LETTER TO MAGISTRATE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19667, 8 December 1933, Page 11

LETTER TO MAGISTRATE

ANONYMOUS WRITER DENOUNCED. The practice of writers behind the cloak of anonymity to make accusations which were not always true, was strongly condemned by Mr C. R. Orr-Walker S.M., chairman of the Timaru Licensing Committee at yesterday's quarterly meeting. The chairman said that since last ; meeting he had received an anonymous letter regarding the conduct of an hotel, the licensee of which had been convicted since last meeting. It was very regrettable that people would persist in writing such letters either to the Court or to the Committee. One could not always ignore the contents of an anonymous letter, and in this case the police had investigated the charges that considerable trading after hours was taking place, and had • found that they were unfounded. “These letters cause a great deal of trouble and work for the police," said the chairman. They must be followed up. and it was often found that they were not in the right spirit. In this case it was suggested that the letter was written in a vindictive spirit. In view of that certain persons who wrote anonymously could not complain if they were misjudged and thought guilty of un-British conduct because they did not come out in the open. “If the writer had gone to the police and had given them all the information in confidence, it would have been much better than the unfair and futile method of an anonymous letter. I hope that such letters will not be written again to me as Magistrate If the writer is discovered h? or she will be severely dealt with.” said the chairman.