The Sly Grog Cases

Southland Times, Issue 19114, 3 August 1903, Page 2

The Sly Grog Cases

♦J^* the Police Court on Saturday;-:, be■te£? S^.- McCarthy. S.M-. th^healv r -l2£iriS.»rti 't chtir & e *, r tt^st Thomas James rrSmith; and " Charles - .^Humphries; for; alleged selling y™flfig^Ri^r^q" 01 '^ *>r : sale v Ywos Tcontin- , •^ •^?:^ to A t appeared for , J)ougherty " Wid Smith ; YMr YJY Macalister for HumPhries.?* -YY-:Y r ' . : '-'Y-'"Y' ; -; ; - >' Y-f - - -^ '■ -' ,; ' ;-■:-•;-

?Q r thoY 3efence..^f r^ Stdiit- icalied

.J*?. McOixigori who gave ovidence of Y the. receipt of two - telegrams from Siuith and Dougherty. ' ordering liqiior from Messrs W. B. Mitchell ' .nd 00. to be - sent; to- Fortrose.r-U^ ; Mr^^M.acalist'el^'^ Humphries had nothing whatever, to do with the matter. -'':,.• ••y^

. Thomas Dougherty,: fanner, gave evidence . that he. was ■" at a meeting of tho Ploughing Match Committee on Gth J uno;. and .. it was YtleCided _ to : -ask Humphries to provide .the match - dinner at 5s :perYhead; . Two more meetings were held, and .no .other arrangetaeut' was made. :;r7piiv 'Monday,; 13th July ,' witiicss was. infprined 'by Y Humphries that •woTJld-w'ot',take>'the.-.Yi i {islcri'Ybf.- ; eupplyi"nc ,? ' any drlnfc> at the diuner." Witness - aiidSmlthYtoitL him to gp; oh; with the dlu-Y peri and, : they would :find>i lie Uquor themselves, :^Withes* Mrcd for:7twbYgailphsr.ofxwb4eky..oh his own behalf r avidSmith wired f pr a case of - hbttted ale < never heard of any difficulty uinnicY Humphries-: supplying liquor previous • to : this; date. TheYUquotY was delivered -■■' at the parcels" offlce at . Humphries' plait?..? Witness saw Ytlie .Whisky (.sthere. -and -ifrtd HuinphriosYtb put ft' into bottles. ; ITa\t, not seesi ahy : other Tneinbers of the cbm> ihittee in the" meantime. Witness collecv''

>d~ the Yndhiissibn; money-, at -tho inquest.'of YH-uniphries," ras ; : there;: :were v^'o -^■i^Qta^'yjij and: ; the ioiretary was busy Aviii -"rthß^.Y--prize. list. ':-. CbU^ctod : the money :tt't 1. ,theY . . oqor-'of the commercial room ihddbor Y ot the passage, ■ Collected 5s i-ach from . 3 3 present, and the secretary paid -forY-YY--throe judges andj reporter, telling Wm:-;.Y to give, all the Y money to liuinphries.s Y The committee had nothing; whatever' fb '' 'do with supplying: th®; whisky; hcvfrv Y gjivp them a" thoug^t.-Y-Hbd ncv* l " heard ■'.■■■-■ '■}. of'.any; proimsal ;tp ".-'reduce i the price -of the "dinner frbtn ss : to Bs. Did not tell -Constable -BogueY that ;he had- Told ■him there, was ; no time to; call tha committee ; together.. ;The committee had since- refused to pay;; "anything. There, -had been no^ talk ...bf Ygettiug a refund Y from Humphries.-^TO Mr Maoalister ■-:' - The dinner had always been held in the hotel except bnce.Ylvitness and -Smith „-■,: wei'e 'personally responsible to Hiim-,. phries for tho 2ri.ob.ay, lor the dinner^ Y Humphries - derived rib -profit 'whatever; out of the liquor.' ,-I)id not see; Huin~;■'-'.;'-phries collec Uug YYahy money for the dinner.— Tp the Inspector :YD.id not' t a kb' the precautiou. to get u> receipt from Humphries.. .as he did uot..<hlnk it wns ; ... required. Could hot account "for Hum- ""••;■■ phries hot" going to - -'the i: President about being unable tovaupply liquor. The pre* y stdent Y secretary., Y.aiid , several nierabcrs. Jived; nf^crYtUft^ 'witness, but witness •/ Y ;

and Smith- were 'Appointed to .aiAinge for the" dinner. " The committee utiputatad that-- tbe .dinner was -to' -ho provided a» usual, 'at"- 6s --per head. "It -waa never arranged that Humphries should supply whisky and beer. In previous -years the 5s subscription included the supply -. of liquor. " Wde uiider ;th> hupressioh vfheft ho ordered the liquor " that the committee would back him up, but they didn't. Could not imagine how Constable Bogue told the Court, that bad -> informed him : : that the priceYJhad -b'efcii ; reduced from ss» to- 3sY .^""MlgEr have been aald,. but not to witness' recollection. Witness hadniio.objeotidns-.to- na'-yihg; 5s for the dinner hhnself ;. - could not say ■"ISS „JrL -tflJ 6 - -; COTninillee '.', would agree; ■-*?S^^S^M-^>Jectl6ns'las-':'*ai:' n» wit- ; - o^-^i^^^There-Ywais'.'abmo'lMvr in a "fi^jJonn on the ploughing ground, sup- : plied,^y, private: persons, v „ '." : . Jaiues^Simithriarmer, said that he was a. member of the .Ploughing Match C'omJhjttee-^ A meeting' was held in the hotel, and Humphries was .called in, and stated 'that he "would supply tbe dinner as usual at' 5s per he a d. Later, Humphries called on witness and Uougherty and told them ie could hot .supply liquor.; Rather than see it fall throuph they to xirder it theins-rtvcs, and "-**» telegrams wero seat to W. B. MitS?. el i^^ftna-Co^To.' inspector Mitchell : Might, have tbld .the' detective that the ctxmnnittee have, to pay for the r .;- liquor. * -Did hot remember Kidd (the telling "him that he was not so sure; about that, as there w*as nothing on the .minutes to that effect. Told the detectiye,f|whenYlQJ^ was' loading the- Uqudr,ithaticth«^vOle;^asm^ private : property ; did Ynot. then inialfe any reference to ;the s icommittee.v (After a Tjfood deal of pressure, witness admitted tliat he might have been informed by committeemen that they would hot* be responsible, bcfbro^^healiquor v W afe removed.) Witness had a row with Kidd over the latter hiring his ; trap; to the police to carry . away-, the liquor." ," " This- closed the, defence for Dougherty --_ aaid-^jSinitli, :stnd-i-'.3(tr - • 3la.c a Hstcr. after r 9horUy tbutlinihg the cos©, callod -.Charier Humphries, who denied ha vine anything to do Tvith tho supplying of liquor. 1 Sot. . the dinner ; ho had informed . Dougherty and Smith that he. would not take that responsibility. He .knew- notalhgaoufc'tk^reduction from ."is to Us. Did - .not. any money himself. MightY have, been changing r.moiiey;vfor sosnedne';"- i -Tb "the inspector : Expected to receive-as— --mtfch- ' mbhey for" a dinner - without -, liquor as -with it. ..:=> -:,. , : The? Magistrate :Te.sorved his decisions.^