LAW REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1590, 6 November 1912, Page 5

LAW REPORTS.

CRIME TRIALS. . - .; : (Before; Sir Robert Stout,. C. J.) FURTHER VERDICTS OF GUILTY. A FORGED CHEQUE. MAXWEI-L GUILTY OF UTTERING. In the Supreme Court 1 yesterday, before tho Chief Justice (Sir Robert .'Stout),' the. criminal trials were continued. V 'Mr H. . Ostler, of tho Crown Law Office, appeared for. the Crown. ''V' . The'first case taken in the morning'was that in which Georgo Maxwell; a mill hand, uas.charged with forging the name of P. Lington to a cheque for. 'i£3 95., and utteriiigtho,cheque to Frederick Pierard.. The . qlfbitce ; was alleged to have taken placo at. Wellington on September 9 last.' Mr. P. W. Jackson appeared for Maxwell, who pleaded not guilt)-. ' /Evidence- for tho prosecution was-to the. effect, that on. September 7, a man visited the" promises -of John- M'llwraith, .grocer; ol Av illis' Street, '.'and .by telling ,a plausible story, obtained a' cheque, and signed' .'the t block "P.-' Lingtou,".;/ Mr.. M'llwraith, could. notidentify.; P. ' Ling-, ton,'- and could not .swear tlia'fc accused, was tho same. person. On. September.- 9, the ' accused "(Maxwell). purchased a . wed-: ding -ring from: Frederick Pierard,.; jeweller, of ;Lambton Quay. \ ;'Tlie price of - this ring -was'-iei. 12s. 6d., .'and.-in; payment, Maxwell tendered a 'Bank ot. Jiew Zealand cheque lor 95., signed "P. Xington." This cheque had been :made out oil the cheque form obtained two days previously : from .Mr. M'llwraith.-, Mr. Pierard accepted the cheque because Maxwell had previously;.done business with him in a manner Later the .Bank' of . New > Zealand . returned the cheque , marked "no : account," and tho police were .informed; .- Constable Alexander M'Leod, of -.Taihape, arrested the accused ; at a bush; camp near Taihape on October 16.' ' When-arrested, the accused -stated that lie...thought tho cheque' was oil "right, because;he-had got it from a niati liainedvLiiigtbh, who had given' it to him' as a^'uieans/of. requiting liim. for, a good turn, .which had done him. Liligton whs. siibsequbntly discovered and declared that 'he/.knew ; nothing of the cheque, and had not Maxwell for a considerable.,tune .pnqr'/,to the,, date on •which the cheque was made out. ; : Evidence was not called ■ m ■defence, Mr. Jackson: contenting.;liimself : . with ing the juiy. . At midday;:the-}ury:.retired;to consider the matter. After, being: absent for. three hours ;andr..'; five; minutes;-they returned with a verdict of not guilty on the charge of forgery, but guilty on • tho • charge of littering; .; The prisoner was remanded for sentence Bntil to-morrow morning.

POSTAL PACKETS DELAYED. - ' ; v<". ' • 'OFFENDER'FINED m A youiig.nia'n,,' named Frank Loasby Tocker ;pleade'd.,not guilty to, a, .charge .of delaying postal l packets. He was defended I>T Mr.'P. W. Jackson. From the evidence, tendered by the 'Crown, it appeared that-Tocker bad been employed as a letter-carrier at Greytown North until September.- 1911, when 'ho'was transferred i to Wnnganui. , Oil August .5, 1012, the postmaster at greytown North visited Dalgety's offices;where. -Tocker formerly; lived as a bachelor.ln sonic sack's in these offices tho postmaster found 1 letters, 31newspaper?, 19 small packets, 17 Gazettes and Hansards, and GG9 circulars. These included the following:—July 8, 1911, two postal packets, one a" letter to H. J. Wigg, Greytown, and the other a letter to A. 11. Giles; Pigeon Bush; Featherston; . August -1, 1011, a : postal packet addressed to D. P. Zoasby, Greytown North August' 9, liill, a.: postal packet 'addressed to IV Corkery, Greytown ' In consequence of this Constable Connor interviewed Tocker in the office, of ,Jhe Chief .Postmaster, Wanganui. Tocker admitted;'.' .haying '.taken . postal inatter tovthe "bach;" 'and.said that he had left it there because He had'had too many packets, etc.;Ho tieliveV. -The number of packets thus treated ihad 'become so/great that he; had been, ashamed: to • take them post, office, and so had left thcm:atsthe ; ''bacli,".'.,. -.■;.'. 'Whehigivirig evidence in defence yesterday, Tocker adhered to the statement lie ha d . made to the 'constable at Wanganui. Without retiring from the..box, the jury returned, a. verdict of "guilty,.;, with . a, 6trong recommendation to mercy."-;. , ....- His Honour, in. passing sentence, said that in. previous., cases offences against the Postal.Act. had been, met; by. sentences of impvisoriment. In this; case, however, his Hpnoiir, would take into consideration the prisoner's youth and . good character, and would merely impose'a fine of XlO, to be paid within .twelve months.. PENNY-IN THE POUND. EXTRAVAGANT BANKRUPT. ■ ■.-.Breaches of the Bankruptcy Act. were yesterday' afternoon preferred against a young man, named Edward Wilfrid Jacobs, who had been in business inWellington two' years ago as a pastrycook. The charges were'that at the time when , ho contracted certain debts lie did not have reasonable expectation of being able:to pay them; and that ho endeavoured -to . conceal the true state of his affairs, byiwilfiilly omitting : to" ! keep proper books or accounts. Mr.- G: -Hr.l'ell-/ appeared' for'Jacobs,'who pleaded not guilty. From the evidence tendered by the prosecution, it appeared that v Jacobs was originally an accountant, but on' April 20,1910, lie purchased iv pusti-ycbok's busiaess in Hopper: Street.' To do this ho borrowed : .£120,: and on the first day of his business ■ he paid nway something like i:127 (including the sum of JEIOO paid to the owner: of . the business). Before ho.had been in business. ihree, months his creditors began to press him, and on July'l3,-1910, he filed a petition in bankruptcy. A piano," a cash register, a roll-top . desk, and an' office chair, which he had purchased'on,the hire'' system, were seized by. .the companies hiiing them, whilo his furniture'was. held ■under a'.bill\of sale: .'His.'debts aggregated . .£441 4s.' 10d., "while his', assets; .which litid' boon sot' do>vn as J!63,'155. Gd.,. only real-, ised 9s. in tho £, ami all that, was left for the creditors (after: payment of preference claims) was a penny'.in the & ..Sometime after" tho: meeting, of tho accused's creditors, tho Official Assignee desired that the accused should explain certain matters as; the, books handed, in, wero incomplete, making it impossible, to arrive at the true state of the .business, ;' : A clerk from' .tho Official Assignee's,office went' to the address given by; Jacobs,'.but 1 the latter, was not to be found'there') -'Recently heiw-as.. arrested in; Sydney, and brought bock'to New Zealand' to answer the chargcs preferred against him: '■~".' Giving evidence in 'defence,; Jacobs said; . that while out; of! a. situation in 1910, ho noticed an .advertisement'in : the 'livening Post" by which' he could purchase the business in.Hopper Street.for about; It was'represented to him that tho takings were from ,£35 to-JMO a week, anil would yield a net-profitof. £7 or JcS a.week. He seemed to be doing all right for the first three weeks, but after that the goods manufactured in his kitchen proved inferior,and the business fell oft'. Another business opened Within about 150' yards of his shop, and the opposition hnd-a further 'serious effect .''on the business. -At-first witness had been employing two*.carters, I but at the end of seven weelca lie. dispensed with the services of one. He left for Sydney abo.iit the end of August, 1910, to >c"ak work. ' About seven days before that lie-had seen, the Official Assiguec, and the latter Said he (witness) could do . what lie ; liked as. long as he did liot leave the country. ' ' ' Sir.- Ostler asked leave to examine the .witness under tho New Rules. . His Honour refused to give tho necessary leavo at that stage. . In answer to Mr. Ostler, Jacobs said he had purchased his dress-suit before he left the firm of Thomson. and Lewis. Ho had also purchased tho piano before that time. 'He had been dismissed from his position as accountant ill Thomson ■ and Lewis's because he was unable to keep the books properly. At the time of purchasing tile Hopper Street business lie owed .620 for rent. He admitted this '-.baud, not yet been, paid. He had_a. wire and two children,, who .were ip London.

©;>as not how maintaining them. His reason for leaving New Zealand to go to Sydney, was because he' thought it would be easier, to obtain work' there than in the-smaller cities;in New 'Zealand. .Ho did . not leave to avoid public examination./' ' " !' ..' ' .

lie-examined by Mr. Fell, Jacobs said lie had been living under his own name from" the day .'ho landed in Sydney.; His Honour, in summing up, said that it was clear that; Jacobs had been very foolish and extravagant. It was -for the jury' if he had been anything more. ' ■ - • •• • , ' The jury -retired at 5.30 p.m. and were absent until 8.5 p.iny. They found that in regard "to the- first charge, Jacobs -had no reasonable chance of paying his debts, ,'but that he incurred them in good faith. Oil tho charge of not keeping proper books, they .returned. a verdict of guilty. ■ liis Honour, held that the finding o£ the jury on'the first, charge amounted to a verdict of not guilty. On the second charge the prisoner would be remanded for sentence until Thursday.