BETTING TRIALS

Hokitika Guardian, 16 February 1929, Page 5

BETTING TRIALS

(By Telegraph—Press Association). CHRISTCHURCH, February 15. I be trial lias begun at the Supremo Court of Patrick Walsh and Robert Michael Cox, on charges of bookmakiug, Cox being further charged with interfering with the working of a telephone in Walsh’s house, when the police made a raid. Mr O’Leary, of 'Wellington, represented the prisoners. A detective described the finding of betting cards, etc., in the house. CHRISTCHURCH, February 1(5. In the boolonaking charges, evidence was' given on the lines of that in the Lower Court. No-evidence was called for the defence. % His Honour, summing up, said the question for the jury to determine was, were Cox and Walsh actually carrying on the book-making business or was the whole performance which followed the police raid merely hut a masquerade. I hat was the question that the whole thing boiled down to. If they were satisfied that all that material, all tint Paraphernalia found by the detectives just happened to lie there, if Cox ana Walsh just happened to he there—in the circumstances found by the jfojice; —if telephones just happened to bo in the house, and if Walsh just happened to be excited when accosted, then the accused must be acquitted. He urged the jury to take that uncontradicted evidence as a whole and ask themselves what were the accused doing there. If they were satisfied that it was not a business, but just some sort of game, which His Honour•, suggested was incredible, then accused were entitled to be acquitted. The two men bad been found 111 the house with a great deal of betting material. There was the fact of two telephones, and •ntciTcrenco with the wires, and subsequent messages about bets on races, ’t was the duty of the jury to discover what this pointed to. Cox was found not guilty. The jury were unable to agree in the case against Walsh. Herbert George Taylor was found guilty at the Supreme Court to-day on a charge that on January 19th, at Christchurch, lie carried on tho business or the occupation of bookmaker. Accused pleaded not gulity.

Tho evidence of the Crown was thar a constable met accused on several occasions in ilic bar of an hotel, where it was evidently Taylor’s custom to resort for the purpose of carrying on his business as a bookmaker. The constable made several bets with him, and bad sonic conversations with him, in which the accused stated that liis only business was betting, and saw from time to time notes of bets kept by accused, acceptance cards, and other bookmaking material. Accused, when arrested, bad £.<52 in his possession, betting paraphernalia and some communications from an organisation known to be the Bookmakers’ Association.

Accused was remanded until Saturday. for sentence, permission being .given him to remain out of custody. SWIAIMTNG ACC’TRENT. AUCKLAND. Fob. 15. While bathing yesterday at Devonport, Guy Lobley, 19 years, one of a party of Territorials, dislocated his neck by diving from a rock into shallow water. Ho was removed to the hospital in a serious condition.