SENTENCE DEFERRED IN BIGAMY CASE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18785, 14 June 1929, Page 16

SENTENCE DEFERRED IN BIGAMY CASE.

Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, June 13. When Wilfred Minty, a petty-officer on 11.M.5l Veronica, appeared for sentence at the Supreme Court to-day on a charge of bigamy his counsel said that the young woman with whom he went through the form of marriage had entirely forgiven him. Minty had a wife and children in England., and pay allotments had regularly been dispatch ed to them. Counsel claimed that the only excuse for prisoner’s action was that he committed the crime in a moment of mental aberration. Appealing to the Judge not to impose a term of imprisonment, counsel said that if this was done Minty would be court-mar-tialled on release and would lose the privileges which he was due to receive on completing twenty-two years service, over nineteen years of which he had served. His wife and children would also lose their allotment if Minty was sent to gaol. The Crown Prosecutor undertook to inquire of the naval authorities as to the procedure. Sentence was accordingly deferred until to-morrow

The Librarian of the Canterbury Public Library reports that May was a busy month in all departments. The issue of books from the circulating library numbered 16,871 volumes. In the reference library 4523 books were

consulted, and from the children’s library 3293 were taken out for home reading, all these figures being about the same as those recorded during May of last year. No fewer than 124 new members enrolled during the month, 31 being yearly, 28 half-yearly, 60 quarterly. and 5 monthly. The number of new books received was up to the average, 170 volumes being added to the circulating and 29 to the reference departments. During the past few months something like 750 books have been added to the circulating library alone and of these nearly 200 were works of general non-fiction such as travels, history and biography. The reference library too, has received about 150 works, several being important 3-ear books and directories, while many more are on order, including a set of the new library edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica,. fourteenth edition, in 24 volumes. It is gratifying to report that the reference library is used daily by increased numbers of readers, many of these being students from the various colleges. Already this year nearly 30,000 volumes have been consulted compared with 25,000 for the same period of 1928. At this season pf the year there is increased activity in the children’s library. Many new mem bers are joining and large numbers of books are being taken out for home reading. It may not be generally known that the facilities of this splendid library are free to the children of the city and district.