BREAKING THE LAW.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VI, Issue 312, 16 July 1896, Page 7

BREAKING THE LAW.

Three Local Bookmakers before the CourtFined £5 Each for Staying InsideAt the Police Court on Monday last, before Captain Worsp and Mr H. Wilding, Justices, Tobias Tobias was charged that, on June sth, being the occupier of certain rooms situated in Vulcan Lane, he did open, keep, and use the same for the purpose of receiving money for betting on horse races. Donald McLeod and Robert Cleland were also charged with a similar offence in respect to certain premises in Q.ueen Street, Francis Machattie was charged that he did assist Tobias Tobias in the conduct of his rooms ; and George Doig with having assisted the defendants McLeod and Cleland. The Hon. J. A. Tole, instructed by the Inspector of Police, appeared for the prosecution, and Mr Cotter defended the accused. Mr Cotter said he might inform their Worships that no law yet made it illegal to bet on horseraces. Where the defendants had committed a breach of the Act, in the present cases, was that the money had been taken inside their offices. If the money had been paid over in Queen Street there would have been no offence, but, because the money was paid in their offices, the defendants had been guilty of an offence under the Gaming and Lotteries Act. There was no doubt that Machattie and Doig, the defendants’ assistants, did each receive ss, but their employers were not present at the time. In McLeod and Cleland’s case two constables had gone in, and had been handed a betting ticket by the assistant, but if he had referred them to his employers, who were standing outside the shop, and the bet had been made there, no offence would have been committed. As it was, there had been a technical breach of the Act. Counsel urged that in neither case where the proprietors present, and said it was not as if the constables had gone in and found a number of persons engaged in betting. Under the circumstances he would ask that the cases, Tobias and Machattie, might be treated as one case, and those of McLeod, Cleland, and Doig as another. The premises mentioned were not gaming rooms in the ordinary sense, where people were encouraged to gamble. He would ask the Bench to remember that although there were five informations there were but two transactions After Mr Tole had addressed the Bench for sometime he concluded by asking their Worships to deal with the cases separately, and pointed out that the Legislature looked upon them as serious offences. The defendants were first offenders, however, and he would not press for a too heavy penalty, but would, at the same time, ask for something more than a merely nominal fine, to mark that it was an offence under the Act. The Bench decided to inflict a fine of £5, with costs, in each case. The costs were—Tobias, £2 2s ; Machattie, £1 10s. McLeod and Cleland, £3 3s • and Doig, £1 10s.