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Shannon News, 16 February 1923, Page 3

In sending an Auckland bookmaker to .gaol for two months, with hard Labour, Mr Justice Herdman,; said: “The Legislature has made bookmaking, carried on as an occupation, a criminal offence, and it has prescribed the kind of punishment that should be meted out to those who break the law. In my opinion, your case is not one in which a fine should be,imposed. The police reported unfavourably about yo.u, although making it plain that you have never before been convicted of a criminal offence. It is said that you represented a syndicate. It is notorious that since the passing of the legislation in 1920, bookmakers have looked on the law as an, empty form. They boldly , carry on their business, notwithstanding it is prohibited. It must therefore be made plain that the statute is not to be treated with contempt, and bookmakers must be made to understand that the sooner they give up their trade the better it will be for themselves. I shall send you to gaol for a short time, and hope that my judgment will he a lesson to you and a warning to others of your class.”