MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16591, 13 November 1919, Page 7

MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

THE MORNING’S SITTING. (Before Mr. T. A. B. Bailey, S.M.) WHITEBAIT FISHERS CONVICTED. The Collector of Customs (Mr. R. B. D. Eyre), brought fresh information under the general regulations against several of tho whitebait fishers who were caught in the raid on Sunday',, September 28, and secured a dismissal of the informations laid against them on the ground that the regulation concerned did not apply to the borough of New Plymouth. For Leonard Abbott and Clarence Dinnis, who were charged with breaking regulations while fishing at To Henui River, and James Tanner (Waiwakaiho River), Mr. R. H. Quilliam appeared. Mr. Quilliam said it was doubtful whether the information now laid disclosed an offence, but in view of the ..evident determination of the Collector of Customs to .secure a conviction of some kind against these_ boys he had advised them to plead guilty. Abbott and Dinnis were High School boys under the age of 16 and had done what they had seen others doing for some years past unchecked. Counsel asked whether his Worship could, in tho circumstances, avoid inflicting a fine (the minimum being £1) by dismissing the informations under the Justices of the Peace Act. His Worship said he had no power to do this, hut would inflict the minimum fine and remit the penalty on application being made. Mr. Eyre said ho did not press for a heavy penalty', but wanted the conviction. . . His Worship acted as lie had intimated in the three cases mentioned and Mr. Quilliam undertook to apply for a remission in the further oases of Edgar Coleman, Claude Revel), Milliam Stroud, and George Feck, each of whom was fined a. similar amount, without costs. Mr. Quilliam suggested that it was advisable that the authorities should revise the regulations regarding whitebait fishing, as they were almost unintelligible, Mr. Eyre said that this would bo attended to. He was waiting for the cases to be finished before sending in his report.

BREACHES OF BOROUGH BYLAWS. The borough inspector (Mr. R. Day) and assistant (Mr. E. C. King) hud a number of informations for breaches of the by-laws. For speeding on a motor cycle m Tukapa Street, Arthur Lander was fined £5 and costs (Is). 'Duncan Carmichael was fined Ids and costs (7s) for exceeding tlie speed limit when rounding the Dcvon-Brough-am Street corner in a motor car. “There is too much of the sort of thing that the only thing that will stop it is heavy penalties,’’ remarked Mr. King in the case of Gordon M'D. Gilbert, who rode a bicycle on the footpath in Dawson Street. His Worship inflicted fines of 10s and costs in this case and that of T. V. Mackay, who acted similarly in the same street. Cases of leaving motor cars standing at night without lights were as follows: H. J. Eaves, fined 10s and costs; Donald Cameron, fined 10s and costs. Percy Roberts was convicted and discharged for riding an unlightcd motor cycle.

LIQUOR CASES ADJOURNED. Three men were called in connection with informations for alleged breaches of the liquor regulations respecting the Molcau no-liconcc district. Mr. R. H. Quilliam said that two of the defendants had been on the launch Marakopa when she was wrecked on Monday on the Mellon coast and could not bo present. Ho asked for an adjournment. At the request of Senior-Sergeant Willis the time for the hearing was fixed at 2 o’clock on Monday next. TICKETS WRONGLY ISSUED. A charge of breaking the Finance Act, 1917. at Opuuake on October 16 by failing to issue a stamped ticket on receiving payment exceeding sixpence i or admission Has preferred against Norman Oliver Andrews, the proprietor of a registered entertainment. Senior-Sergeant Willis stated that in consequence of complaints two officers of tho Stamps Department were sent to Opunake to investigate and found that defendant was issuing half a ticket to each person and the Government was thereby losing a- t halfpenny on cadi admission. The tickets wcie perforated into two parts and i\cic supposed to he halved at tho door, one part being retained by tho purchaser. Mr. A. 11 ■ Standish, who appeared for defendant, said that tho offence had been inadvertently committed throngu tho Deputy-Registrar of Stamps at New Plymouth forwarding jx now style of ticket without drawing attention to the change and through defendant not noticing "tho difference. The former tickets consisted of only one part. Tlis Worship remarked that defendant was very stupid if he had not noticed the change. A .fine of £1 and costs (7.5) was imposed. ALLEGED MISAPPROPRIATIONS. Ralph Farmer was charged with committing theft by failing to pay to the borough treasurer certain sums of money received in his capacity of electric meter reader "in tho employ of the Borough Council. The charges set out the following particulars of amounts "received by accused and not accounted for:—On or about September 19, tho sum of £1 fis 9d from Julia M. Garner: on September 2, £2 15s 3d from John S. Philp; on September 18, £1 7s 9d from Mary Gray; on August 19, £1 8s 3d from A. E. Sykes. Mr. H. R. Billing prosecuted for the Government Audit Department. Accused pleaded not guilty to each of the four charges and elected to be tried by a jury.

Depositions were taken from the persons who paid the moneys and from Theodora Bedford, cashier; B. H. Bartley, electrical and tramways engineer arid manager, and F. T. Bellringer, town manager and treasurer. The latter stated that at an interview when Farmer was taxed with the offence in the presence of Mr. Bartley, ho produced a list of amounts for which ho had failed to‘‘account. lie said that before issuing the receipt to Mr. Sykes he removed the carbon from the receipt book. Later he filled the blank in the. book with the name, of Mr. Wooller and the amount of fis fid. Mr. Woollcr told witness that ho had not paid the amount to Farmer. Witness was surprised that the writing was exactly on the. right lines because ifc was done after the top sheet had been removed. Accused said, he did ifc by

placing only the carbon sheet above the receipt form in the book, and, in order to convince witness, gave a demonstration which showed he could do it very skilfully. The court adjourned for lunch. ACCUSED ALTERS PLEA. On the court resuming at 2,10, James Henry howler, Government auditor, deposed that he had been unable to find any trace of the four items concerned in the present charges' having been paid into the borough accounts. In conversation since the investigation Parmer admitted misappropriating tlie four sums mentioned, and explained his methods of doing so. Parmer gave witness every assistance in his investigations. _ "Witness bad traced amounts totalling £34 17s bn, but Parmer had to bo given credit for £1 7s 10d which bo had paid in hunseif in various small amounts in the course of his system on lines similar to those adopted in connection with the AVooller receipt. ' At this stage Mr. Croker intimated that ho had been notified that accused wished to consult him with a view to altering his pica. A short adjournment was granted by his Worship, and at its close Mr. Croker said his client wished to plead guilty, but he. understood that Mr. Billing was willing to withdraw .the amount above £2. His Worship said ho had power to deal with that charge, and its withdrawal would not make much difference, us lie was convinced from the evidence that the total discrepancy was considerably greater than the total of the present charges. In reply to his Worship, Mr. Billing said, that apparently accused’s salary (which was not small in relation to his work) was not sufficient to maintain a family without getting into difficulties. His Worship convicted accused and ordered him to come up for sentence within 12 months if called upon. Ho must refund the money and pay the costs of the prosecution within that neriod.