RUNNING THE CUTTER

NZ Truth, Issue 935, 27 October 1923, Page 7

RUNNING THE CUTTER

Carryings-On Of A Carrier

A Hefty Bump For The Profits.

(Prom "Truth's" Hamilton Rep.)

"I -wish to makp a clean breast pf the whole thing 1 ," was the penitent statement made by a carrier of Te ! Kuiti named John Cowper, when the local police, who, for some tUne had been endeavoring to run down a ''bootlegger" whom they knew was carrying on his illegal occupation oh an extensive scale, asked him for an explanation of his dealings m whisky. Sergeant Pearnley was awaro that large quantities of liquor were entering the district, btit he had been unable to satisfy himself as to its 'destination. Parcels of four to six bottles, were arriving daily, consigned to. a variety of persona with names such, as Jenkins, Jordan, Jennings, Jackson, Jones and about 30 other ; different titles, the railway book showing that ail the formalities of the regulations regarding the admission of liquor to the restricted area were complied with. Within the short period of 25 days no fewer than 130 bottles thus arrived and the police were quite unable to trace the Consignees m whose names they wore made out, for the simple and good reason as it turned out that no such persons existed. ,

• The liquor was handed over to Cowper for delivery, but this gentleman made the pace a little too hot, with the result that he came within the purview: pf the- law, whereas, had he ordered the consignments, leas frequently he /.would : probably have escaped detection and continued to pile up weatth out of this lucrative but. illicit business. . / :, When, however, the police did come up with him, he made a clean breast of the whole thing, m which he ao> mltted that he had purchased the liquor and had been running" a sort of WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTING STORE on his own -account', without a license. Ho pitched the yarn, however, that he sold "the liqucr at the price he paid for it, netting no profit for himself. It is difficult to believe, however, '• how any man would incur, such a risk withr out the hope of profit or glory m order merely to oblige his neighbors. Samaritans of this kidd.are seldom to be found m theso modern times, and least of all m the Iting Country. Ho had the manliness, however, to clear his clerk, whose name is Brycc, and who signed the orders for the liquor m the names mentioned, declaring- that IBi-yce -was only carrying out his (Cowper's) orders, and bulieve'd . that he (Cowper) had fuU authority to order the liquor. When heViappeardd' before, Magistrate Platts, •" charged, with sly grogging, Cowper "pleaded guilty.. . Mr. J. D. Verncn, wJio represented , him, said the case was one of , the. most pathetic of its kind ever brought before the Court. A' feature of thes? cases was the difficulty of getting Qyidence for the defence, owing to the well-known national hypocrisy oh the liquor quostion. The .Railway Department kept a record of all liquor railed to Te Kuiti, and it was a simple matter for anyone to get access to this record. He regretted to say that there was a certain class of undeairablo m Te Kuiti who mads a practice of inspecting the book and then Inflicting themselves on people whom thoy knewr to have ordered and race! ved liquor. Also, when it was noised abroad that. Certain "respectable" citizens had- taken delivery of several bottles of whisky the tongue of scandte was set wagging to the I material derogation of those citizens. Furthermore, a great many respectable members of the community had a distinct objection to joining the whisky queue at the station on the arrival of the 4 o'eiook train. These were reasons why people refused to order liquor through tho ordinary channels, preferring to get it through a carrying firm. Continuing his very plausible story, Mr. Vernon said that Cowper first started out by procuring two or three bottles to order, and then, to save time, he began to anticipate trade by getting down fairly large quantities, knowing full well that it would command a ready sale. If he had gone to a little trouble it would have been an easy matter to BAFFLE THE POLICE for a very lengthy period before he could have been detected. Nevertheless, he must be prepared to take the con^ sequences. Mr. Vernon put m a strong plea for leniency on account of defendant's age and many infirmities, amongst which were the loss of an »rm, failing eyesight, and general ill-health. His Worship declared that defendant had wilfully and flagrantly broken the law and had been carrying on an extensive trade m- sly grog. His Worship was not prepared to accept the excuses offered by defendant or his solicitor, as it vras impossible to believe that defendant had not made a considerable profit from the sale of the liquor. Defendant was oonvlcted and the salutary fine of £50 and costs was inflicted. Arising out of the abovo charge, two counts of wrongfully signing telegrams were' then preferred against defendant's son, who was named after his father — John Cowper— and is apparently FOLLOWING IN DAD'S FOOTSTEPS. The telegrams In question related to orders for liquor which were signed by Cowper junior m fictitious names. Defendant gave evidence that he signed the telegrams at the dictation of his father, who admitted that this was so. Defendant asked his father what authority he had to order the liquor m the names mentioned and was told that he had full authority. Defendant said he did not know that the nameß he signed wero of mythical people. Mr. Vernon, who appeared for this defendant nlßo. said tho ease was really an aftermath of the charge of sly grogging. The fictitious telegrams arose out of the major offence' and It would not be just to inflict two lots of punishment for the same offence. The clause of the Act under which the prosecution was laid was peculiarly worded and its exact significance was difficult to determine. The actual sending of a telegram m a fictitious name was not m itself an offonce There was really no oftence within the confines of the P. and T. Act. The sending of a telegram In a false name was really no more serious than sending a liquor order by letter m a false name. In any case Cowper junior acted m perfectly good faith, believing the signatures he attached were of perfectly genuine people, and with their authority. His Worship said the offences us disclosed by tho evidence did not necessarily involve the keeping of liquor for sale, but were additional and extraneous. At least one of the Cowpers had been engaged m SLY GROG SELLING and had used tho telegraph service to promot? the illegal traffic and hoodwink the police. Cowper junior was the controlling partner m the firm and It \vr\s utterly impossible to believe that ho did not know what wan daily' going on under his eyos. , Tho offonce was a serious one and carried a maximum penalty of £100. Cowpor junior would be lined £10 and Cowper Senior, who was also charged with a similar offence, would be fined £5 and costs. A further liquor prosecution followed the two mentioned above. The defondant this time was Kenneth Korr, licensee of the Klhi Kihi Hotel, who w.tH charged wtlh forwarding quantities of liquor to To Kuiti without disclosing to tho Clerk of the Court

tho nature of the liquor sent. Mr. Vornon. for tho defence, desorlb-c-d the offence as a trlvltil one, and was more an oversight than an attomnt to wilfully faroak tho law. Tho reffulutions were somewhat misleading, particularly as to the legal meaning of the words "nature" and "description."

Tho Ma?la:ratt rognrdod the offence aa merely a toehnlcal one and convicted and fined defendant 20/- and costa on one of the three counts, dismissing: the other two. • ■ ■