PUBLICATION OF DIVIDENDS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 18 December 1925, Page 9

PUBLICATION OF DIVIDENDS.

“EVENING POST” PROPRIETARY FINED. By Telegraph—Press Association ; WELLINGTON, December 17. Judgment was delivered by Mr E. Page, S.M., this afternoon, in the case in which the p.olico prosecuted Blundell Brothers,. Ltd., proprietors of the “Evening Post/' in respect of the publication: of statements as to the dividends.paid by the totalisator, or. as to:starting prices, in certain races at the Wellington Racing Club’s meeting on 24 th October. The Magistrate ordered a conviction on the ground that there had been a breach of the. statute in regard to the publication, ' both of dividends and starting prices. The facts, said' Mr Page, were admitted, and the question to be decided was whether the material published constituted a breach of fhe Act. The .section was very wide in its terms. It prohibited publication of “any statement as to the dividend paid on investments on the totalisator,” or “as to star-ting prices.” With regard to dividends, he said:—“l think there can be no. doubt,,that the report contains statements as to the dividends paid. In the first race, for example, the dividends paid for first and second horses were £l2 4s and £1 6s 6d respectively. Defendants’ paper states that ‘Aslrari returned a dividend of over £l2, while Merry Singer’s backers showed. ; a small profit.’ It was true that' 'flie exact amount of a dividend ■was nowhere stated/ but the approximate amount was given. Askari’s dividend was said to be ‘over £l2/ and that is a statement as to the dividend paid. Some of defendants’ references do not contravene the statute. Thus statements that ‘Captain Sarto, Sir Fanciful and Merry Singer carried most money/ and that ‘Tiega wound up favourite, with plenty of support for Mandane, Rivalry, and Beacon Light/ though they contain reference to the betting market, cannot, I think, fairly bo said to be statements as to starting prices. On the other hand, in describing the fourth race, defendants say, ‘Bisox was an even money favourite.’ This is a definite statement of the price at which the horse was starting,' and comes within the statute. Defendants, therefore, must be convicted.” Mr O’Leary, who appeared for defendants, said that after the 24tli October, when it'was known that the police authorities had taken notice of the statements published, Blundell Bros. scrupulously refrainod from making any further reference which could bo regarded as a breach of the Act. They looked upon the case as a test, as for a considerable time newspaper proprietors had been uncertain as to how far they could go, and as to whether the Act merely prohibited publication of exact dividends. Mr O’Leary said his clients bad no desire to flout the law, and lie submitted that the case should be dealt with as a test 0,, 0n the first -charge, the Magistrate convicted and fined defendants £5 and costs; on the second charge they wcia convicted and discharged. Mr Maensscy withdrew two other informations.