WAREHOUSE THEFTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2856, 22 August 1916, Page 9

WAREHOUSE THEFTS

CHARGES AGAINST J. T. MORRIS

VERDICT "NOT GUILTY." . His Honour Mr. Justice Chapman presided at the criminal sessions of the Supreme Court yesterday. _ i Job nThomas Morris, groccr, of Cambridge - Terrace, was charged, with receiving from James Henry Bray goods (certain patent medicines), the property of Sharland and Co., Ltd., of tne total value of ,£IG7 lCs. (id., knowing the same to have been stolen. Mr. V. E. Meredith, of the Crown iLaw Office, prosecuted, and Mr. JL Myers, with him Mr. H. F. O'Leary, appeared for the accused. Mr. G. J. Sellars was foreman of tlio jury. ' . Walter Fair Larkin, manager of Sharland and Co.. Ltd., repeated the evidence ho gave in tne Lower Court, as to making a special stocktaking, which disclosed -. considerable diiscriopancies, and another stocktakingi in June repealed further shortages of goods. The firm sold Champion Soap and Pearson's Sand Soap, both of which were manufactured by Pearson, of Hamilton, Waikato. The Champion Soap had not been sold to anyone.in the city beyond the Working Men's Club and the City Council. Cross-examined, lie said Pearson's Sand Soap was stocked by nearly all groceiss. There-were no marks on the goods seized at Morris's shop to indicate that they came from Sharland's. James Henry Bray, formerly foreman at Sharland and C 376, and who pleaded guilty to stealing a large quantity" of patent medicines from the warehouse, said lie made tile acquaintance of accused 'in November. Accused said to witness he would take all the stuff ho could get. Witness detailed specific instances of stolen goods being 6ent to Morris. In February he sent a case of S dozen Cliamj)ion Sand Soap, also other goods to Morris by a carter. In June, amongst other goods, he sent up a case of Pearson's Simd Soap. Accused, he said, knew where the goods oamo from, and how they were obtained. Cross-examined by Mr. Myers, witness said while at Sharland's he was in receipt of 60s. ill wages, which was. later raised to 555. per week. -Before going ti Sharland's, he was with' Campbell and Burke, builders, and' prior to' that ho was working on the wharf for a shipping company, and prior to that he worked for the Wellington Woollen Company. He was dismissed, from the Woollen Company for stealing a pair of trousers. Witness worked for the New Zealand Fruit and Produce Company about 8 years ago, and left to go to a better job. He was not "sacked." Witness was a member of the Wellington Rowing Club, but was not the man who was expelled from the club for going through tlio pockets of members. A carter once took groceries from Morris to witness's place in Kilbirnie; He was a yachtsman, but was not the owner of a yacht or partner of a yacht He was a member of the crow of the "White Wings," but no stolen goods were delivered on that vessel. William John Barker, carter, in the employ of the Wellington Box Company, gave evidence on tlio same lines as in the Magistrate's Court. He said ho delivered goods from Sharland's to Morris at the request of Bray. He never cMrted goods from Morris's place to Bray's. . ; John..Crowle, expressman, and Thomas Henry Watson, ; another expressman, gave similar cvidenco to that given by them in the Lower Court. William H. Townshend, salesman for Johnston and Co., staled that he had tracod back in the records of the firm and found that from June 1, 1915, to date, Morris had niade.no purchases from the firm. He knew accused, and thought him a man of excellent character. Henry E. Tristram, manufacturer of Pearson's Sand Soap and Champion Sand Soap, said the: latter had only been supplied to Sharland and Co. and Wardell Bros, in Wellington. Frederick William Marsh, manager of the Working. Man's Club, testified to purchasing one case of Champion Soap from Sharland and Co., and none of it had been stolen or" lost. 'I:. Leslie, custodian of the Town Hall, stated that he purchased Champion Sand Soap from Sharland and Co., on behalf of the City Council.' 1 None of tlio soap purchased by him had been stolen or lost. Henry Wardeil, of the firm of Wardell Bros., testified that his firm had purchased Champion Sand Soap from the manufacturers. It was possible, but not likely, that the firm made a sulo of a case lot of the soap to onyone. Detective Mason gave similar evidence to that given in the Lower Court, v Mr. Myers, in opening for the defence, pointed out that the case against Morris' of receiving stolen goods was not an ordinary one. It was not a typical case, because in such a case the actual stolen goods were discovered, In tho present case Morris was charged with receiving a great mass of goods which were actually found in the possession of others who had already been convicted. When the police searched the shop of Morris they found no more patent medicines than a shop of the size should have in stock. They four.il the Champion. i Sand Soap and Pearson's Sand Soap. It was shown by Mr. Larkin that on February 28 tho company's stock of soap was intact, while Bray said he sent a case of Champion Sand Soap to Morris. Thero was no evidence that the soap was ever in Sharland's warehouse. Fifcncis Sladden, secretary of the Meat Kxport Company, said that accused had been in the. service iof the company for * about 19 years before 1911, and he came back again to work for the company since. Harry Walter Moss, manager of the goods department of Johnston and Co., Ltd., said accused was a customer of the firm, and witness considered him a man of good character. Christina Morris, wife of accused, said that they had tho grocery shop for about 10 years, and witness looked after it. ■ Accused was a butcher, and worked at Ngaliauranga. She knew Bray; she first saw.him through his coming to tho shop to purchase cigarettes and chocolates. In December a boy brought a parcel and left it at the shop for Bray. Bray asked permission to leave parcels at the shop, as he said it was handy for him to pick them up there. Various parcels had been sent to the shop for Bray, including cases, which Bray called for and took away. Barker left parcels on more than one occasion. She paid Barker 2s. 6d., because Uray had asked her to pay tlio cartage, and ho would refund it. Other carters had also left parcels for Bray, which were eventually taken away. They bought stock from almost every merchant in town. Purchases were also made at auction sales. The snap, Fearson's and Champion's, thought was probably bonght at auction, and both had been a long time in gtock. This concluded the evidence for the defence. Tho jury wero out for about twenty minutes, and brought in a verdict of not guilty.