ANOTHER SLY-GROGGERY.

NZ Truth, Issue 94, 6 April 1907, Page 6

ANOTHER SLY-GROGGERY.

The Madras-street Sunday Club

Broke Up.

A low-looking • racecourse spieler, who lives by his wit's and takes on any old game that promises pelf, dropped m heavily at Christchurch this week. His name is John Hyams, and he is aged 45, and his police record is scandalous. In years agone Hyams used to run gambles on racecourses and he was once fined £25 for playing the seductive little game of "under and over," 'doing quod m default. Another time he was asked to part up another £25 for playing the good old three card trick, or "more quod. He has been arrested any number of times for guzzling heer, and for vagrancy, and for acting the part of stowaway, and sundries. Latterly he thought sly-grog selling would be a most profitable line if he . v/as careful, showed civility and naid strict attention to" business. Sunday w.s considered the best day for trade, people being rnbre droughty on that

day when the publicans weren't inclined to listen to rea-son. A chap named Doyle had an eld shanty m Madras-street which .-seems to have been used for nothing else than the Sunday sly-grog industry. The pair palled m, and. the show was facetitiously termed, by those m the known, "The Madras-street Sunday Club." Anyone could become a member if he had the "price of it" on him. About a month ago the police became- cognisant of the fact that a country cove came to town and fell m with the sly sinkers, was made horribly drunk, and was then robbed m this den of illicit purge. The circs were such that he could get no redress, or ' see his robbers gaoled ; but the police have kept the place under supervision ever since. The result was that it was ascertained that A PRETTY FAIR BIZ was done on the Sawbath,, and that scouts were employed to decoy likely men m. Last Sunday an innocentlooking peeler m plain clothes was = told oil to loiter round the vicinity. He isn't much of a sawney, is the same cop,' but they thought he was. So they inveigled him inside, and he had a drinky time of it. He managed to stow away four, and thought he had sufficient evidence of the existence of an illegal drinkery all right. A search warrant was signed by Magistrate Bishop, and that night the same constable, accompanied by another iman outside the' force altogether visited the tenement, and .were received as pals of the pouring purge brigade. They were supplied with heer and whisky, and some neer was taken away m -a bottle for con- , sumption at home. Funny part of 1 .-the business was that one of these was placed outside of the house to do a turn at watching for the police. The humor of it ! The raid, which occurred presently was conducted by Station-Sergeant Norwood, Acting-Tec Gibson, and Constable Carroll. It was a nice little smr- . prise party, right enough. Hyams was there, -as well as a couple of criminals, a vagrant, a man named • Doyle, who was supposed to lease ' the place, and a chap from the country ;who was drunk. It is the latter class of. people that were always anarled for by these sooners. A ten . gallon keg which had contained beer, and which, had been ordered the day before, was empty. There was a demijohn of whisky, a bpttle of the same material, and half a bottle of other liquor, but as soon as the police raided the show Doyle smashed everything (barring, of course, the keg) before the cops could stop him. Hyams was arrested, the others being let go, to be proceeded against later on. At court Hyams had no option but to plead guilty, and MiDonnelly couldn't say anything for him under the circs. There was a second charge preferred under the Vagrancy Act, but Sergeant Norwood decided to withdraw it. Magistrate Bishop ma>de allusion to the prisoner's bad record and fined him . £-30 or a term at Lyttelton. He asked for three weeks m which to pay, but the request was declined with great violence.