GOLD BUYING

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 329, 16 September 1932, Page 6

GOLD BUYING

IMTERESTING CASE QUESTION OF SECOND-HAND DEALERS' LICENSES BEFORE COURT. POWERS OF LOCAL BODIES. I Wellington, Monday. Whether the City Coporation has power to cancel a second-hand dealer's license was a qusstion raised in the Police Court on Friday by counsel for Spdro Bardebes, a gold buyer, who was ; charged with three ofFences under the | Second-hand Dealers Act. Counsel j submitted that as Bardebes had re- | ceived from the City Corporation bei fore the commission of the alleged of- | fences, advice of the cancellation of his license, the charges against him i were not in order. Mr. E. Page, S.M., ( suggested that the essential question j was whether Bardebes was justified i in carrying on his present business | without a license. Decision was reserved. 1 The charges aganist Bardebes were ! that he had bought a gold ring after 6 p.m.; that he had f'ailed to display 1 his name as required by the Act, and that he had failed to produce his license on demand. Deteetive-Sergeant Revell said that in June last Bardebes had applied for a secor.d-hand dealer's license for his shop at 72 Manners Street. Although he held himself out to be a gold buyer, the police suggc-sted that he was in fact a second-hand dealer and bought second-hand articles. The license was granted on June 2 and on July 29 he wrote to the council asking for the license to be cancelled. The evidence would show that on August 12 Detective. Ritchie was in Bardebes' shop after 6 p.m. and was present when defendant bought a second-hand article. Detective Ritchie's evidence would show also that Bardebes was in business at the address named and had not got his name and other particulars over his shop as provided for by the Act. It would be shown further that he had failed to produce his license when requested to do so. Police Submission. "We subniit," said Mr. Revell, "that this man is still a licensed dealer and will remain a licensed dealer until June 28, 1932, or until such time as his license is cancelled by the court, whieh we say is the only place where such a license can be cancelled." The Magistrate: The mere existence of a right to carry on a trade would not oi' itself prove that you are carrying on a trade, would it? Th> existence of a license is only a right to trade. Mi\ Revell: That is so, sir. But he would have to have a place of business. The Magistrate: And he would have to be a dealer. Defendant's Contentlon. Counsel for Bardebes said that he was quite prepaped to admit the facts that Mr. Revell had given the court. But he differed from Mr. Revell's submissions. Bardebes had i/oticed a case at Wanganui in which a magistrate had held that a license was not necessary for a gold buyer, and had therefore sent in his license to the City Council and received a letter oack saying that his license had been cancelled. The alleged offences had been committed after that, and counsel submitted that Bardebes was being charged as if he were the possassor of a license at that time. "Had the Wellington City Council power to cancel the license?" counsel asked. "If they had, then the license w'as cancelled and no offienee was commit.ed by the dealer under the Secondhand Dealers Act." The Real Essence. The Magistrate: Isn't the real essence of the thing whether or not he can carry on as he is doing without any license? Counsel: Well, we are not asking that. Mr. Revell said toward the end of the case that he wanted especially to pcint eut that the proseeution had ealled sufiieient evidence to establish the breach of the sections in question. Bardebes had been trading as a se-cond-hand dealer, and still was trading as one. Counsel said that he could find nothing in the Act to prevent the municipal authorities from cancelling the iicense. The Magistrate: I will take time to eonsider the matter.