ALLEGED LOTTERY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVII, Issue 117, 20 May 1939, Page 14

ALLEGED LOTTERY

PICTURES AND WORDS

AUCKLAND COMPETITION

(By relojrrnph—l'res* Association.)

AUCKLAND; May 19

As s result ol' the organising and conducting of 3 competition known as the Incurable Cripples' Benefit ;n whicl. tO,OOC sixpenny tickets were sold. :i prosecution alleging the estabi lishment of a lottery was brought against Kenneth Marcus Douglas in the Magistrate's Court before Mr. Orr Walker, 3.M. Represented 'by Mr. Hunt, the defendant pleaded not guilty. Detective-Sergeant McHugh, who prosecuted, said that tickets were sold on \yhich it was stated that the proceeds of the competition would assist incurable cripples. Purchasers were invited to fill in apt words for six pictures on the ticket and prizes were offered. Before the competition was launched the defendant deposited a sealed solution with a firm of public accountants. "Entrants wei'e given no guidance, and, because a solution had already been composed, the answers submitted could not be judged on their merits," said Detective-Sergeant McHugh. "The competition was, therefore, purely one of chance." Two prize-winners gave evidence about their solutions, which were identical. One received a third prize of a radio set and the other a consolation prize of £1. One witness admitted exercising some thought to select words which were appropriate, without being too obvious. A radio entertainer, Edward Silver, said he visited the defendant's home on January 31 and was shown a copy of the correct solution and about 20 competitors' solutions. He did not see all the solutions submitted, but examined those which were possible prize-winners, and he signed the list. ACCOUNTANT'S EVIDENCE. A .public accountant, Dudley Norton Chambers, said he audited the accounts of the competition, in which 2162 books of 20 tickets each were sold, returning £1081. A sum of £521 was paid in commission to ticket-sell- ! ers, and £88 in prize-money. After J further expenses were paid 'a profit of £297 was shown. "In my examination of the accounts I found nothing to suggest that the competition had not been conducted { fairly and above board," the witness | said, in reply to counsel. | Detective-Sergeant Murch produced statements made by the defendant exI plaining that the object of the com- | petition was to raise money to buy | wheel chairs for two incurable j cripples. The solutions submitted were narrowed down to 32, which | were judged on their merits, as none contained all the words included in i the sealed solution. The defendant said there were seven alternatives for one word, five for two others, four in the case of two more, and three for another word. Statements showed that the winner could not claim his prize of a return trip to Australia or £32 in cash, because he had lost portion of the ticket he was requested to retain. Some of the other prizes, a list of which was published in newspapers, also had not been claimed. The witness said he received the sealed solution, unopened, together with a copy of alternatives, and he also prepared a list of alternatives of his own, which he produced to counsel. The witness admitted knowing that one of the ticket-sellers was prosecuted in Wellington for failing tto account for moneys received. A SPELLING QUESTIONED. Detective Stephenson gave evidence of checking the meanings of words in the sealed solution in seven standard dictionaries. The Magistrate opened the sealed envelope and questioned the spelling of the word "desect." The witness said it was apparently an old English word, which was now obsolete. According to the Oxford | Dictionary its meaning was the same as that of the word "dissect." The defendant gave evidence along the lines of his statements to the police, saying that all the money had been spent in a good cause. Two wheeled chairs were bought for incurable cripples, and, in one case, a i patient was enabled to obtain work i and give up his pension. : j Counsel intimated that he proposed to offer much legal argument, and i suggested that he be permitted to i make his submissions in writing. ' The suggestion was accepted by the ! Court and the hearing was adjourned sine die.