SERIOUS OFFENCE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20103, 24 November 1939, Page 12

SERIOUS OFFENCE

LIQUOR TO MAORIS YOUNG MAN FINED MAGISTRATE'S COMMENTS (Special to the Herald.) WAIROA, this day. A statement that he would take into account the youth of the accused, but the fine would have to bo substantial, was made by Mr. A. Coleman. S.M., tit the monthly sitting of the Wairoa Police Court yesterday when imposing a fine of £lO on Eric Thomas Wills, who appeared to answer a charge of supplying liquor to Maoris for consumption off licensed premises at Wairoa on October 14.

Mr. G. M. O'Malley appeared for the accused, who pleaded guilty to the charge.

Senior-Sergeant D. Clark told the court that the accused had been in the district for some time and was living at the freezing works board-ing-house. Unfortunately, he was fond of drink, and not too fond of work, but otherwise nothing was known against him. On the day on which the offence was committed the accused got in touch with three young Maoris. They went to Frasertown, where they secured a keg of beer, which they took back to the boarding-house, and had a "real good turnout." Hard Offence to Detect

Senior-Sergeant Clark added that this type of offence was going cm all the time and it was hard to detect. In some ways many Maoris were more or less like children, and thought that (if they could beat the police they were doing something great. Counsel for accused stated that Wills was asked by the Maoris if he would purchase a. five-gallon keg of beer for them and very foolishly he did so. There was, however, no suggestion that he had made any profit out of it or that he did it for the purpose of making profit.

The magistrate said that though Wills was a young man and probably a silly youth, he could not treat the case differently from others of a similar nature. The result was the same —the demoralisation of the natives—and he could only look at the result and the harm such offences did and the way the legislature looked at it. He was afraid he must treat the offence seriously. The accused was ordered to pay £5 of the fine forthwith and the balance within one month.