DECISION TO PROSECUTE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 8, 21 September 1943, Page 5

DECISION TO PROSECUTE

DRIVERS LICENSES TO DEFAULTERS

ROTORUA COUNCIL'S ACTION

r ihe question of whether or not the Rotorua Borough Council should prosecute three of the military clelan 1 tors stationed at Galatea, on a charge of false pretences because they .submitted, "wrong details when obtaining driving licenses in the liotorua Borough, was d iscus.sed at the Council meeting last week. The 1 Works Committee reported that after correspondence from Wlnikatane County had been received, sumbcin? prepared.

Cr R. A. Potter raised the question that in view of the expense involved in prosecuting, wit.li little prospect of getting anything out of it, whether the Council would be justified in going on with tlic matter. The Council had written to the Commissioner of Transport asking that the. licenses issued to the men concerned be revoked. The reply had been received that this could not be done, but the Council vould be in order if they wished to prosecute. Cr Potter said that while he had no sympathy with the men, they were placed in a difficult position. If they were ordered to drive the trucks as part of their duties and refused to do so, then they were sent to Mount Eden or some x>ther gaol. Now they have licenses, but the Council was going to prosecute them. Because of the expense involved, he did not consider it worth while in making prosecutions, * False Statements Alleged Cr E. T. Johnson, who professed himself as feeling very strongly on the matter, said the reply to Cr Potter's remarks was that the men need not have made false statements in securing the licenses. Lf they were ordered to drive trucks, and had to get licenses, then he considered that the. camp supervisor at Galatea was. equally to blame l'or he must have known that the men were coming into liotorua to get licenses. It was not so much the expense involved as the principle of the thing., Supervision of tiie men appeared to be lax as they were apparently allowed to come into town without any .control, wander in and make false statements to get licenses and "put one over" the Council. In issuing summonses to the three men concerned, he moved that -the. supervisor also be impli-

catccL in the matter on a charge o aiding and abetting.

The meeting decided, to carry on with the prosecutions, together with that of the camp supervisor.

The issue of driving licenses to defaulters stationed at Galatea Avas made by the liotorua Boorugh Council after application had been refused to the men by the "Whakatanc County Council, in whoso territory the. men are situated., it. was alleged that the men made false claims in regard to their address, leading the Council emploAecK to believe that they were fanners residing at or near Galatea. A strong protest on the matter was lodged by the Whakatane County Council who considered that the men, by assisting farmers in the district, were, tending to create unemployment among Maori workers in the district. A letter was written by the Rolorua Borough Council to the Department of Transport asking that the licenses be. revoked. Strong comment on the discipline of the camp was made by councillors at the last meeting ot the Borough Council when it was alleged that the defaulters Avcrc allowed to go out on hunting trips over the week-ends.