FORGERY APPEAL CASE

Chronicle (Levin), 10 April 1946, Page 2

FORGERY APPEAL CASE

—Press Association

Bv Telegravh-

WELLINGTON, April 9. In the Auckland forgery case concerning Charles Clark, former Chief Postmaster at Auckland, Mr. Henry conciuded his address on behalf of prisoner by stating that the Crown inust prove that prisoner knew the documents to be false — that is, not merely that the signature was ficti-' tious, hut that the documents as a result were false. Mr. A. Ev Currie, for the Crown, submitted that the question whether or not the signatures to these documents were material parts of the documents was a question of law for the decision of the Judge and not for the jury to decide, and further, that these petrol licences were false documents within the meaning of the Crimes Act. The signatures to these documents were in law material parts thereof, continued Mr. Currie, and the regulations made it clear that there must be writing and that necessitated authentication by a signature. As a matter of iaw, saicl Mr. Currie, the documents were false documents -within the meaning of the Crimes Act and purported to be signed by a delegate of the New , Zealand Oil Fuel Controller, hut the persons who purported to have * signed them did not in fact exist. The crux of the whole oifence was the pl-esence of knowledge and intent to deceive.