Feilding 1907

[NZBC]

CHINESE STOREKEEPERS. DEFENDANTS FINED. I Sgt. Bowden, Inspector of Factories, at the Feilding Magistrate's Court this morning, proceeded against three local Chinese storekeepers, Chew Lee, Sing Lum Kee, and Wong Kum and Co., for selling groceries after 9 p.m. on Saturday, 9th March. A second information charged the Chinese with a similar offence on lth March. ; Mr Carty appeared lor the defendants Srgt. Sowden, in opening the case, said those storekeepers sold fruit and groceries, and he quoted several cases in Wellington to show that by selling groceries after the statutory hour lfr closing they committed a breach of the Act. ! Sergt. Bowden deposed: 1 visited the defendants' shops on the dates i mentioned in the information, and fomid they had large stocks of groceries, and also fruit; it was, about to when 1 visited these shops, and i saw people there buying groceries; ' the shops were lit up, and the front door open. .v Mr Carty: Sing Lum Kee has ' a large shop window, mostly stocked with fruit; 1 have seen customers in these Chinese shops; they all carry large stocks of groceries. Constable Sweeney deposed: I went with Sergt. Bowden. He considered the value of groceries would exceed the value of fruit stocked. He saw two bottles of sauce sold. Mr Carty contended that the defendants were esscntually fruiterers. Three-fourths of their customers call for fruit alone. The question was not one of degree, but one of principle. Sergt. Bowden further deposed that he had seen large basketfulls of groceries being put into a cart, and he had scon the cart subsequently stop at private houses. To Mr Carty: Would swear that it was groceries. ; Chew Loo deposed that he sometimes delivered groceries by basket, never by cart". Cross examined by Srgt. Bowden: Witness said sometimes he put a basket of groceries into a cart for d"liv» i ry to his customers. ; The Magistrate, in delivering his decision, stated tlio defence was tbat the information was ineffective, and that the defendants were primarily fruiterers. He had.during the interval, seen the shops in question, and was satisfied the Chinese were grocers, and came within the requisition On the first information, each defendant was fined £1 and costs 7s. andon the second information they were convicted and discharged Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 220, 20 March 1907, Page 2