The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1907.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1996, 4 February 1907, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1907.

Two embezzlers were sentenced at the Supreme Court in Wellington in Saturday, 0110 to a term of five years and the other to one year. One case was that of a solicitor who misappropriated trust moneys to the amount of many thousands of pounds and the other stowed away about two hundred and fifty pounds of charitable aid moneys. 111 each case some attempt had been mado at restitution after the crimes liad been discovered, and this was urged in mitigation ol sentence by the solicitor who appeared for botli the accused. It is an arguable question whether that should have any weight with the J udgo in determining the term of the sentence because against that in botli cases necessity played no part in inducing either prisoner to defraud others out of their money We have no desire, however, to criticise the Judge's decisions which in both cases wero what appeared to a just Judge to bo just punishment, although wc cannot help thinking that the man who defrauded the Charitable Ai l Board (not by giving way to the temptation of putting money into liis pocket that lay before him in a safe or till, but by a deliberate scheme which lie liad leason to hope would escape detection), got off very lightly . Our object in drawing attention to the matter is rather to point out the ease with which people can be defrauded out of their money under exisling business systems, especially in the case of trust moneys in the hands of solicitors and agents, and the inability of tho persons defrauded to recover any portion of theii lost cash unless the convicted person’s estate can bear the burden, and that is seldom or never the case. In a majority of cases we believe the persons defrauded are themselves to blame in a great measure for the laxity in with which they transact business, especially with sohciiois who are never mistrusted until they are found out; but in very many cases the victims of this studied .vguery are women nud wmlt who cannot be ex-

pocteil to know what it is host to do, and who are naturally trustful ol men who belong to an honorable profession and have the reputation of being at least honest Indeed limn sometimes fall an easy prey to designing rogues as women do, and tho fact that the gloat majority of solicitors and agents arc honorable men is no reason why the law of the equally does not afford tiie public a greater measure of pruleei.io.i in the matter of trust moneys, for as long as there is the possibility of one m a profession or calling proving himself to ho a rogue though that proiossiou or calling may number a million honest men, the protection ought, still to exist if it can bo legally afforded. That it can he legally adorned we shall presently argue; hut d -l let us say that wo do not suspect the legal profession or a respectable class of agents of well-known standing to contain many rogues who are intent on fraud, and in very many cases wo know that it would not pay them to lie dishonest oven though they felt so inclined ; but there is no getting away from the fact that occasionally a rascal is met with who has boon discovered lo have made fraud his profession under the guise of respectability, and the victims are sometimes ruined without hope of lcdress beyond the punishment of the rascal which is very poor consolation and no compensation at all for lost, treasure Now all this could bo so easily remedied that it is really surprising that no proper attempt has boon made to effect a remedy, c,ml tho plan we suggest is this—that every person who le.ceivos trust moneys for investment or safe keeping, except moneys p is., ing through the hands of solicitors ns a result of ordinary Court business, should be compelled to submit to an agent of the Public Tmstee or a Bank Manager within a reasonable t'mo, to be fixed by Statute, the securities showing how the tiust moneys have been invested or otherwise dispersed of, or in the absence of the servilities, satifactory evidence of its lodgment with a Bank awaiting investment, and a statement of tile purpose for which it is lodged The Public Tiustee or Bank Manage! should there notify the investor that lie is satisfied with ihq bona files of the transaction, and for these services be entitled to draw on the trust account, for a small fee to cover cost of supervision. Once an account is thus notified it should become the duty of tlio Bank to see that the money is not impropeily diverted from the purpose for which it was lodged ,and when it is finally invested according to its purpose, or withdrawn by its rightful owner, the securities or documents as the case may be should be submitted as bofo.-e. This plan would place it beyond the I ower of an impecunious solicitor or agent to retain trust moneys for any t ime that would be of service to him, ,;i- to use his trust account even fur temporary private speculations, and it need not cost the investor much to bo thus adequately’ secured against the total loss of his money, and if the investor had also the privilege of at any time ascertaining from the Bank whether his monoy or securities were there he would deserve little sympathy if lie lost it in the end. At present an investor has tho privilege of searching tho deeds register to find cut if his money- has been invested, and he can always always call upon the solicitors or agent to produce alleged securities; but only ill cases of suspicion of fraud would lie take that step, and if he coidd find nothing lie lias no remedy beyond the rights of n ordinary creditor or prosecutor in case of ascertained misappropriation, whereas tlio suggested method would show him very quickly whether things were all right or not, and tho embezzlement of large accumulations of trust funds over a series of years would be an impossibility. Nor would the honest lawyer or agent object to it, while the rogue would be frustrated in his designs, and we should hear nothing of the sensational pro-seciitioiis-anti ixnxantml. people that are recorded from time to time in tho annals of criminal procedure.