SEQUEL TO HOTEL RAID

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 51, 23 November 1937, Page 4

SEQUEL TO HOTEL RAID

Six Men Charged With Being on Licensed Premises THREE DISCHARGED A Taid on the Albert Hotel by Sergeant J. Maclntosh and Constable E. T. Bradley, resulted in six men appcaring before Mr J. Miller, S.M., in tho Hastings Magistrate's Court this morning charged with being found unlawfully on licensed^ premises after hours. Fines were imposed upon three of the defendants and three were diseharged. Simon Karetu, Peter Cleary and Humphrey Meagher were each iined £1 10/- with 10/- costs. Eobert Long, who pleaded that he had been at the hotel for tea, pleaded not guilty and was diseharged. Two other men, Amos Bechman and Joseph Austin, who were found in the hotel yard, pleaded not guilty, and tho informations against them were also Hismissed. % The case was adjourned while the latter two men went to obtain proof of their presence at tho hotel for tea. They returned with tho lieenSec, Ilarold E. Connop, who said that he was fairly certain that the two had been in the . hotel for tea that evening. Beckman paid for tea, bed and breakfast with an extra tea. "These men were in the back'yard," said the Magistrate, "and wero not with the other four. Unless they could prove beyond doubt that they were there for tea, I would not believe tliem, for tho licensee did a very ill-advised thing in telling thc others they were All right if they werfe there for tea. '1 avo some grave doubt, but I will give them the beUeflt of thc doubt," The informations were dismissed.