WANGANUI NOTES

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 62, 7 December 1926, Page 6

WANGANUI NOTES

Wanganui, December 6. Joseph Harvey Cornish was cliarg ed at the Magistrate’s Court to-day with obtaining £3 from A. H Rogers by means of a valueless cheque. Detective Walsh said that on November 19 accused booked at the Provincial Hotel. He asked the following day fot a blank cheque, and told the licensee that lie had an account at a bank at Feilding. The blank cheque was refused. and accused then obtained a 'blank cheque from C. H Burnett, which lie filled in and tendered with Mr Burnett’s endorsement. The cheque was returned as valueless. Corroborative evidence was given by Arthur H. Rogers. Charles H Burnett said accused took a furnished house from him at £3 per week. The following day he asked for a blank cheque. In view of the fact tliat accused had taken a house for six months he assumed that he was a man of substance. He eventually did not take the house, but paid one week’s rent to allow the lease to be cancelled. Cross-examined, witness said lie knew that accused had since opened an account at a Wanganui bank. Detective Revell, who arrested accused, stated that accused said that when he drew the cheque he knew he had no account at Feilding, but intended to open one there, and instead opened one at Wanganui for a small amount.

Detective Walsh said that lie first met accused in Wellington five or six years ago. At that time be was travelling for a provisional patent for controlling the tides and deriving power He was, said the detective, going to revolutionise the world. Continuing, the detective said that accused travelled through New Zealand collecting quite a lot of money on these shares, and nothing further came of the matter. He appeared before the Supreme Court at Palmerston North in August, 1923, on six charges of false pretences and received twelve months’ imprisonment. He also tried out other patents which proved to be fraudulent. In 1921 be was convicted and discharged on a charge of theft. On the same day he was convicted on two charges of false pretences and received three months’ imprisonment on each. He started out some mouths ago from Gisborne, and though a married man with a family of six, he picked up with a single girl and had been taking her round the country prior to coming here. He stayed in Feilding for some weeks, and incidentally left owing £32 for board. Detective Walsh then produced accused’s receipt book, which showed that he bad been selling shares in a provisional patent for a level crossing signal, and the buvers had been paying £5 for 1-200111 share. Anyone, added the detective, can cret a provisional patent for an idea still in his head by paying a small fee. The receipt hook showed that up to November 1, 1920he had collected £230 from different people in these level crossing shares, and there were several Wanganui names on the list. There seemed to he a poor look-out for the investors, added the detective. Accused was then sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.