin asked for leave «I* ->• £* I this was granted, Mr. Kettle B"* a w I curity of .£lO in ©irf> case- m