SLY-GROG IN INVERCARGILL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9272, 26 June 1908, Page 1

SLY-GROG IN INVERCARGILL.

« THE POFF CASE. [From Otnt Cokbesponbent.] INVERCARGILL, June 25. Further inquiry has heen made hi the "Southland Times" with regarc to the Poff prosecution. It is statec that Inspector Mitchell said that 111 gallons of beer' and eight cases anc three bottles, of whisky had been delivered at the Carriers' Arms (not sold by the Poffs), and it is pointed out thai \ there is all the difference in the workbetween proving that defendant has received a certain quantity of liquor and proving that he has sold it. Where grog is bought and sold recklessly, evidence of sale can, perhaps be obtained, but where care is exercised to sell only to known friends who can be trusted, it is a matter of the greatest difficulty to obtain evidence that will establish a sale in a court of law. In. the case of the Poffs, actual evidence of sale was not, it is stated, in the hands of the police until just a week before the informations were laid; indeed, v until that evidence was obtained, the intention of the Inspector was to proceed on a. charge of keeping for sale. Spch a charge ne tfeklsarfly covers a considerable, period, and the Inspector decided to take the period from April 1 to June 9. But here again the police were .faced with difficulties, for, while the quantity of liquor delivered at the Carriers' Arms was undoubtedly large, it * had been ordered in the names of a dozen different persons, and if all these persons had gone into the box and sworn that they had ordered the liquor and had consumed it with their friends, the police case would not have been a strong one, not so strong as a police officer could wish. The previous history of the case further shows, it is alleged, that the Carriers' Arms was kept under rigorous supervi--1 sion from the moment the police had reason to suspect illicit traffic in liquor. It was towards the end of February that the Poffs entered into possession of the Carriers' Arms,- and m March the police received information which caused them to. pay special attention to these premises. Between then and the end of April Poff was warned that the police had knowledge of what was going on, and at one time the house was subjected to daily surprise visits by a sergeant and a constable. ' Poff complained that these visits were ruining his business, that the boarders were leaving, and promised that if the surprise visits were stopped the police would be given no further ground for suspicion. Efo was given another chance, but within a fortnight things were as bad as ever. It was then that the Inspector decided to proceed on a chaTge of "keeping," for it must be remembered that all this time no evidence of sale had been obtained. In order to succeed on the charge of keeping it was advisable to prove the delivery of liquor in considerable quantities^ so that the task of explaining how it had been disposed of might not be too 'easy.. At the best it was problematical whether there was sufficient evidence on the charge of "keeping" to satisfy the Magistrate (that is, had the witnesses for the defence told their story well), and it was only a week before the informations were laid that evidence of sale was forthcoming. The police to-nieht made two sly grog raids, at stables behind the Empire Hotel. Tav Street, and at a board-ing-house, in Spey Street. A quantity of liquor was seized, and it is understood that prosecutions will follow.