WARRANT TO SEARCH.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 March 1916, Page 3

WARRANT TO SEARCH.

SEQUEL TO MGKAU RAID. AN INTERESTING JUDGMENT. An interesting point dn connection with the licensing laws was decided by Mr, A. Croske, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court an Saturday, in the course of giving; lik reserved judgment in the case in which Margaret Box l , who keeps a hoarding-house at Mokau, was charged with obstructing Constable McGregor, in the execution of his duty. The facts were that the constable, who had a search warrant issued by a J.?, at Molcau, under section 228 of the licensing Act, 1908, went to Mrs. Box's hoarding-house to search for liquor, and afterwards reported that he had been obstructed by Mrs. Box, who waß alleged to have broken several bottles of beer which were found by the constable on the premises, and of which he had intended to take possession. At the hearing of the charge, Mr. J. IT. Quilliam (for the defendant) submitted that there could be no conviction for obstructing the constable, because the warrant was issued without' .jurisdiction, in that the Justice who issued it had not satisfied himself by information on oath that there was reasonable ground to believe that liquor was sold, or exposed, or kept for sale in Mrs. Box's premises, the warrant having been issued 011 an information which simply set out that the constable had reasonable ground for believing in this state of affairs, Mr. Creake, in delivering his judgment this morning, held that the warrant was bad, having been issued without jurisdiction for the reasons stated above. He had reserved his "decision on Thursday, as he was in doubt whether, owing to the warrant being regular in form, he touM go behind it and look at the information to ascertain the grounds on which it wis issued, but 011 the authoritity of certain English cases (which he quoted) he decided that he could do so, and accordingly dismissed the case.