SURPRISE PACKETS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19406, 14 August 1926, Page 12

SURPRISE PACKETS.

ADVERTISEMENTS IN .PAPERS.

COURT IMPOSES PENALTIES.

Four charges of publishing an advertisement inducing persons to take part in a lottery, namely, surprise packets, were preferred against the New Zealand Herald (Mr. Richmond) and tho Auckland Star (Mr. Terry) in the Police Court yesterday before Mr. J. W. Povnton, S.M. Defendants formally pleaded not guilty. Mr. Richmond said that of the four informations against the Herald two related to charitable lotteries. Two informations related to small shilling'advertisements regarding surprise packet schemes of the • kind used to get rid of old stock. The Herald had consistently refused to accept all advertisements of this kind, bat these two were very small and had slipped in unnoticed. After the first insertion they were seen and stopped and the money paid for the other insertions had been refunded before there was any hint of action on the part of tho police. The insertion of these. two advertisements was purely accidental and this was the only occasion on which the Herald had published advertisements relating to surpriso packets for other than charitable purposes. The publishers had uo knowledge that an offence was being committed. The' practice of promoting surpriso packets had been indulged in' freely and. nothing had been said at first. It must be shown the publishers had guilty intent. It was not known that surpriso packets wore lotteries. It was seriously contested at first that they were lotteries.

The Magistrate: Oh, no. It was not seriously contested. The commonness of the schemes was merely urged in extenuation. ....... *

Regarding the advertisement for the orphans' fund Mr. Richmond said it was put In to enable the Rev. Jasper Calder to state that he had accepted the offer of the promoters and accepted their conditions. It was inserted solely in reply to a letter received by the Herald asking who- were the promoters' of the scheme and it did not call on tho public to purchase packets. On behalf of the Star Mr. Terry said he would like to associate himself with Mr, Richmond's remarks, which applied equally to the Star. Tho magistrate said the information would be amended. He would take into consideration tho fact that the advertisements were for charity and also that thpy were withdrawn before any action was taken by the polico. On each of the two charges relating to charitable causes each newspaper would be fined £l. In the other cases defendants were technically guilty. but as they withdrew the advertisements before any action was taken by the police the charges would bo dismissed under section 92 of the Justices of the Peace Act.