DISPOSAL OF RACEHORSE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17337, 8 December 1919, Page 6

DISPOSAL OF RACEHORSE.

ALLEGED ILLEGAL RAFFLE. WELLINGTON PROSECUTION. [by TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Saturday. The lottery law lays down that articles, other than works of art, may only be disposed of by lottery or raffled when the express permission of the Minister for Internal Affairs has been obtained, and a pronouncement was made at the time of the Trentham scholarship art union that permits would no longer be readily given, although the Government had granted many such permits during the war period. The police took action at the Magis* trate's Court against Father Smyth fot an alleged offence against the Gaming Act, in connection with the Roman Catholic bazaar held at the Town Hall recently. Chief Detective Boddam said advertisements in the daily papers had called special attention to three main prizes, a thoroughbred chestnut filly, valued at lOQgns, a suit of clothes or a costume, and an eiderdown quilt, while many other silverware and other goods— were also mentioned. When spoken to by the police defendant had been perfectly frank and detailed the scheme whereby these articles were to be disposed of. There was, he wished to say, particularly no suggestion that the tickets had been disposed of in any other than a perfectly fair manner. Father Smyth, in evidence, admitted the articles had been disposed of hi a manner in which there was a certain element of chance. But that same element of chance entered into the buying and selling of very many articles. Ha particularly mentioned those old favourites of juveniles, the bran-tub and the lucky, bag. The racehorse in question had been offered to the bazaar as a, raffle by a friend of one of the lady stall-holders, but he had advised her not to accept or refuse the offer till he knew where he stood. Ha then called on a solicitor, and as a. result of their discussion this solicitor drew up a scheme already outlined. Not wishing to run any risks of going outside the law, he submitted that scheme to a second legal practitioner, who, after considering the matter, passed it on to another confrere, who also pronounced that the scheme was well within the law . The magistrate reserved his decision.