THE SLATTERY CASE

Gisborne Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1493, 29 June 1905, Page 2

THE SLATTERY CASE

THE PRISONER RELEASED. By Telegraph —Press Association—Copyright Received 9.48 p.m., Juno 28. Sydney, June 28. The appeal against the Full Court’s confirmation of T. M. Slattery’s oonviction > has resulted in the High Court quashing the sentenoo and ordering the release of Slattery. The grounds of appeal were that the Full Court was in error in bolding that the appellant was a bailee and had committed larceny of property belonging to Mrs Scanlon in any converted form within the meaning of section 125 of the ' □rimes Act. The Chief Justice, in delivering judgnent, said the question involved was, was ihere au original bailment. The relation* ihip between Mrs Scanlon and prisoner vas that of principal and agent, or debtor ind creditor, not bailor and bailee'. That vas at common law, and the Crimes Act did not affoot the case in any way, boaring in mind that at common law a person guilty of fraudulent misappropriation of money was not guilty of a crime, and that it was only made a crime by statute. They ! had to deal with tho proposition that fraudulent misappropriation was a I criminal offence. Nobody could have any sympathy with fraudulent misappropriation. It might be there was a gap in the New South Wales law. If there was, it was for tho Legislature, not the Court, to fill it up. The contention was that a fiduciary agent who misappropriated money could be dealt with for larceny. Thcro was no such law on the Statute Book, For these reasons they thought tho case did not fall within section 125. Therefore the conviction must be quashed. ,