PUNISHED FOR CRIME

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 42, 12 November 1921, Page 3

PUNISHED FOR CRIME

THREE PRISONERS DEALT WITH

TWO IfSENT TO GAOL

Three prisoners wore sentenced by Hie Hoftiour (Mr, Justice Husking in the Supreme Court yesterday, Norman, Oswald Smith, convicted of having received stolen property, was admitted to probation for tlureo years. Mr. Mnzengarti appeared for the prisoner, who was ordered to comply with several special conditions in connection with his probation.

For Gerard Corvissiano, found guilty of making false documents, forgery, and false pretences, Mr. 0. A. L. Treadwell asked for' leniency, on the ground that the prisoner hod been too lavishly treated as a young man by bis family in Bordeaux (France). Prisoner then went to Australia, said counsel, but got into trouble, and as a moans of escape took the line of least resistance —dishonesty. Counsel remarked that he thought it strange that the man from whom Corviseiano had purchased motor-cars had allowed him to take them without any security. "It was giving a man of unstable character a great temptation, said counsel. In order to pay off the liabilities in which he was involved, the prisoner had gone to racecourses and had "punted." His Honour: Is it true that he put ,£2OO on a hotse at a time? Counsel: I understand he put on as much as .£250. He plunged madly. Counsel asked that leniency be extended the prisoner, if only as an experiment. Ha admitted that Corvissiano had been in gaol in Australia. In passing sentence, His Honour remarked that Mr. Treadwell had been persuasive in a bad cause. The prisoner had exhibited a high amount of perverted ekill—not for the first time. In Adelaide in 1911,. sCorvissia.no had been sentenced to two months’ imprisonment for issuing a valueless cheque, and nine months later ho received 18 months for forgery and uttering. On the charge of false pretences, prisoner would be sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with hard labour, on the charge of forging a contract two years’ hard labour, and in regard to the uttering of the forged promissory notes four years’ hard labour the sentences to be concurrent. Mr’. H. H. Cornish asked for leniency on behalf of Percival Richard Waddy, found guilty of indecent assau t on a young girl. He contended that'the offence (which took place in a. P'cture show), was not a bad one of its kind, and that no physical harm had been done to the child. His Honour: That is so. Counsel added that there was no moral harm done to the child. . Hh Honour interposed: An impression was given her. She had to come here and tell a tale that was not nice. „ "Waddy has been severely P“ nished > . continued Mr. Cornish. His> chanc ever again being admitted to the Ba are gone. And his chances were good, 'KfSKiTwMi nine times for drunkenness and six. times for breach of prohibition, order, -in 1909 he was charged, in Austro . ’ differ . having indecently assaulted two differ maintained that Waddy chancer, of being admitted to Bar. Regarding the two charges in Australia, Mr Cornish said that Waddy was re- • leased from prison, following a petition to the Attorney-General. The ’ ™ d charge was animadverted by the Nagis, t rate as '"most improperly brought Waddy was to have been married at Christmas, and had suffered much by the ' conviction. “He is not a bad man, said counsel. "It would be unc to call him a bad man. It is not a case of a useless sot, but of a man who works hard. He is thorough and painstaking and works hard, except when he has outbursts of excess I have the authority of his employer for saying that. He has been doing excellent law coaching remarked that the prisoner’s position had could more easily e ? n J’ n, \, th ? „ He had been entrusted with two child ren by their parents, and had broken the trust and confidence m him Mr. Cornish considered the case rot one ibr a long sentence. He admitted the public sens© of decency had to be pacified. Waddy was not an abandoned man, and he desired to do well. Addressing Waddy, tho. Judge raid it was unfortunate that a man of his attainments had been placed in such a position. "It is not pleasant to sentence anybody." he siiid. "In this case I cannot yield to a suggestion ot light sentence. You will be sentenced to two years and a half’s imprisonment with hard labour.”