THE AUCKLAND RAID.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1418, 19 April 1912, Page 6

THE AUCKLAND RAID.

COURT PROCEEDINGS. BOOKMAKERS AND THE LAW. FINES INFLICTED. !Bj Telegraph—Pmb» liioolaUoa.l ' ■ Auckland, April 18. Police Court was crowded this morning, -when most of the people implicated in the recent betting raids came before Mr. F, V. Eraser, S.M., Lofty Richards and Jno. Weston were chaigcd with keeping certain premises in Queen Street, namely, No. 9 British, Buildings, for the purpose of betting. Mr. Thos. Cotter,' K.C., appeared for accused and pleaded "Guilty." He submitted to his Worship that bookmaking itself wias practically recognised under the Gaming Act. Tho Employment of bookmakers was not in itself illegal, and tho act of making a bet was not in itself illegal. Tho old section, which permitted racing clubs' to. give, licenses to bookhad been repealed only in so far as it had deprived clubs of the right to "grant licenses to bookmakers in the clubs' grounds. Tho Legislature seemed to have put a bookmaker in a peculiar position by means of negative provisions. It had said to him, "You shall not carry on your business there"; "You shall not hot. with an infant"; and so on; but it had' not said that his occupation was illegal. If a bookmaker went into a private residence to make a bet with the occupant that was not on offence. Thoro was no allegation against accused apart from the breach under notice. A peculiarity of tho gaming legislation was that the bookmaker (whoso calling was clearly recognised by tho law) must go right through it to find out what ho might legitimately ;do. He had advised accused that they had committed an offence, but 'ho asked the magistrate to tako nil the circumstances of tho anomalous legislation) into consideration when assessing tho amount of fines to bo imposed. Sub-Inspector Ifendrey, who conducted the prosecution, said that the fact remained that these men had carried on an illegal business for a very long time. .Their books showed; it, and they had, moreover, advertised themselves and their calling in various ways. Tho intention of tho "Legislature was clearly to wipe out the bookmaker. The police did not wish to - crush these men by. asking for the maximum penalty, but they wanted tho law vindicated. The magistrate said that so far as the main qhargo cf keeping a gaming house was 'concerned, the Legislature had definitely provided for cases of the sort. •Whatever the anomaly (if there was an anomaly) in the law might be, it was perfectly clear that an ;offi<* must not be kept for betting. Tho maximum penalty was .£IOO, but all things considered he felt disposed to mafco a considorable reduction in the present case. At tho same time, lie- would take cognisance of the fact that an illegal "business had been carried on for a long time. Accused w*ero eacli fined .£75 and costs. '.Leonard"Andrews pleaded guilty to a charge of assisting in tho management of a common gaming house, the office in the British ■ Buildings above, referred to. It' was explained that he was employed as .'clerk ..by. Richards and Weston. Ho was fined J825. ' Eighteen persons who pleaded guilty to having been in a common gaming houso (Ricliards's and Weston's office) wero each fined. £1. Two . second offenders wero fined £2 each. Fines of .£1 were inflicted in tho case of sixteen persons arrested in Ryan's billiard room in Vulcan Lane. Three others wero fined .£5, and ona <£3.' Eleven others pleaded not guilty. Charles Taylor and Robert Porter pleaded guilty to' a charge of being occupiers of an office in Coombes's Arcnde, kept and used as a common gaming house. They were each convicted and fined <£75, and on relative charges arising from the above wero conricted and discharged. Four persons who pleaded guilty to being found on the above premises wero each fined .£l. Daniel Twohill, who also pleaded guilty tD a charge cf having kept a common gaming house in No. 18, Coombes's Arcade, was fined £75. Fivo persons arrested in Twohill's office on the day, of tho raid were fined LEI each. Other charges in connection with the ra,ids were not finished when tho Court • rose for the day. ~.