BREACH OF LICENSING ACT

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10686, 13 July 1912, Page 6

BREACH OF LICENSING ACT

THOMAS LEE SENTENCED TO ONE MONTH. At the .Magistrate's. Court at Mas•tcrton yesterday, ibeforo Mr L. G. -lloid, &M. r Thomas Lee was charged ViHitlh -having liquor ifc-r sale, within a ,No-license district.

Sergeant MrMur conducted the prorsecution, and Mr U. H. CuU'en appeared, for (accused. ■Constable Brown stated, in the course of his evide'nee, that lie saw '» young im-an named Sewell come out of accused's place. Witness accosted 'him, and after using .insulting language and denying that lie had r.,:iy liquor, Sewell .brought a bottle cf whisky out of his pockt ni:d f.ho,ved .it to .witness. Sewell 'would net give 'any information as to where he got tho whisky. About I.SO next ar.rr:iiiag lie arrested vi man for drunkenness. This man wa.s quite sober at ■1.15 in "the evening, 'but was hopelessly drunk when arrested. On another occasion 'he saw ifour n:bn go to accused's ihcuse at 12 o'clock at night. He could not give the date. They knocked ?]': the door cf the hcr..~:. Some* one opened the doe-v and came out iinfo 'tho .street. Witness heard ■:-. i ibotitle fa'll on the footpath and 'break. Afterwards he found a broken beer llloitlo there. Or, May Mb. at midnight, 'he caw two men go :;n L :> accused's house. ■ 'Both appeared to he under the inflmncc? of liqaior. They regained .inside a few secciicVs, and then came or, 1 :. He rcoogir>>e-d the

accused's voice in a conversation inside the building.

Examined by Mr Cullen : He lnd no direct knowledge that the men obtain od liquor from accused. lCoir>t:V)le Ferguson ra/d that hj? had been with Cc: V' r, 1 >b Frown on June loth about 11 p.m.. and raw twio iinai waiting near Lee's 'horse. Another ma-n came out cf the 'houseiM?id joined these two men. On seeing Constable Brow'n and 'witness t'h's man

broke away from them. They '.stepped ilie 'latter and aske-d ihim- what lie was carrying. He refe-ed to say anything at first, and then Constable ißrowii irn-n his hands over the man's ipockeis and felt a bottle, which wa's produced by the man subsequently. It was a bottle of whisky. The mar. recused to account for at. Witness had seen Lee mewing up and down to his house tinder 'suspicious circumstanccis. At 9 p.m. on July 6th they saw two men standing hi Chapel Street near Dixon's •coi'di.jl factory. They .saw I Lee apprcach from a vacian't section and speak to the men. Lee looked ! round .and /saw Constable Dunphy and .witness /:u>pro'aehing. Lee then made off along Glmpel Strodt. Witi ncss followed accused, who eorr.m-ienced to wiVlk fp.'St. Witness ran after him, i and accused wheeled round and ran across the road land along the- street.

CbmteJblle Diunphy called upon accused

to stop, bait h.e continued to run fast. Wlii'r.ec's iwas 'Overtaking accused, when the latter -threw a bottle over the fence. *\Vitnosr, was within touching distance cf Leo. The-- latter rau> out into the street .a'r.'d istcypod.

'Constable Lunpliy ! askccl accused why 'he i N an, and received the reply, ''That's'all right; good night!" Lee then went away. They -then Marched for rfjlio Ibottle and found it over the fence where Lee? threw it. It was a bottle of whisky. A warr.a.r.t -wr.is taken out, and on going to Lee',, house-

W'itn'as'S s'a'w the two .men mentioned

coming frcm the oki recti en cf Lee's 'house. Witness asked one matt named Morteiison what ho was carrying, and received the reply, '"A (bottle." The 'man showed it to him, 'it ibeing a bot-

tle of Waiker'.s whisky. Mortenson .refused to say 'where lie got the whiskey, supplementing this by .stating he got the frquor in iMa'stprkm. On searching Lee's premises they found If our ,doze.w empty beer bottles in a •shed aaid four empty w'hisky bottles.

In erc-ss cxaaninatiion, witness denied over threatening to get oven .with accused over an incidelnt where witness desired to search -accused, and in 'which counsel for accused said "The ■latter made an exhibit/ion cf Constable IFergueon." Constable Urarphy 'also gave simitar evidence to the other constables. Sergeant M'ller eaid that no liquor was found in the house except half a pint of brandy tn a bottle, which accused 'said was for h:n wife. There

were two lots of empty bottles in a shed, and accused said that ono of his hoys luid "been collecting bottles to bell. This concluded the evidence for the

prosecution. I Thomas Lee, labourer, residing in I Masterton, saiid that on the night in question lie was 'on his way to his brotheixin-law's, going through a vacant section. He looked round, /when he saw two policemen in plain clothes. He heard sonxene running, and seeing the constables running, said', "By ' jove, thevVe after me." He then I commenced to run and .subsequently stopped. He bughed at the constables. When Constables Ferguson anid Dunptiiy cam© up the latter ran K!s hands over witneas' .pockets and remai'kod, "Ho have thrown it lover the fence." He did not throw any bottle over the fence. He denied the police evidence on that point. Witness liad never supplied any one with liquor from his house He detailed the incident when Constable Ferguson attempted to search him in Dixon Street, and Alleged that Mitse.quen.tly , \ the .constable "said to hiim in Queen ' | (Street "That he would get even .with ' 'him." Accused further stated that l ; i ever occasion arose he would ,tell I the Court this. The constable, he alleged, replied, "You have no. witnesses, anyhow,'.' to Which accused said, "I'll'tel'l them ttet, tco." i In cross examination, accused defied 'that ipeiv;o'r.is v'isited his house at .midnight. He did not know anything about, Sew.el'l taking a bottle cf iwMsky firom his place. Tie denied that Sewell got the iv.di.sky at . .his \[Jhco. About five years ago he had jd'eserted Iks wife for T.ibout six or ! seven, months. Ho denied having the ! bottle of whisky which the constables \ found. | Mr Re:id said that accused .appa.rent--1 'ly had a guilty conscience, or otherv.ljse he would not have 'run. The eviidenc? given ,hy accused rcfsut'.'tng the ■ecus-table-*' etatciuc-nts was not sufficient. As accused had 'boon previously convicted cm two icoc-cisicus in connection with .breaches of the Licene.ing A!ct lie could met impose a fi-no, \ (but wculd .sentence .accused to a •mouth's imprisonment.