LAW REPORTS,

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1376, 29 February 1912, Page 3

LAW REPORTS,

MAGISTRATE'S COURT. WERE THE TELEGRAMS OPENED? EXTRAORDINARY CASE. WHAT PART Till) MESSENGERS PLAY? Bather an unusual, and quite nu interesting case, came before Mr. Riddell.S.M., yesterday, the charge relating to the safe transmission or otherwise of telegrams. Thomas Henderson, Alias Biislw bridge, alias Patrick, alias Fitzpatrick, was charged with opening ten tclograms, which had been dispatched on different dates from various places to T. Phillips, Wellington. One of the charges was subsequently withdrawn for waut of sufficient evidence. > Ifr. A. L. llerdman appeared for I'itzpatrick, and the first witness was Walter Uarold Ougkton, who was recently employed as a telegraph messenger at Te Aro Post Office. He stated that one day he had been engaged looking for the atldrcssM of a telegram in Tarnnaki Street. He noticed a. new hairdresser's "place" in the sheet, and, thinking that there was a chanco that tho stranger might be the person wanted, ho went into the shop and inquired. Mark Leaman, another messenger, was with him at the lime. While they were there, the accused asked: "l)n v "u boys get Tom Phillips's wires?" "Wo said," conlincd Oughton, "we get them sometimes. ,]t nil depends how we come in in the turns."

Accused had then said: "If you get Tom Phillips's wires, bring them up to me. because J'm his cousin." Chief Defective. Broberg: "Was anything said as to who Phillips was?" Witness: Ho is a bookmaker, I think. Chief Detective Broberg: No, no. Was anything said there as to who ho was? Witness: Xo. Chief Detective: What was said about Phillips's wires? Witness: "Hβ said, 'If you bring them up to mo I will tip you for them." We replied that we were not allowed to do anything like that. We told him that if Jib wanted anything like that done he must see the head postmaster. Accused then said, 'Bring some stickers (seals) for me to .stick them again after opening them, as I don't want Phillips to know anything about it. , " Witness went on- to say that subsequently he had received a number of telegrams for. Phillips. Chief Detective .Broberg: "Well, did you go straight and deliver them to Phillips, as you should have done?" Mr. D. S. Smith here rose, and said that, on behalf of the witness, ho wished to ask the Court to guarantee that the boy would not be prosecuted :f, in answering the questions, he made admission which might incriminate himself. Chief Detective Broberg: As i.ir as 'be police and tho Telegraph Department ar'o concerned, the boys will not be prosecuted. I do not think that anybody can quote a case ir, which the police have called a witness to incriminate himsolf, and then prosecuted him. Continuing his evidence, tho witness went on to say that he had delivered the telegrams to the accused, and had received tips in.money for doing so. After the accused had taken a note of the contents of a telegram, ho seated thorn n?.".in, ar.d the witness took them en to l'iiii- %• . .

Mark Leaman, another, telegraph messenger, corroborated Oughton's (-vS'lcdcc Thomas Phillips was then cciiou. He way nssurcii that he would Do rivci. a cettifftaVbf "exemption from ;iro>fcu-ti-iu if, in answering certain quvr-lions that would be put, ho should happen io incriminate himself. Phillips said that ho was a commission agent, and that tele- , grams we're sent to him containing results of races, and dividends in rac-es. He had never authorised anyone to open his telegrams, nnd he had not detected the fact that any had been opened. It was not true, as had been stated, that acuusPd was his cousin. As a matter of fact, he had not known accused till a few days ago. Accused had come to his house one night, and had asked him what he was going to do about the. case. Witness replied: "You will havo to get out of it the way you Rot into if." Accused had met him outside the Court before the hearing begun, nnd told him (witness) that he was. going to plead that he (witness) had given him permission to open the messages. Detective Kemp deposed that Detective Hammond and he arrested the accused on February 18. When arrested, accused said, "Is that Mi" On January 26 the accused suddenly disappeared from his shop in Tarnnnki Street, and ho was not found until February 18. The accused pleaded not guilty, reserved his defence, and. was committed to stand his trial before the Supreme Court. Bail (£SO) was allotted.

MONTH FOR THEFT. Henry Peter Webster pleaded guilty to tho theft of two shirts worth 6s. from Funny Solomon, and a pair of boots worth lGs. 6(1. from Pearson and Co., of Cuba Street. The first offence was committed on January 15, and the second on February IG. A sentence of one month's imprisonment was made.

BAD LANGUAGE. Ernest Hunter was fined £i, in default U days' imprisonment, for using bad language.