POLICE COURT NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16098, 11 December 1915, Page 5

POLICE COURT NEWS.

UNLICENSED HOP BEER.

MINIMUM FINE IMPOSED.

A charge of brewing hop beer without holding a license to do so "was heard before Mr. F. V. Frazer, S.M., at the Police Court yesterday. The case was brought by the Collector of Customs, Mr. J. P. Ridings, against Thomas Dawson Smith, trading as J. Wendel and Company.

♦u Mr- Ridings said that in October last the Health Department's officer visited the defendant's premises and took a sample of hop beer for analysis. T "jeer was found to contain 4.1 per cent, of proof spirit, which was 1.1. per cent, above the maximum of proof spirit that hop beer should contain. The Health Department had notified the Customs Department at Wellington, and he, Mr. Hidings, had been instructed to warn the defendant that he was brewing hop beer over strength. Before warning him however, it had been found that Smith possessed no license entitling him to brew hop beer. The defendant appeared not to realise that it was necessary to have a license. The maximum fine for such a breach of the Act as that involved in the present case was £200, and the minimum fine £10. Under the new beer duty regulations, the fine for a breach of the Act was £200. No mention of maximum or ™ mmum fines was made. However, the Department did not press for a penalty above the minimum fine mentioned. The defendant said he held a wine manufacturer's license, and he did not think it was necessary to have a license to brew hop beer. He had had no intention of defrauding the revenue. The magistrate said that he had no option but to inflict the minimum fine in the present caso. He thought the offence had been committed unintentionally. A fine of £10 and 7s cosjs was imposed.

TRESPASS ON A RACECOURSE.

A charge of wilfully trespassing on the Takapuna racecourse on November 27 last was preferred against John Rabbidge. He pleaded guilty. Senior-Senreant Rutledge said that Rabbidge had been doing a considerable amount of secret betting on the course. He had been warned by the detectives to go away. He had accepted the warning, but had subsequently gone back again. When the police approached him the second time to order him away the defendant dodged awav among the crowd. Undoubtedly, Rabbidge had had an ulterior motive in frequenting the course, but it was difficult to prove that motive. The magistrate imposed a fine of £2, in default seven days' imprisonment. The defendant was also ordered to pay 7s costs.

ILLEGALLY PICKING' OYSTERS. The Collector of Customs proceeded against Joseph Merrick, of Ponsonby, on a charge of picking oysters out of season. Mr. Ridings said the offence had taken place on the beach at Point Erin, and Merrick had apparently gone down specially to pick the oysters, as he had taken some small tools with him to open the shells. The defendant handed the magistrate a letter, in which he admitted picking and eating the oysters. The magistrate said he could not treat the offence as seriously as he would have done had the picking taken place at one of the recognised oyster-beds. A fine of 103 and costs 7s was imposed. ANNOYING A RESIDENT. Three youths were charged with annoying Albert Victor Clark, a resident of Newton, by consistently, knocking at his front door. It was stated that Clark had been kept awake until midnight every night for a whole week by the knocking at the door. The defendants had been playing tick-tack with a piece of cotton tied to the knocker. Each offender was convicted and put on informal probation tinder the Rev. Mr. Jeffreys for a period of three months, and ordered to then come up for sentence. They were also ordered to pay 17s costs between them. MISCELLANEOUS. ' For using obscene language in Pitt Street while in a drunken condition, Bessie Ritchie, alias Elizabeth Kelly, was convicted and fined £1, in default 72 hours* imprisonment. On the charge of drunkenness she was convicted and dis- ; charged, and, at her own request, she was : prohibited. ( »A remand far one week was granted in the case in which Beniamin Sohofield i (Mr. A. E. Skelton) was charged with betting on the Takapuna racecourse on November 27 last. For a breach of the Scaffolding Act at Hamilton. Pattison and Brooks, Parnell, were fined £2 and costs. For allowing a horse to wander at large in Snssex Street, George Smith was convicted and ordered to nay 7s costs. Norman Waldegrave and John Ford Mattison were each convicted and fined 10« i for drunkenness. George Watson Fraser was ronvieted of the same nffenco. I a"d fined the amount of his bail. £1. i Thomas Reynolds was remanded for a ww»k for medical treatment. A first offender was converted and fined ss.