FALSE PRETENCES ALLEGED

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 201, 20 May 1921, Page 7

FALSE PRETENCES ALLEGED

THE TERABIDOC SYNDICATE

THOMAS KEEN COCKBURN

IN COURT

The trial was commenced in the Supreme Court yesterday of Thomas Keen Cockburn, manager and secretary to the Terabidoc Building Syndicate, who was arraigned on a charge of obtaining money by false pretences. Cockburn was charged with having on June 10, 1920, obtained .£l5O from one Edward I. Parrington by falsely representing that he was the owner of timber and sawmills at Dannevirke; and (2) with having on June 10, 1920, committed theft of £7O in money, tho property of E. I- Darrington. '•The full details of the case for the prosecution were published in The Dominion on April 7 last, after the lower Court hearing. Briefly, the details tiro as follow: —The Crown alleged that Cockburn had represented hitmelf to be the manager and secretary of the Terabidoc Building Syndicate, and had as such obtained money from Parrington and others on the understanding that he would build houses for thorn. He was tho syndicate, tho Crown alleged, and possessed no capital; but. ho had employed a supervisor, whose duty was an unknown quantity, save that, accoftiing to Chief Detective Ward in the Magistrate’s Court, "he had to inform callers at. Cockburn’s office that the manager was not in."' Tho Crown suggested that there never had been a mill at Dannevirke, and that the accused had on no occasion endeavoured to arrange for the construction of the house for which preliminary payments had been made. The Crown alleged further that the accused had "been living upon the money obtained in the manner aforesaid.’’ Subsequent to

certain civil actions, said the chief detective, it was found that the accused had not sufficient money to meet orders made,by the Court. At yesterday’s hearing His Honour Mr. Justice Hosking presided, Mr. P. S. K. Maeassey was Crown Prosecutor, and Mr. J. Scott represented the accused. The evidence adduced for the Crown was heard during the greater part of tha day, Cockburn going into the box shortly before 5 o’clock. Financial Operations. Jn the course of evidence Parrington told of an agreement with the accused whereby Cockburn had guaranteed to build a residence on a partly paid-off section at Ngaio for the sum of £1350; and to pay off the balance owing on the section—£7o—provided that witness paid a deposit of £l5O, which was paid accordingly. Nothing further was done in respect of the building operations, and the sum owing on the section was not paid. Evidence that they had paid deposits in similar circumstances was given by Mrs. M. Dawson, Maurice Allison Tre-

mewan, Robert David M'Gillivray (the latter paying various deposits to a firm of land agents on tho understanding that accused would build for him), and Catherine Smith, Robert Whyte, and his son, Herbert S. C. Whyte, said in giving evidence that they understood the syndicate was financially strong, otherwise they, as land agents, would not have en-

tered into any negotiations with the accused. Detective Torrance swore that he had 'had trouble in gaining admittance to accused’s house, after having' found him "out” many times at the office. The evidence of Thornton, previously referred to as the supervisor, was to the effect that during the time he had been in Cockburn’s office there had been only one house, at Northland, to supervise. He prepared plans of houses, however, the value of which must have been about £20,000. He received in wages only £63 during the year. Up till December he had considered the syndicate genuine enough, but after that date he declined an offer to become a member.

*Cross-examined by Mr. Scott, Thornton said that he and accused had visited n mill which wae offered for sale, but witness had advised accused against buying it; whereupon Cockbum had said that

lie would buy it himself, although the syndicate laid turned it down. In December, however, the deal fell through. Had accused got the mill he could have fulfilled the orders. "That was all we were waiting for,” said the witness. "The point is,” remarked the Judge,

"whether Cockburn falsely stated that he owned mills, and thus induced the complainants to make the preliminary payments.”

Frederick .Williaip Vure, mill company’s secretary, said in evidence that ho had called off a deal 'with tho accused, who held an option over a mill near Dannevirke, on account of information received after an investigation of the accused's financial standing. The accused commenced his evidence shortly before the Court adjourned. The case will be continued to-day.