§ MR. ELLIOTT LEESI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to two cases tried at the Liverpool City Police Court on 6th March, in the first of which an underwriter, whose first-class contract ticket expired in March last, was proved to have travelled constantly upon the line from New Brighton to Liverpool without paying his fare, and yet the case was dismissed by the Magistrate, although he is reported to have said, he himself could not conceive how a man travelling day by day could possibly believe that he had taken out a contract when he had not, but still he could not see that there was any evidence of intent to defraud on which he might convict; the case would, therefore, be dismissed; and in the second a cotton salesman was fined 20s. and costs for presenting a ticket of the value of 1d. which was one day out of date and had not been previously 734 used; and whether he can take any action in the matter?
§ MR. ASQUITHThe first case was dismissed by the Magistrate because, in his opinion, there was not sufficient evidence of intent to defraud to justify a conviction. I have, therefore, no power to take any action in that case; in the second case the defendant tendered two tickets in succession, each of which upon examination proved to have been previously used, a fact which the defendant endeavoured to conceal by holding the clipped end of the ticket tightly in his hand. The intent to defraud was, therefore, clear, and I see no ground for any interference with the Magistrate's decision.