AN IMPORTANT DECISION.
The charges against Thos. EL Dodson, of selling tickets in a lottery known as the Monster Derby Sweep, were heard at the City Police Coart this afternoon, before Messrs Bathgate, R. M., Flic'iaoa, and Birch, J.P.’s. The cases were brought under the Town and Country Police Ordinance. Mr Harris defended, and inspector Mallard prosecuted.
After a length : f'i cussion as to the legality of the lotteries r sweeps, Mr Harris said he •was inclined, io order to s' orten the case and in order to gain their Worships’ expression as to the la v, o .advise Mr Dodson to plead guilty to one of the charges. Mr Bathgate : I think the Bench will be with you in that course. Mr Harris th n s’ated that defendant had committed a br. ach . f the law, but had done so in common with many other persons and similar procoe ’in-s bad boon more or less carried on here for thirty years. Dodson and his father had in lent their names—perhaps imprudent ly—to the thing; but they received no part of the money, as the whole of the 5 per oeut. deducted from the sweep went for advertising, printing, &c. Clause 23 seem to favor the proceeding, inasmuch as it provided that the provision against lotteries should not apply to the distribution of anv property am ngst the owners thereof, in this case the property was divided amongst the owners. Mr Bathgate said the clause in question referred to land; aud in delivering the judgment of the Court he said that the practice of hold ng sweeps, as had been admitted, was illegal, and he, (Mr Bathgate) could speak knowingly that in Dun«>din these sweeps bad caused many young men to divert their money from more legitimate ways of expenditure by investing it in sweeps to their own detriment and losi, leading them to the commencement of a vicious career. He held that any young clerk risking his L2, 120, and some had even gone to the extent of L6O, entering a course which could not ultimately fail to lead to his moral destruotion. No employer should keep any young man in his employ who was engaged in a speculation of this kind. The Bench did not wish to press the case; it was sufficient f,r the ends of justice and for future gni.!au:o that the law should be laid down, but if any one got up ' * Monster Sweeps ” afterw rds it was at their peril. They honed the Liy would not be agave violated by Mr odson, who they did not think should be mada a victim—the practise having been so log carried on. A nominal penalty of Is, an ' go ts, was inflicted.
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Evening Star, Issue 3788, 15 April 1875, Page 3
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455AN IMPORTANT DECISION. Evening Star, Issue 3788, 15 April 1875, Page 3
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