UNCUSTOMED GOODS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9320, 21 August 1908, Page 3

UNCUSTOMED GOODS.

A SEVERE PENALTY. i The rigors of the New Zealand Cus- ■ toms laws were emphatically explained ' to a joiner from the steamer Mamari j this morning at the Magistrate's Court, ] when Thomas William Bates was sued < under Section 210 of the Customs Law ] Consolidation Act, 1882, for the reco- ] very of £6 by Arthur Elliott, Commis- < sioner of Customs. Under the Customs ] laws the Commissioner can recover < from any man carrying uncustomed | goods three times their value, or 5 £100. and if necessary, can detain the < offender until the amount is paid. 1 Bates had, when ttio Mamari arrived, * assured the Customs in Lyttelton that ( a half-crown's worth of tobacco was the - only dutiable goods in his possession, - but later he was caught proceeding to . the Lyttelton railway station with four shawls hidden beneath his coat. The Commissioner assessed the value of the shawls at' £1 12s, but Bates stated that he had only paid 10s for them at Teneriffe. Mr Bishop decided j that he would place the value at £1, g and ordered Bates to pay £3, the value i of the goods, and 12s duty on them. ]= The shawls were confiscated by the c Customs Department, according to the j regulations. J