DAID ON TWO-UP SCHOOL.

NZ Truth, Issue 161, 18 July 1908, Page 5

DAID ON TWO-UP SCHOOL.

TROUBLE IN TIMARU.

ftlJ mn liany Baaiy Bumped.

Be Fetstes MM aflkd H)s S^olars

£5 Apiece,

The number of gantf^g?hojise raids thaf have been mads m tfre Donuaion recteniuy arid tte general increase m the to•&lisator ke_ji.Ußns at %c various race mggsingsand the undoubted pig bujsipess carried ori by the hoßtenakeris as' well at these meetings must make very pleasant reading indeed Joe those: fanatips who were responsible for that insane (Jam&Ling BiU put through /last session. , it seems as though, this new Act, nptwittis.tiandtng, gambling goes on among cprtain classes of the cp___mnriity with just the same cheiWUlness, as ever. Timaru is a snn g ana pro§perpus Iviple ifcoVpi, Tint the residents thereof are not all -saints^ nor are they ardent admirers of the Rev, J-. J". N.orSi and; his push. iWowsers are m plenjy, btft there are 'others who '-. would soPnipr rattle the lestive dice or- toss the ajbtr active Renny m&n attend praypr meetmgs pr teach class .at Sunday Schoo,!. , V> appears ithat' a number of these unnegerieratps Hnxp m the habit of visiting the wjiare pi an old man named Michael Joseph Barry, a retired railway hand. The whare is iraly'a little, one aW»t 10 .fjc' 12, 'and is situated opposite ifiarrt? i&gmejeiring, wojck^ on the railway emharikrrierit. The police apparently had some idea t^at spp§pa r " [ficplar knd of wickedn^s w#V b ®Ml tied pn m tM s Plape and ;" decided -to Iriake an inve_fUgatioh. Sereeant Bovfman and (Jonstaibles Harvey, %Lean andMcCormack took on the job. They bad quite ian exciting little time, at least, accordr irig v to ttieir version of tlie affair. When ibhey reached th© house all was apparently jri darkness. The blinds were down "and the doors locked. But the gallant Harvey was not ;to be denied by Jbolts arid bars. He pulled the window open, arid, hoisted up by hfs pals, he flopped m amongst the occupants like a flying fish Sat finds itself on the deck of a steamer.' tTnfortunateiy, he

KNOCKED OVER THE LAMP, . and as Bojijiy Burns puts it^/'in a morn-, ent a' wai dark."^'Aware^y, the Inmates, whom the -constable 'had seen • lo,r a few brief momenEbs '■' indulging m that dreadful pastime called '"two-ppV' and, 'rometimes "known by the more euphemism tic name of '■ •heading- em," were Smhg- • nant' at his uninvited intrusion., and, as be had cqpip m by the wifldqw didn't see anyvcall to put bun out of lie door. But it is difficult to put a man out of a Tyihdow if he doesn't want to go, and the constable hung on to the sash with his leg m a manner that wojjld do credit to ithe Kips ' Sisters. The btfier bodies came to his' rescue, and with the aid ol candles, the place was searched, and the occupants, eit^rt m all', werp arrested .When searche_d at the)iock-up it was found that they had '£12$ m their ppssessiqn, evidence that ;they wpre all men of an«ana and some standing. When they rbfled up at the Court m the mqrning a great crowd of curious spectators lined tip to see the show, am? ong the number being a parson. Perhaps he*s tMnking of starting a ''school" and '• wanted a "tap or two as to Bqjv the game. ' is carried on.

Barry was charged with being keeper of the house, and pleaded guilty, but statr . ed that he had never tosTsed a penny m his life (he's had plenty Qf time, too* being oyer 60 years of a'gq). Stfbrlnspector Gieen sgid that the,, jcharge was laid under - section 10 of thp CTaming and Lotrteries Act Amendment of 'last session. 'Phis provided a maximujn penalty of £100 for a person who fcept.a . cqmmon gaining house, aigi. a maximum Penalty of £5. for every person who was known to play therem, T4« facss $£re jthat under power of a seaidh yuaaasAisr suqd by-, the Court ."the police visited der fendantfs house last' nigh* between » aad 9.30 p.m. It was a one-jcoomed house •overlooking Caroline Bay,, and situated on" land belonging to , the Railway De? apartment. The defendant was an old railf ,way hand and lived isi this hjrt by him? self. When Sergeant Bowman and three constables visited the house last night they found Barry and seven young mra ;therf?, ithe latter ALL PLAYING <>TWO-UP,"; .while the defendant was Sitting m *b 0 roqtn. The young men were sitting round -the' room, coins were being thrown '. up and dropped on the floor, where, a quilt had been placed, so that tbe noise of the falling coins would: be deadenecL They^had apparently bjeing doing a 'thriving business, for when arrested ffeey had £128 odd m their possession, £1 16 is 9d being found m small coins qn the floor. Barry was a pensioner from the railway service. The -^school', had been going on for sqme 'time, thje modus operandi being to toss up two pennies and bet on- -fee insult of the fill. ' Barry admitted' that parties often^went yp to Ijis place, but it was seldom a game was on hand. They mostly yarned stalked horse and dogs. - His Worship :■ They were doing mora than that on this occasion- It appears that this is- a regular gamfoling-den. The defendant has 'been proved to be the occupier of the hquse, and' the men were caught m the very act. it is a very serious' offence. 'Gambling is causing a great d^al of distress a^idV immorality m the colony, and it must be put down wjith a strong hand. The defendant will be convicted and I see no reason why the maximum penalty should not be imposed. He will be fined £100 ; , m default three months' imprisonment. Geqrge Heggarty, John Wall, John Marsh, Andrew Fibbs, William - Arscptt, * Percy Graham and Robert Cox were then charged with having been found m a common gaming house. Tjiey pleaded guilty had nothing to say m defence. Hig; Wbrship said it was a pity to seeyoung fellows wasting their time ami giv 2 in* way to gambling like this! £5 each. In mqst courts first offenders w[6uld get off with very much below the maximum. Barry seems to have been , A HARMLESS OLD STICK, | „ who found life m his little whare a bit . glow, and so allowed the "boys" to come along at night and have a game. Undoubtedly he knew -hp was breaking the law, but the possibilities $re he ha.d no idea his offence was so serious. lie, was not caught playing himself, and although the Sub-Inspector said he "understood" that he was paid so much per night for the use qf his house, there tipes not seem to have been, any evidence taken to that effect. Had it been proved that the place tfas the, resort of professional , gamblers And persons who .are a danger to society, and that the keeper, was' making a good

living out of it, the case would have been different. But the very size of the hut would prevent anything like a big "school"; at worst it could only be a game among a limited number of friends, and evidently it was conducted m such a way. as to give no annoyance to tho neighbors. Why, then, the full penalty ol £100; when other magistrates m the Dominion have made it as low as 4520, £25 and £50 for first offenders ? Chows get off with' a paltry £5 or £10 fine for keeping paKra-pu shops, but an old white man gets put up £100 for his little run. There is another point, too, upon whiphsfeyera! residents ofTimaru interested m this case are sore,about. They state that although bookm'aking is illegal outside a racecourse, and just as much an offence, the law as. "two-up," bpakmaking gqes on openly m that town, and that one bookmaker makes iise Of a certain hotel to transact bis business. They further state that the ' polHce are well awate of the fact but will not move m the matter, and want to know why the .small man should' be molested and the big man let: alone. It certainly does seem strange.