BREACH OF LOTTERY ACT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 16610, 6 December 1919, Page 3

BREACH OF LOTTERY ACT.

AT ROMAN CATHOLIC BAZAAR. ' I Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Dec. 5. J The Lottery Law lays down that at- ! tides other than works of art may only, j be disposed of by lottery or raffled when the express permission of tho Minister of Internal Affairs has been obtained, and a pronouncement was made at the time that the Trentham Scholarship Art Union permits would no longer be readily given, although the Government had { granted very; many such permits during : the war period. Tho police took action at the Magis- ; trate's Court to-day against Father Smyth for alleged offences against the Gaming Act in connection with a Roman Catholic bazaar held in the Town Hall recently. Chief Detective Boddam said advertisements in the daily papers had called special attention to three main prizes, a thoroughbred chestnut filly valued, at a hundred guineas, a suit of clothes or a costume, and an eiderdown guilt,while many other articles of silverware • and other goods were also mentioned. When spoken to hy the police, the - defendant had been perfectly frank, and detailed a scheme whereby these ar- ; tides were to be disposed of. There | was, he wished to stress particularly, no 1 suggestion that the tickets had been , disposed of in any other than a perfectly fair manner. Father Smyth, in evidence, admitted ; the articles had been disposed of in a manner into which a certain element of chance , entered. Chance, however, entered into the buying and sellling of very many articles, and ho particularly mentioned those old I favourites of juveniles, the bran tub, and the lucky bag. The racehorse in question had' been offered to the bazaar as a raffle by a friend of one of the lady stall-holders, but he had advised her not to accept or refuse until ho knew where he stood. lie then called on a solicitor, -and as a result of their discussion this solicitor drew up a scheme already outlined. Not wish- ; ing to run any risks of going outside i the law, he submitted that scheme to a j second practitioner, who, after considering the matter, passed it on to another confrere, who also pronounced that the scheme was well within the law. _ The magistrate reserved his decision.