MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2561, 8 September 1915, Page 9

MAGISTRATE'S COURT

\ . OPIUM SMUGGLING THREE CHINESE FINED £75 . Tfte threo Chinese off the ■ steamer Batsford who. were arrested on Monday evening while attempting to smuggle opium, appeared before Mr. D. G._ A. Cooper S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. All Sing and All Sang admitted being found in possession of fivo tins each of opium, while Ya Sam pleaded guilty to having twelve tins. .Mr. B. A. Brabazon, Collector of Customs, prosecuted, while Mr. A. W: Blair .appeared for the owners of the vessel. Bach of the accused pleaded that they did not know tliat it was an offence to bring opium. ashore, hut were somewhat 'disconcerted when the" interpreter asked Lliem why they did not declare the drug in the usual list taken of their possessions, also , why "they had taken - the trouble to conceal the opium,' Mr. Blair, oil behalf of the master of the vessel, said the captain ,was placed in an awkward position. The maximum .penalty for the offence was.£loo, and each accused. was totally incapable of. paying this. ■ Were they to take the alternative,-, the vessel would" be leftwithout threo members of its crew. One was a boatswain, the other a cookj and the other a quartermaster. It there-" fore remained for the owners of the vessel to pay the lines of the men, and in consequence he asked that they be as small as possible. _ The Magistrate replied that he had intended to make the fines heavy, as there had been a lot of smuggling going on lately, and the only tiling to. put a stop to it was a heavy fine. 1 In view of Mr. Blair's remarks, ho would only fine each accused. £25 with costs. I ■' .- " ■ ' OTHER CASES. The information against Francis. James Wallace of unlawfully assaulting some person unknown, was dismissed. According to the police, Wallace was seen to walk across the road and strike a man on the. face. The man was seen to walk away with his face bleeding Ascused stated that the unknown man had used insulting language to him". Timothy Keating was convicted and discharged on a charge of drunkenness,' and fined £3, with the option of one month's 1 imprisonment for using obscene language. John William Lucas, who was fined 205., in default three days' imprisonment, for drunkenness, had a prohibition order taken out against him on his wife's application. "You're a drunken loafer," was the Magistrate's comment to • Lucas, after hearing tho wife's evidence. Frederick Browne was charged with obtaining £30 froni Arthur John Hoare by falsely representing he was the owner of certain articles. On the application of Chief-Detective Boddam he was remanded to September 15. Bail was allowed in £50. _ For drunkenness, James Seery waß fined £2, in default seven days' imprisonment; Louey Kennedy, John Alfred Neilson, and James Smith each lined 10s., or forty-oight hours' . imprisonment. Three first-offenders were dealt with.