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RACING NEWS NOT UNDER BAN IN CANADA. Courtot Appeal-At Toronto Hands Down-Decision in Cases Arising Out of the Miller Act. . . ?mft : . TJWUJi Plt.. February lo. That the publication of racing news Is legal is the substance of a judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal yesterday. Tile ease was one brought under the provisions of the Miller act against Melville Luttrell. news agent at the Iroquois Hotel; The court decided that the publication of raeing news, such as records, form charts, past performances, etc., -is not illegal, inasmuch as it is impossible to prove that such information is to be used to "assist in betting." By agreement, the sale of Daily Having Form by Mr. Luttrell was made the basis of the case on which the decision was rendered and similar cases based on the Hale of other newspapers were pending, awaiting itw disposition" The magistrate in the iiolice court bad convicted Hlio defendant and what is known as a stated case liad been prepared arid presented to the Court of Appeal. "The learned police magistrate." says Mr. Justice Meredith in giving yesterdays decision in the Court of Appeal, "seems to be under a misapprehension of the nature of the offense with which the accused was intended to be charged. His statement is. that the charge against the accused was that of having .sold newspapers containing information that could be made use of by bookmakers and others in making bets, but there is, obviously, no criminal offense comprised in that statement; it would be extraordinary if there were. Inder the act, the offense, as applicable, to such a case as this, is selling information intended to assist in, or intended for use in connection with liookmaking. etc. "There was no evidence of any such intention, on the part of the accused, in selling the papers in question. He was merely a newsboy, selling the newspapers in question, among many others, at a newsstand. Jhe purchaser had no intention of using them1 in any such manner, but bought solely for the purpose of laying the information against the loy. There was no evidence of any such intention on the !art of printer, or publisher, of any of the papers. All that was contained in the papers was news, such as is commonly published in all newspapers, matters of public interest. To say that, because, in some direct way, some use might be made, or attempted to be made, of the news, for the puriwse of betting, it ought to be found that that was the purpose of the publication, or sale, is obviously absurd. If all things out of which evil can be evolved were prohibited, there would be little left: education would be prohibited because it might be made use of for an evil purpose. "The gist of the offense is the intention. And the intention to assist or for use must be that of the accused. If the printer, or publisher, had such an intention, he is not absolved because the boy. who actually sold, had not. Nor is the seller absolved by the publishers innocence if he himself has the criminal intention in selling. Each is answerable for his own sin of intention only. There was no reasonable evidence of the criminal intention. Which the enactment is aimed against, in either publisher or seller. The conviction was wrong; the accused should be discharged. "In another respect the learned police magistrate erred: it is not within his iower to make a pro forma rinding, with a view to stating a ease. He must perform his duty, just as a jury must, by a real finding upon all questions necessary for the proper determination of the case." The court also quashed the conviction in the case against the Great North Western Telegraph Co., charged with a breach of the Miller act, in transmitting the results of racus at Dufferiu lark by wire to a Detroit newspaper. The clause in the Miller act on which the prosecution based its charge was that the manager of the telegraph company "wilfully and knowingly sent the despatches "to assist in bookmakiug or betting."
