CRIMINAL OFFENCES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 200, 19 May 1919, Page 3

CRIMINAL OFFENCES

SOME SALUTARY SENTENCES

A BANK CLERK'S LAPSE

Elev-en prisoners were presented for sentence in the Supremo Court on Saturday morning. His Honour the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) was on the Bench.

William Henry Aapinnll, who was convicted of indecent assault on a fjirl of 14 yeare of age, was the first to be ,put forward. The prisoner pleaded for leniency, and persisted in saying that he was innocent. His Honour said he could not accept his plea of innocence. He had admitted that he had the girl in hie bed, and the jury had found him guilty on that. The prisoner was sentenced to three years' reformative treatment in Invercargill. BANK CLERK SENTENCED.Mr. M. P. Luckie apeared for Reginald Joseph Devonshire, bank clerk, who 1 had pleaded guilty to four charges of I theft of money the property of the Bank of Australasia, Mr. Luckie said that the case was most unfortunate and pathetic. Devon- [ shire was 29 yettrs of apre, and had been , v eleven , years in the Bank of Australasia, j His charcter had been extremely good ! ui) to the present. He was stationed «t ' Napier in 1913, where he married, his • salary at the time being ,£135. In Fob- , rnary, 1914. he wns transferred tn Featlierston, and the house he occupied was I sold over his liend. He had to send his : wife and child back to Napier, and ho ■ himself went to live at an hotel. He ' made repeated efforts to get away from ■ Featherston, and lie was eventually transferred to Masterton, and just about then his second child was born. He left Featherston owing _£M to .£l5O. In j Masterton Devonshire did his best to recover himself, and to add to his income kept the books of a bookmaker. This offered the temptation to gamble, and he hoped thus to recover himself. Some.of his friends had offered to help him and ' make restitution, and he believed that liis friends will still stand by him in the matter. His mother was a widow and own.ed a small farm where Devonshire could go, He pleaded for lenient treatment. His Honour said there was another sidn j to the story; he h'ad taken over J3700, and | not in small sums, but in larce amounts. When he found himself in difficulties he should have disclosed liis position to the manager and sought assistance. Instead of that he became clerk to a bookmaker. | and His Honour could' not understand how the bank tolerated that. However, lie went in for gambling. "Our social lifa is such that people do not think anything of gambling," said Sir Robert, "and even the State supports it by the totalisator." Devonshire was sentenced to 18 months' reformative treatment. v WOUNDING HIS WIPE.' John James Lee, who was found guilty of wounding hie wife, was represented by Mr. T. Neave, who said that the prisoner was not really responsible. Ho had been for the greater part of his' lifo a soldier, and returned from Franco recently. His military discharges had given lu'm an excellent character. Counsel, urged that the cnsß'wns one for treatment rather than for punishment.

His Honour: The»clmrge on which he lins been convicted renders him liable to imprisonment for life.

llajoT W.-Simni, who wns called to give evidence on behalf of the prisoner, said that he knew Leu in connection with Hie sth (Wellington) Regiment,'of , which, before the war. he wns tho drnm-niajor. He was an excellent man and trustworthy in every way. Since Lee returned from the war witness hnd noticed a distinqt change in his demeanour. He was jumpy and suWect to moods, find this was iiuite noticeable. Witness attributed this to tho effects of the war. His Honour, after takin? all the circumstances into consideration, sentenced the prisoner to five years' reformative treatment. . i A LIGHT SENTENCE.' ' Arthur James Ford, who pleaded guilty to the theft of goods from tho Defence Stores, Buckle Street, while employed ns a nightwatchra.in there,,said he was not sober when ho committed the offence. His Honour said the one thing in Ford's favour was that when called to give evidence against Evans he liad spoken the truth. His Honour believed him, but tho juiy had not believed him. The other man, Evans, knew perfectly well what had taken place, arid tho fact was proved by the entries made by him in the nightwatchman's book. Evaiis had written that Ford went away at 4 o'clock in the morning, whereas at that time Ford had been in the lockup for two hours. He had no , doubt whatever that Evans was with' Ford and stole certain goods and got away with them, and nossibly if tho police had taken immediate action and arrested him. as they should have done, the real position would have been disclosed. There had been a miscarriage of justice, in the case of Evans, and ho would not bo a party to it. It would be ,an injustice to punish Ford while the other man had escaped. Ford was sentenced to two months' probation on the ireual conditions. A SEEIOUS CRIME. Jean Collyns, a young married woman with three children, whose husband has not yet returned from the front, and ivio was found guilty of conspiring to procure abortion,, was represented by Mr. P. W. Jackson, who said the assistance giyn by the prisoner to her friend wns misplaced and unfortunate. She hnd three children, aged four, six, and eitrht years respectively, and ho asked that the Court extend to her the -utmost consideration. His Honour said no doubt the woman did this out of good feeling for her friend. Hei; character, however,! according to tho iwlice report, had not been good in the past. He did not propose to deal harshly with her, but he could not overlook the seriousness of the offence. She was sentenced to 2} years' imprisonment. Alice Scoble, an elderly woman, who was convicted of conspiring to procure abortion and also of procuring abortion, and who handed in medical certificates to show that she was suffering from a Very eerious complaint, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. OTHER SENTENCES. v Alonzo Albert Hewison, who was on probation after serving five or six months of his term of two years' imprisonment for forgery and uttering, and who.hnd since been twice convicted of theft and thereby committed a breach of the terms of his probation, ;wae sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment. Henry Khristian Jenson, who was convicted of assault, was sentenced to twelve , months' imprisonment, there, being a previous conviction against him for a similar offence.

Lawrence John Maloney, who pleaded guilty to breaking, entering, and theft, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. William Bannerman Rogers, who was convicted of indecent assault on a giri aged■ 6J years, was sentenced to threo years' reformative treatment. CASES AT NEW PLYMOUTH. ::.v Tnkrr ■!->;-!>«■ v Asroclatlon. New Plymouth, May 17. , In the Supreme Court a decree nisi wa-s granted in the divorce case, M'Namara v. M'Namara, wife's petition. Under an originating summons application inis niiidi- by John Piirnam for lifo interest under his wife's will. The application was granted, the Public Trustee consenting on behalf of absent beneficiaries.