CARBURETTER THEFT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 280, 15 August 1918, Page 8

CARBURETTER THEFT

YOUNG MAN PLEADS GUILTY

CHARGE AGAINST CYCLE DEALER DISMISSED

A young man named Ernest Nesbitt, employed as (own traveller for the firm of E. Reynolds and Co., 'appeared 'before .Messrs. J. W. Ellison and 1. Salek, J.lV's, at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon on a chairge of liaving stolen during .Tuly carburetters valued at Ji.ii Cs„ (he property of E. Reynolds ami Co. Accused was also charged with having, received from Claude Jupp the sum of £2 as. and failing fo account for it to Reynolds and Co.

Chief-Dotcctive Boddam prosecuted, and Jli-. IF. F. O'Leary appeared for accused. Edward Reynolds, principal of (lie firm of E. lieynolds and Co., said accused had been in the employ of the firm for about ten years. Dining the past two years he had "occupied the position of town traveller. Witness gave evidence as (o finding u shortage of eleven carburetters. Tie identified the six carburetters produced as being the property of his firm. There jraK no""record of their having been sold. About August 5 accused said he had taken iliem awav, intending to raise some money on (hem,"but that it was his intention to return them again. Accused said he had sold them to a man named .Rosenborg, but did not leU the latter wli--re they had come from. Rosen'berg might have understood that they mine from another source.

Herbert Atkinson, bond .storcman for Inglis Bros., of Cable Street, stated that on July 110 he purchased from Rosenberg ii. carburetter, tho price fixed being .67 2s. 6d.

Lawrence Pitcher, employed by the Motor Import Company, (.able Street, testified that he hud bought live carburetters from ii man named Rose-nbeig in July. Hie total price being .£2(l. Detective-Sergeant S. Rawle .slated that ns the result of a complaint inadu 'by Hie witness lteynolds, Detective Torrance and •witness interviewed accused at (he police station on August 1. Nesbitt said hu had been asked by Rosenberg whether he could obtain R certain line of carburetters. He <!fd so, and obtained three cheques from Rosenberg for earns amounting to .£2l. Tie u.sed the whole proceeds himself, and did not account for the carburetters lo the firm of Reynolds and

Co. Accused pleaded guilty and was commilted to,;tho Supremo Court for sentence. The Second Charge. The charge of failing to account for the sum of ,62 ss. was (hen proceeded with. Claude Jupp, !etter,carrier, of Wellington, slated that on July % he went to tho warehouse of E. Reynolds and Co., and purchased u. motor-cycle lamp .from the accused for the sum of -C 2 ss. Ho gavo accused an order for some carbide, but did not pay for it at the lime. To Mr. O'Loary: He did not remember accused saying that when witness paid for the carbide he would put through the amounts received for the lamp and the carbide in one transaction.

Edward Reynolds stated ihat accused had not accounted fur the 455. for, tho sale of the lamp, nor was there any record relating to thq transaction. There was an entry regarding His sale of a tin of carbide.

Detective-Sergeant Rawle produced (i statement in which accused admitted that he hud not accounted for the sum of £2 ss. At the time of his arrest accused had over £2, but loss than -C 2-55., in his possession.

In the witness-box accused stated that he kept the £'2 ss. in Lis possession, intending lo wait until the following Monday for Jupp to pay for the carbide before handing the money into the office. He made out a cash sale docket, and put that and tho £2 ss. in tho pocket of his overcoat. His father brought the overcoat home, and the money was still in the pocket. He had no intention of stealing the money, and did not see Jupp again. John Henry Nesbitt, carrier, father of tho acensed, testified to taking the accused's overcoat homo and seeing accused handle a sum of £i ss. and a piece of paper. Accused pleaded not guilty to the second charge. The Bench intiniatcd that they were not satisfied with his explanation, and ho was committed lo the Supremo Court for trial. Bail was allowed in two sureties of .£25 each. . . The Cycle Dealer's Case. In connection with the charge again*! Nesbitt of stealing tho six carburetters, Edward Rosenborg, a cycle dealer in Manners Street, was charged with having received the 'carburetters, knowing them lo have been dishonestly obtained. Mr. H. F. O'l.enry. appeared for the accused, and Chief-Detective Boddam prosecuted. The chief-deteolivo said that Rosenberg had purchased tho carburetters at 5(1 per cent, loss than their value. Ho had previously done business with Reynolds and Co., and had paid his accounts by cheque. Lawrence Pitcher gave similar evidence to that which he tendered in tho previous case. The witness added Hint since the war he had not heard of a town traveller in the motor trado who had not dono a litlle dealing on his own. Ho had bought three carburetters from Rosenborg, and had sold them at a profit. Rosenberg was a cycle, lot a motor dealer, and would not know (he value of tho carburetters, upoti which there was a good deal of profit. Herbert Atkinson, head storemnn for Inglis Bros., stated that on behalf of a customer ho had purchased from accused a No. US carburetter for £7 2s. Gd. In accused's firm the price for such a carburetter was JJIO 4s.

In reply to Mr. 6'Leary, witness said lie concluded from his conversation with Hosenberg that the latter did not know ranch about the line he was handling. .Although the price was lower by £3 than the ordinary wholesale figure, witness had no doubt about the transaction. Occasionally low quotations were received, and it was then assumed that the lines were being sacrificed. Albert Hughes, salesman in the employ of li. Reynolds and Co., said ho saw some "Zenith" carburetters in Rosenberg's window. No attempt was made to conceal them.

William Charles Woodcock, cycle and motor dealer, of 78 Vivian Street, denied that ho had ever sold carburetters to Nesbitt, tho accused in tho first case. Detective James Torrance stated that accused admitted to him and Detective Sergeant Rawle that he bought six caiburetlers from Nesbitt for M each, and said that he had resold them for £o 10s. each. He said that when he bought them he had no idea they were stolen, and bad paid Nesbitt by cheque. Called by Mr. O'Leary, Edward Broe, an apprentice in the employ of Rosenberg, stated .that he heard Nesbitt ask accused if he wanted to buy some carburetters, which he had bought from a man named Woodcock. The sale was agreed to and the carburetters were placed in tho window "or sale. The charge against■ Rosenberg was dismissed.

Germany's ottenipt to produce a satisfactory synthetic rubber lias not, so far, been "successful. It is understood that tiro chemists in that country have discovered ;i way of restoring or reconstituting scrap or perished rubber,, but tho amount is limited, and may further contract. Attempts have also been made by the Germans to perfect a spring wheel to lake the tho rubber or pneumatic tyre, with indifferent results. Over jei.OOO.OfIO is spent annually on education in Birmingham.