PLAUSIBLE PRISONER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 911, 2 September 1910, Page 5

PLAUSIBLE PRISONER.

; ;■ • TODGE VDEAKTO HIS!-STORY.f ■ : ' .; !tSjr_Telefraph—Bpedal Oomaii&ndeiw.i ' '■■ '<■ '<■ ■ ■■::'- ; \ -'' '■. Auckland,: August 31: ' '=■ George .'Augustus Vincent and William Ifells, : wno were concerned in: theremoval ~ rf ■ a piano, at' Grey' Lynn, and' its subsequent, were placed in the dock .vjkt- : the; Supreme Court to-day for eentence; Vincent made quite' a pathetiq "appeal 'for; leniency.- .He said that,' dur- '.. ing.his "last Item in gaol, he,had:studied ■ both -technical arid moral .'subjects to -fit ■ himself the. better -on his, release ; to ..struggle through the "world as'an" honest ;.: citizen.; He-.Strove -hard', for- fifteen : long ~ months ■at /manual labour, for which 1 he " was..^-fitted,; to •; gain; an ..■ honest liveli.hoodi and thought.he had {succeeded,- but,unfortunately, he stood 1 agaih-in' the dock ■with' all his hopes dashed to the' ground.. The. fact; however, . that he had workeaV hard for fifteen .months showed , that he did not. make a practice of dishonesty., The .first tjme' he: appeared in Court he was only-sixteen;years of age', and then : - he was noVguilty. Through that his life became a misery,.,and he began to kick against the',thorns. SFifteek months, ago, he saw it was all useless,'and he.decided to reform.: No . one else tried'' to reform .. Jrim/and,eo he made a determined.effort■ •-,' to reform himself:'-The/case; against him! ; was! bad enough; but he assured his Honour' that'his. leniehcy,:wo'uld not be abused/ . ■!'.-'■'' ■."■■,'.. ■'~".'; •'■:-- : ;-i.;.-' -. .".: '- ... ; The';Cliief Justice told Vincent .that ;. he had got Kells—-a weak fool—to, go into the box: and swear falsely on his behalf. That' prisoner :was at the .house-when the ! piano .was had no'shadow '■ of • douht, : After reviewing, previous; con-' . Viotions, his -Honour said that"''prisoner ..-.'might benefit from .confinement -in ..therNew.:Plymouth. gaol, and sentenced him to eighteen months, • and also deolared him a habitual criminal. : :!-M ' Turning; to Kells,. his' Honour told him' that he had. commenced badly,-.' and it would probably ; not be the last time'he, would: appear, hefqre the Supreme Court.' He started at the age of fourteen, and, . since then, had been-passing, in, and out of industrial, homes,'.and,; to crown all, hadattempted to steal his mother's piano, and then.going into the box and committing corrupt and, wilful: perjury. Kells' was: sentenced: to eighteen months': imprisonment in the Invercargill gaol. ■