Sly Grog Selling Extraordinary at Paikakariki.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1673, 1 April 1886, Page 2

Sly Grog Selling Extraordinary at Paikakariki.

(Post Correspondent.) One of the most unique charges of sly grog selling ever disposed of m th* colony was heard yesterday at Paikakg-. riki, before O. P. Lynch and P. Bradey, Justices. To fully appreciate the beauties of the case, a short history of the parties? concerned, and their antecedents, it necessary. Briefly, then, the parson; charged was a man named Frank Poff, who has earned for himself a very unenyiuble notoriety,; m various parts of _th« colony 'tKrdugh Ibis connection! with oerV tain turf transactions. The principal witness is also a celebrity, for it is said that it was at Her shanty that the unfortunate men concerned m the Nen« thorn tragedy, m Otago, procured the liquor that drove them to the quarrel that ended fatally to one of their number. These two most undesirable iasi? dents aach wanted to have the other convicted of sly grog telling and driven from the field. Poff undertook to clear away his rival m the business by taking her two gallons of whisky and offering to sell, it her, thereby providing her with the means to gat a case' againat her. At first the woman, Bark*, refused to have anything to ; do wjth the whisky, but afterward* bought a portion of the two galfons, for-which she paid Ids, m presence of a witness. Poff, fearing that he bad put himself m the woman's, power* then offered to shout and paid for three, drinks,, which wer* served out of what he »had' ju»t sold, to Mrs Burke. Each now thought had tha other safe, but they "reckoned without their host. "At any rate, Poff did, forth* whole.. transaction was soon made known to Constable Roche, whose'-n&me is arterror m itself- to the illicit whisky dealers. After evidence had been taken, which clearly; substantiated the charge,. Constable Bbche proved that the defendant had been fined £5 and £5 2s costs for a similar offence quite recently, and thatii* seized two barrels of beet- claimed by defendant for a breach of the Beer Duty Act, on which the Customs intended/to take proceedings. -The Bench, m inflicting the penalty, said they had imposed a light penalty m tha previous- caserOn account of . defendant's wife and L faniily f but mercy was thrown away on a man of his. character, and they had dacidad to inflict a fine of JSO, or,-in def aultv thrjte months' imprisonment with hard labour. The saute defendant- was then charged with having committed an aggravated assault on Mar*. Burke on .the 23rd inst. The case was fully Droved, and the Bench sentenced prisoner to one' month's imprisonment, with hard labour, the santenccs to run concurrently.' " ! - ' '■> . „; ;