ALLEGED BETTING FRAUDS.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 November 1917, Page 5

ALLEGED BETTING FRAUDS.

JUDGE'S SUMMING UP,

FRASER ALONE FOUND GUILTS,

By Telegraph.—Press Association. '■ Wellington, Last Night. The heaving of the charges again** Fraser, Fitzgerald and McWilllamg was concluded to-night. The Chief Justice, in summing up, said " that if the jury found Fraser not guilty, they charged McVilly and Markemana with perjury, because these two wit- ' ' nouses had sworn that Fraser admitted ' to them that he had done wrong, fc referring to Fitzgerald's statement thai ' Fraser refused to tell him the nameol the horse to be backed, his Honor aaktd the jury to eonsider whether Fitageiald . would not have insisted on knowing it The case against McWilliams was vary slight. His Honor said he did not undat< stand what was meant by "good cbwS acter" if these men had been in the habit ' of laying totalisator odds, for If they had been in the habit of doing that, th*y . had been in the habit of committing* crime, because in our Act a bet imposed " on the person nwking it the liability to ' a term of improsonment or a fine or both 1 . The jury, before retiring, acquitted McWilliams After a retirement of an hour and a quarter, the jury returned a verdict that Fraser wsa guilty oh all counts against him. Fitzgerald was found ' not guilty. The jury Hdcd a rider pressing regret at the fact that, although betting on totalisator odds was illegUt, use was allowed to be made of the public service to facilitate such betting. HJ» , . Honor agreed with the expression of opinion contained in the rider. He remanded Fraser till to-morrow for sou tence. '