"SCENE" IN THE COURT

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 832, 30 July 1910, Page 6

"SCENE" IN THE COURT

SCHAPIRO SENTENCED

EJACULATIONS TO THE JUDGE,

John Morris Schapiro, a bankrupt, whose ca,so has attracted a good deal of attention, was sentenced by the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) yesterday" in the Supreme Court for failing to keep proper books of account.

. Mr. P. Levi, for the prisoner, said he was made a bankrupt in February, 1909, and this .trouble had therefore been hanging over him for 18 months. The real cause of the bankruptcy was not the trading' of tho. bankrupt, but tho erection of a large building in Upper Cuba Street, which was in a sense a failure, because tho shops, etc., in it did not let. The Official Assignee had stated that bankrupt's statement purported to show a largo surplus, but in this> connection counsel pointed out that, if the building had fetched anything like what it was valued at not long before the bankruptcy, there would have been more than i!os. in the pound for the creditors. There was no suggestion of any improper conduct on tho part of the bankrupt other than the mere failure to keep the books required by the statute. Notwithstanding that the Act had been in force many years, there -was a considerable want of knowledge among small traders concerning its requirements in this respect. In this case, the prisoner was a foreigner, -and had no knowledge whatever of accounts. He employed others to keep his accounts. Tho defect had'been pointed out to him, and the accountant . had suggested.that.they should take, stock. •iThoy did not do so, but the accountant had said in his evidence that they were too busy. This was, perhaps, not a good reason, but it went to show that there . was nothing wilful in the prisoner's conduct.- It had been held by Mr. -Justice Williams that in such oases a-s this probation was not available, but counsel submitted that, oven if the Chief Justice shared that view, he should treat tho present case as leniently as possible. The provision as to keeping books was. intended to _' be preventive,, not, punitive', its object being to keep traders up to a certain standard, and tho .of deal that tho prisoner had gone through would lie quite sufficient.to.act as a very, strong preventive for. others, and would bring the' provisions of tho statute before tho public. ; The offence in the present case was'wholly due to. ignorance, and tho bankrupt's bona fides was .shown by the fact that twelve months before his bankruptcy he owed considerably more money than he did when adjudged bankrupt, and he had been, paying it off J during that period.-He had been carrying on business with a view to discharging his liabilities, but the building was like a millstone round his neck.

Mr. H. H. Ostler (for tho Crown) adniitted that there was great force m what Mr. Levi had said, but he would point: out that Mr. Justice Williams had held, in Bex v. Robertson, that tho object of ..the provisions in the Bankruptcy Act regarding bookkeeping would be'nullified if ,the First Offenders' Probation Act were made.to extend to such cases, but prisoners sd convicted should bo treated'as first-class misdemeanants. His Honour might seo .fit to' order the prisoner to come up for sentence when called upon, but it had been clearly, held that the First Offenders' Probation Act should not apply,

The Chief Justice said the fact that tho prisoner did-not..know the English language was some excuse for not keoping proper books, but if such a case were overlooked, bankrupts might so keep their books that nobody could say whether their operations were fraudulent or not, and whether they were fair to'their creditors or not. He would give prisoner a very mild punishment. His sentence dated back from May 9, and ho had been under sentence, though not in gaol, for nearly three months. .He would .be sentenced to -three months' imprisonment, without hard labour.

The prisoner, on hearing this sentence,'., showed great excitement, . and startled "those in, the . court-room by exclaiming, with a strongly-marked-foreign accent: "It's a'scandal to justice —a pure.perjury! I tell you I don't care whether you give me ten .years. And you've, got such a name for being . a-,pure/judge I". .The Chief Justice: Bring him back. Instead of three months and two weeks, you shall have- four months' imprisonment without-hard labour, to teach you to-behave yourself in Court. The prisoner was then taken away.