"HARDLY FAIR" PLEA BY BOOKMAKER

Chronicle (Levin), 26 June 1946, Page 8

"HARDLY FAIR" PLEA BY BOOKMAKER

— Press Association

By Telegraph-

AUCKLAND, .June 25. Criticism of the fact that his client had been arrested after he had been opcrating' in the eity for on!y two or three months while two other bookmakers had allegedly been in business in the same street for a much longer jDeriod, was made by Mr. M. Iiobinson , in the Police Court this morning when he appeared for Henry Thomas Read, a tutcher, wdlo pleaded- gui-lty to a charge of ns'ing a shop as a common gaming house. • Mr-. Robinson said Read frankly admitted usirig the premises for betting for a matter of weeks. "In this case we have a new operator who is arrested vvithin a matter of two or three months after starting, yet no4 far away in the same street is a bookmaker- carrying on witli a staff of clerks, ' ' said Counsel. "He has not been before the court for some time. Also in the same street is another operator who carries on exten sively and has not been caught for a lcng time. Does Read 's arrcst indieate tliat his real offence is an infringement ou a monopoly that has Oxtended in favour of others for so long? If such is the position tlien I invite the court to mark its disapproval of the whole : pppifion ;1# impps|iig mereljf a-n.pminal ipenal^C.in? this e,a|o:i- I might at||' thak K'tmdfh^ ibeen dperafingi phty on Saf--urda.Vs. "i ■ Mr." ; L, "G. ' H; , Sin'ckir/ S.M. : Al 1 I can do is to admiipster the •law' as it is. The evidenee shows Read has ;boen using the shop for betting. I will take iuto eonsideration the fact that he is a f.rst offender and hope this will be a lesson to him." Read ivas fmed '£30.