MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2154, 21 May 1914, Page 9

MAGISTRATE'S COURT

i'OSTAL NOTES MISSING LETTER-SORTER CHARCED WITH THEFT, iVIMMLIA CLLliks C U,LED. i , : -Ulc'yoil't.lic'ff , yf p oS tal packets containing postal notc-ji ■ and "subsequent dealings wiln Tattorsall's at Hobart. Jusrmima, ■ iormwl the' basis of cases heard by Mr. W. O. ljiddell, S.M., in tliu Maoist-rate's Cmirt yesterdav morning. _ J'redoritk David Piimmer, a letter*. earners sorter, employed at the. Chief /i1 st u". t ,'l ci! » was charged: V , ~t;' postal packet,addressed to_ Jliss May Hannah, 13 3>Jartin street, \t ollhigtoii, containing written matter and two postal notes for 3s. mul lis. respectively, the property of the I ostimisteivOoiiera! of New Zealand; aw (2> with theft of a poUal packet to Mrs. ft. Kitto, it Matai .Kosci, Hataitai, which contained written matter, two - £1 notes, and t.',vo postal notes iot' 10s. and 2s. (3d. respectively, the property of the Postmaster-General. A thml charge of a similar liaturn was withdrawn, upp.ii the application <>i' the police. Tfie two. charges were taken together.

Qi ief-Detective Brobefg prosecuted, and Mr. W. ferry appeared for the accused. ■Posted from Taumarunui, all's. Annie Hanjian, residing at Mata]«iua, near Taum-irunui, sa>kl that on May la, she forwarded a letter to W jkujlita', May Hannan, residing in " eJliagton t'uclojinjj two postal notes--or.e for 10s. and the other for oi. She posted tho letter at aboiit 2.40 p.m. oh the date m question, She hues afterwards he.Lp'd that her daughter had not rec-aived the letter. To Mr. Perry: Witness Iras certain that she sealed tlio letter prior to nostinjj it. '■ tecdia Hanmui gave evidence as to p.ost«)g the fetter for her mother. Mav Catherine. Hammn, of Mutapnua, said tf-iat she did not receive the postal notes sent by her mother, when she fras in Wellington. The Utter from shannon, Maggie M. Hughes, school teacher, of aria.nnon, said that slio purchased two postal notes, one for 10,s. 6d. and one lor as. txl., and forwarded them to Mrs 15. lvitrOj 4, Afatas Koa-d, Hafeitai. She scaled awl posted the fetter i„ the ordinary way, on October 7 or S last. Mrs. kitto, Hntait-ai, said that she did not reccira the letter containing the • |Msta.> notes frost the .last witness, PiOi cfork's Evidence. Joseph H. I'l-Jtchcr, residing at Brooklyn, and a clerk employed at- the ' fc.i .0., said that he knew the accused who was a fetter-carriers' setter, employed- ,it thp Chief Post Office.. A\e)lin>'- i ton- Y 0 produced tlio letter-carriers' ! soi-terß' twte-book; Tlio accused'tv'as oil aunj' on May 16, l'jl.B, between- tlio hovtrs of 1 p.m. and » p. m . He ] la( j, all llOUl'- oil ior tea between a p.«-i. and 6 p ; iii. Wit-miss s-nid that a letter posted ft i ?J}^ ! ®. ru ' lul 011 15 would reach the C-luei post Office, Weliington, at ? P;®- , oli May IG. Aecusefl would assist in tho sorting of that mail. Chief-Detective Broherg tjjen produced a letter and asked witness to deicribo the stsMip oft it. Tliq letter was posted at Uelliugton on L 5 and was addressed to "IT. V.' Ander' son, 62 Park Street, St; Elmo, Hobaft, tasinania,' ;In rcforenco to tho sec'oM lettcf, witness said that en October 7 accused was oil duty -from 1 p.m. to D p.m., with a tea hour from 5 p.m. to e p.ni. On October $ accused Was on duty between -5 a.iii. and J p.m., -with a breakfast hour between 8.10 .a.m. an-el i>.lt a.m. A letter posted at Sliaiinon at 4 p.m. slmrji oil October 7 would arrive at tiie Chief Post Office, WetliVton, at 7.23 p.m, on tho samo'dav. Tliac letter would not be sorted for* letter-' earners until the following morning ■ J'h-o aceused would assist in the sorti»» ) q{ that- mail on the. following morning! It tlia Icjte- was posted at '6 p.m. on .October V, it would rcaeh the Wefliiv*-t-01-1 Post Offiee.at 11.3 p.m., and woiifd Tcmajn tmsorted until 5-a.m. the following day. ©htef-Detectiw Broberg m-o----due-c-d another Setter which wit»e)» said jvrts posted on Noveinber 13, 1918, to 1. V. Andersim,-e2 Park Street, St. Wmo, Iwbai't, Tasmania." A Note Traced. Leslw Holmes, clerk, c-mpioTetl by Laery and Co., fruit mcrcl-iant-s, Allen intreet, said that on November 13, IDI3 he rcceivwl ;jn. payment for gwsds- a postal note ior us. from Yung On, a ■ Uiiji-esc frmteror. The postal' note was issued at Ma'tapvma on May 10, -1913Y«n.R 0«, manager for Sing On Tie Bros., fruiterers, Ctiha- Street, said that lie hiii.i received the postal no to mentjioi>evl by tho last witness somo time (hiring the month of November, 1013' tie had'paid tlio iwstal note to the Wt . .witness. ' ' . John Johnson, officer-in charge of the Jetter-sMtcts' bra-tioh at the Chief hnt Olfie-c, A\ellingtm'i.,. said tot, he knew the accused. He -produced several written applications made 'by the accused m his handwriting. Anv letter sorter would be able to steal letters passing through the post office. Evidence by Tattersall's Clerks, ■Henry Vcnitm Anderson, clerk employed of tattorsall's, Hoba-rt, atid- resiifliig at 62 Park Street, . -St. Elmo gave evidence as to rcceiring a letter vJHr " 1 o the month of August containing it postal, note and an application for iickets from tlio "Eileen" Bviulicate He referred tho letter to tile "imeuiu*" clerk. Subsequently he received another 1-ettes 1 itad adopted the samo course, Durothy Alice Allan, an "openiiifi" clerk employed at Tattorsall's, flobart said that it _was lier-.duty to open . letters ooutauiiiig applications for tickotx. bhe received a. postal note for U!s. and six jenny stamps, issued at Matapunaon May la, 19],; i. The aupiieatton inside the letter stated. "Please dlot 00 two tickets in vour next s-»v<?<?b liilcen Syndicate, Donald H'Lean KtWt Welkngteu, New Zealand." , Witness liifirkoci tho postal itoto } in j>(y' with tlio methods used hv Tattersalls. There ivas absolutely no dianco of mistakes brim? 'piade with the applications. Eaott application for tickets wiis dealt with .separately. 'Only one application nas received from tlio "Eileen" Syndicate. \Yitpess also received a postal-noto for Itls., issued at Shannon, on October 3 , 1913, together with ail application for !'.a ,1' J ®. ■ was signed iv ' - ! ' av l s ""-» - 'Street, Uoltlligion, .\4'W Zealand." The lastmentioned application was received iu November, Witness produced a "balnnce '-sheet, wiiieh eoniained refer- 1 encc to.the above two application!! for tickets.

Alexander Forrest, ol' Adelaide Koatl, ssud.thftt ifc h*ui l)ocii For ovsr thirty years in the Hank of New Zealand, and find had considerable experience in'comparing Jmml-writiui:. The writing on tlv.i applications produced by tiie"witness JoliiiKon and the writing on the applications for ticlwis were, in bis opiittpii, written by the same person. Accusals Signed statement. Detective Sergeant Kawle said thai iu company with Detective Cameron, on November 3IJ, be saw the accused in connection with the iirst charge, • concerning tire Hannan letter. In'reply to a. fpiestlim, tlin accused made a statement which witness look down in wri'An*;- giving hi* nam, m:tus®d tata that he fasti been iu the. Gtaeval

Lost Office for about live years. About three mouths prim- to .November 80, accused had sent, a postal-note for. IDs. .o J.;Uu.Tsa*l and in tho afrpijeattoa ' ■Jio put "I Ito ttilcen Syndicate," Thrre were two other perils interested in the ticket /is well as accused. He had imugnl the ills, poshd-note from a ladv oil the attermiiin of August 15. She was siamlmg in the Post, Office in a crowd, ■ami accused (according to his storv) ol'iered to cash it lor ltoi\ Ace«srd «ave tlio lady hall a for it, and sUei paretiasiei;;ht pemiv stianips ho yavo it to someone to post to TiitterSiiH s. A .jo tit a week prior to November 30 wicnsed .had heawl that jnnnirios were, beiug made about the Eiloen Sj'ttd'ciUc. Accused toid. his feliow-workers that iio kttcw the svndicalc, but lie j)bt mention that lie was cQuoon.tod, as ; ho kne\v t'nut it was a breach of the postal regulations «f tlw I'ost Office for inm to sesisl letters- to Tattersall's. Ac- 1 citßcd did not recouo aity reply from iattersall's. 'Detective ilawle went on to state that tlio accused had sigttiKl the iil-wve statement. On Mav 4 wituess and Detective Camcr-on arrested the acc.nsed and charged Jiim with Uwi first, of. fence m respect of tli® Uannan'icttor. Accused made no reply. Wituess Had been uliable to find aiiyono in Xornuui»y named "F. Davidson." Tin? second postal-ssote sent by Miss Hughes «iu] not' boon fo'cnxi.

On behalf of tlio accused. Mr, Perry said t-liat he did not. propose to call evidence, but- would enter a plea of not guilty. Tlio accused,'was committed to tlio Supreme Court for trial, bail bei-iig allowed m tiic- sum «i £100, OTHER CASES. I'or using certain objectionable lanii'iage in a public thoroughfare, Thomas J'eevos was sentenced to tweiity-oiie days' imprisonment. J'hontas Jaiaes Kimnicr was ftn«d 205., in default days' imprisonncnt, for behaving in a threateniiif: ftianner. I'or insobriety, John M'Calluiii was fined 20s.