BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1451, 28 May 1912, Page 6

BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.

"IN TROUBLE; SEND ME A/FIVER , .* (Bj Tclegrastt-Pren Anoclitlon.l Auckland, May 27. "Ben in trouble; wire 'fiver' Auckland P. 0.; coming back Tuesday .-Samud Harper." A telegram bearing those words was the principal piece of documentary evidence produced at the Supremo Court to-day. ■ , ~ A well-dressed young man, named -Martin Morrissey, who pleaded not gmlty, was charged "that, on September IC, he committed forgery of a document purport, ing to be a telegram from Samuel Phillips Harper; that, on September 18. he obtained tho sum of .£5 by means of false pretences, and that, on September 18, ho committed forgery of a receipt. Prisoner was represented by Mr. 0. a. Harden. ~ ~ , The Crown Prosecutor said that urison«r, and a man named Samuel PhiHilie Harper, were working at a sawmill together,' While Harper was at work lie I met with an accident, and had to go to town for treatment, but he remained on tho pav-sheet. The prisoner came to Auckland afterwards and found out that Harper was also them. Tho Crown al--I ieged that it occurred to the prisoner that there was a chance to raife money bv'tho expedient of sending a false- telegram to the manager of the mill, and the manager immediately sent the money. 1U prisoner, it was nlso alleged, went to tho post office, signed Harper's name to a receipt and was paid JCS., It would bo shown that the whole thing was-a forPhillips Harper said that the telegram had not ten written by him, and he had given authority to no one to sign it. The name to the receipt was also a forgery. He had not received tho JCS To Mr. Harden: Witness boarded in Auckland with two other men who had also been employees at tho null with mm. They knew of his accident, and of hn circumstances. A post oflico official gave evidence in regard to the payment of the J!5. Tho man who presented the registered letter card was very like prisoner. He seemed rather agitated. . To Mr. Harden: Witness had said in tho Magistrate's Court that he could not swear that the man who presented the card bore any resemblance to the accused. I ~,, To Mr. Tole: Witness would shll say that tho man was like the prisoner. A toiler employed in the.National Bunk was called as a hand-writing expert. He had oxnmined a statement, written and signed by nccusPii in which accused denied all'knowledge of the authorship of the offence. In witness's opinion that statement and telegram were written by Hip samo nerson. Tho defpnoo wfls a total dental, and counsel ouotod previous cases to show the unreliability of -evidence based on similarity in handwriting. Tho jury returned, nfter nearly twn hours' retiron'Mif. nml the foreman stntwt that they hnd nirrer'l th.it there v.n« not sufficient evidence but there was a doubt. His Honour: You must give prisoner tho benefit of the doubt. After further cnnsmllfltfon the jury returned ft voniiot of not guilty and prisoner was discharged.