RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, COBDEN.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1584, 2 September 1873, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT, COBDEN.

Monday, September 1,

(Before C.Whitefoord, Esq., R.M.J

CHARGE OF CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD,

John Hayes, storekeeper at.Half-Ouncej was charged, on remand, with conspiracy to defraud the creditors of his brother, James Hayes, who was, until lately, a storekeeper at Ahaura and Reefton. Messrs Perkins and Button appeared for the prosecutors, Messrs-Thompson, Smith, and Barkley, and Mr Guinness for the defence.

Mr Button, in opening the case, stated that the charge resolved itself into two points — first, the making a fraudulent assignment of goods; and, second, 1 making in the books of James Hayes, a false and fictitious entry of a settlement ©f accounts between the said James and, John Hayes, and if the settlement of accounts between them was not false, it was done for the purpose of giving a fraudulent preference to one creditor. This was an important case to the general public, as lately many casesj had occurred on this coast of persons defrauding their creditors by such unlawful means, and as they were a class of cases very difficult to prove, when one charge was brought home,' it should be made an example of. He would not go into the details, but call the following evidence : — :

Patrick Ryan : I was storekeeper, at Reefton, to James Hayes in July last. I did not know then he was in difficulties., 1 knew that first shortly before Hayes went to Westport, after July 3rd. On ttat day I saw both John and James Hayes in the stores at Ahaura. They were first in the same room as me, but left, and went out into the shop, where they remained aoout half-an-hour. I went to them when James' said this account of John's had better be settled, and told me to do so. I then made the entry produced in the book. James, gave me the particulars of the account as entered in this book I did not see any statement gr writing, but at the time the account was made 1 believe that John Hayes owed James that amount of L 673 12s 2d, but I knew nothing of the credit given for that until I was told. At that time I saw no statement in writing pass between them, but I believe John gave James a receipt for tfaje a'roount so credited. , I heard John say to James — "You owe me L 200 ,1 lent yoji at Addison's, and the wages." The L2OO, I understand, to be to be cash lent, and thje balance for wages, amounting in all to L 646. They told me so at the time of making the entry. This was before James Hayes went Westport, about a week. I received a letter from him, which was afterwards destroyed by the defendant. John Hayes asked me for the letter. I had it in my pocket and I showed it to hiiri, and he put it in the fire. This took place in Russell's Hotel, in Greymouth, while v?e were sitting in' the parlor. I would npt be sure whether he read it or not 5 but he had it in his hands sufficiently long enough to read it. He then put it in tljie fire, saying "It is no use keeping that.". I believe he used a strong expression, at the time, but cannot remember the exact words. The contents were that James Hayes would give me p®wer .of attorney to act for him while he was away, and; I was to send some goods to John Hayejs, but not. to 'enter them. I did not send any, as I was advised against it.. I know of no goods having been sent to Johtr Hayes without having been entered. \ I went to the Ahaura store about June the lOfchornth. j

By Mr Guinness: On the 3rd July, when this settlement was. made, I had been lying down, as I was "suffering a recovery." I had been drinking heavily for some days previous. It was between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. Both John and James had been in and out of the room during the day. I think it was James who, first spoke about having a settlement of his account. John told me that James owed him the money for cash; lent and wages, and I know that he was in a hurry to get back to the store at Half-Ounce. Before coming to the Ahaura I had been at Reefton for James Hayes I was first engaged 1 about the 14th April. I never sent any goods to Ahaura in the ordinary course of business. I have rendered accounts and invoices ,of , goods sent from Ahaura store to Reefton store. On the 3rd of July I knew abojut th@ principal portion of the goods having been delivered to .John Hayes, The door was open between where the Hayes's werje ■ and where I was lying down. I cannot say whether they were, together all the time, : or whether either of them left the 1 stork. I did not hear what was passing between

them, and I don't think they were trying to hide from me anything that was passing between them. When I came out of the room they were together, but were not making up any memoranda bfltween them. I did not post the entry made on the 3rd of July into the ledger. I was not surprised at the amount of the account for goods, as I knew of the delivery of the. principal .portion of the. goods. When John made the statement as to the amount of -his wages,. I. believe he had either a. paper or pocket-book from which •he-was^ reading off the .dates. I believe John said two years aud a half. I believed .the..' account was correct. I remember them mentioning at the. time that John had received LIOO from James before he (John) went to Melbourne. I believe that Iwas paid on accountof wages. 1 was resident at Half-Ounce foroverayearand knew that John was there in his brother's employ. ;I remember being told by James Hayesv ;to let John Hayes have any goods -Tie' wanted at cost price, with 10 per cent, added. James told me- before I left ; Reefton to make out the, invoice". foe the goods John had had, and when I came 1 down I 'extended the entries correctly, and made but the invoice. The instructions mentioned were never altered;- ) I remember seeing Mr Thompson . at the Ahaura about the . 10th July. When I saw him James Hayes had not left for Westport, but I believe he left the day afterwards. Two days after the settlement James. Hayes went to Reefton and came back in about five days, 1 and during that time I believe he had been at West- v port, and came back by Greymorith i way . I believe it was afterHhe 3rd July, I saw Thompson at the Ahaura, but cannot fix. the date. I think it must have been four or five days. I did not know that James waß going to Westport until I got the letter. I cannot remember showing that letter to any person except John Hayes, to the best of my knowledge. I don't remember the date I received it, but it was after the 3rd July Between that date and the 20th August I was several times' under the influence of drink. I received it at Reefton, and after. James Hayes's return. I believe it was dat|& from Greymouth, and said that he wtis) going to Melbourne round the ports;. I believe 1 got the letter at the Post Office. I was not aware it was coming. I was at Reefton from the 21st July to the 28th. I got this letter before Mr Morice took charge for the trustee. I believe I got that letter, from Mr Bull, the postmaster, at the office. I believe I read the letter over twice. I was sober when I read it the first time. While on the way down in Mitchell's waggon I said to John Hayes that I left L 2 in the safe/ and it was awkward it .was missing; when Thompson went for it, and if Mrs Hayes took it she should say so. John Hayes was present, and he said " Come Ryan didn'tyou keep the keys." I denied having 'taken the money. I never told John Hayes that the trustees were paying my board, and would give me LSO and a clearance if I told all I knew about Hayes's estate. JA.t Russell's Hotel I told him that Mr M'Lean would pay my board. I think that was about mid-day on Monday. When I got into the parlor John and Russell were talking and Russell left the room. We were talking about the case, when I said James had gone to Melbourne, but Ido not remember John asking me ' how I knew that. He asked me for the letter I got from James, and I gave it to him to read . I did not mention it before he asked for it. I did not try to prevent him burning it, as it was nothing tome. He said, " What is the use of keeping it ; it had better be destroyed." I told $fr Perkins about thi3 letter before I was examined in the District Court. r : One Saturday night I went to see the trustees at Mr Perkins's office, in order ;to . ,get some money out of the estate for wages. L 3 is all the money 1 have received out of my wages.- Maclean said he would see my board paid. I got a. release from the . trustees for a trunk of ■■ goods I took out of the store, but returned to Thompson. The trustees threatened to take criminal proceedings against me for the trunk. and for the L 2 .. It was arranged that Russell was to give me board, cash, . and drinks up to LlO. The value of the trunk I took away : and returned, was about L 34, not about L6O. At the time of giving my depositions in Mr Perkins's office and getting the release, I was not perfectly sober. The questions we® asked me; I did not volunteer the stat^jients. While I was at the Aha'ura I was incapable for a week ; a man named Muldoon was looking after the place. During that time Sergeant Goodall took away a roll of drnggetting I had left out at night, and brought it back in the morning. I remember writing a letter to John Hayes before I heard he was arrested on this charge. It was to the effect that it would be wise for him to send me away before the next sitting of the District Court, as all the book 3 and accounts, would be examined, and it would be wise for him to bribe the Captain to take me away; also to send James's probable address. No one requested me to. write the. letter, and T had no intention of catching; John Hayes on the hop by it, I got no answer to it, and said nothing about it to my knowledge to anyone but Pat RbughV, I last saw James Hayes at Reefton. My impression from the letter I received was that I was to send John Hayes goods and net charge for them. , :

John George Heslop : lam a-store-keeper at Reefton, and know James Haye3 and his brother John, ul remember being on the Buller road with him about two months 1 agd.. I then had a conversation with him as to goods he had sent'tb John Hayes. (The nature of the conversation was objected to by> Mr Guinness.. After an argument, and a number of authorities had been quoted, the evidence was allowed.) < Examination continued : This was between the end of June and the beginning of July. The purport of what James Hayes a3ked was "If they,- meaning his creditors, could do. anything to him, for selling goods to his brother. " I said "I did not think, they could if the transaction was a hmwfide one, and that he had as good a right to sell goods to. his. brother as Thompson, Smith, and Barkley had to sell goods to him." He said he had owed Jack wages and L2OO, amounting somewhere about L6OO. I asked if he had paid John or he had not, and he said he had not paid him except his commission and expenses in collecting accounts. On this occasion nothing was said about the squaring of the account between ,the brothers. Subsequently, about three weeks ■ or a month afterwards, the night before Hayes left for Westportj I hearci a noise as of packing goqds in l&yes. ? s. store. I went into the store and, saw James packing a case, about one ton

measurement, containing general drapery goods, and some silk dresses, I think about half a dozen. The case was about half full at the time. That case would contain about Ll5O worth of general goods. They were at work in the store up to well into the morning. I saw the case next morning nailed down in the store, covered over by a carpet and a box and a parcel on the top of it. That morning James Hayes left. I saw the case leave on Sunday morning by Mitchell's waggon. I again saw James Hayes at Reefton, after his return from Greymouth, about the latter end of July. I was in his shop taking stock for the trustees when he returned. I had a conversation wiih him after the stock waa finished. He asked me if they could get a warrant, to ransack Jack's place, and 1 said I did not think they could. I asked if the transaction with his brother was a bona flde one, and he said it was. Later in the evening he asked me if they found more goods in John Hayes's than were invoiced if it would make any difference? He said that they were not in John Hayes's invoice, but were accounted for in the settlement with him — goods that John had had from him and he had received no invoices for, but had been accounted for in the settlement. On the day I was valuing the furniture, James Hayes said to me "Well, the only goods Jack had received that were not charged to him were some silk dresses, and he would go down and have them removed." He went down to Half-Ounce and returned the following day, and lam under the impression that he had removed the dresses, but I am not certain. James told me once that John's stock at Half-Ounce was worth LIOOO.

J. S. M. Thompson : I am a partner in the firm of Thompson, Smith, and Barkley, drapers, Greymouth. I know James and John Hayes. Jamejs Hayes has been dealing with us a little over, five years. In January last the value of Jas. Hayes's stock was L3BOO, book debts LBOO, and stores over L4OO. I took possession of the Ahaura store on the 26th July, and at Reefton on the 28th. In both stores I found stock amounting to L 170 0; the stores were the same as before, and I cannot state the amount of the book debts. At the Ahaura I received the daybook and ledger produced. In the ledger there are entries of goods sold to John Hayes between the 29th May and the 2nd July, amounting to L674 12s 2d, and on the contra an entry of L 646 on the 3rd July. James Hayes began to get behind with his payments in January, and since that time we have been pressing him. On the 2nd or 3rd July we pressed him more strongly than before. On thatjdate he owed us L 2400, and one Melbourne firm L 900; Ross and Glendinning, Dunedin, L 80 0; Power and Co.,_ Westport, L3O; and others. After getting possession of the estate I spoke to him relative to the settlement with John that appears in the books. On the 29th July, at Reefton, I asked him as to the settlement with his brother, when he said he owed him L2OO cash lent, and the balance was for wages. I asked the time due for wages, when he said two years and six months- t -26 weeks at L 3, and 104 weeks at L 4 10s. Since then I have heard the sworn statement of John Hayes, and it does not come up to that amount by a week or two. The Half-Ounce books do not show as much as two years. During that period John Hayes is charged with nothing, whatever in the books. There is an item of 20s to to him on the Ist July, which is not taken into account. The store at HalfOunce originally belonged to Jas. Hayes, which is now claimed by John Hayes, but there is no entry of payment for it. He was asked at the District Court how he became possessed of it, but he declined to answer. Defendant swore in the District Court that LIOO was all he had received from his brother. I produce a receipt for a registered letter found among James Hayes's papers, and at the Court defendant declined to answer whether he received any money from James Hayes to put in it. He was told by the Judge that he need not answer if he thought the question would criminate him. On the 14th August I took stock at Half-Ounce, and found goods there which had not been entered against him either at Reefton or Ahaura. On the 14th of August I asked defendant if he had a statement of the accounts balanced in the ledger, and he showed me one which was simply a copy from the ledger. Subsequently defendant told me he received no goods except from James Hayes. I found stock in the Half -Ounce store amounting to nearly L6OO. There is an entry on the 10th July of a case of goods valued at L2B 133 5d sent to John Hayes.

A . number of ' other witnesses were examined, and the case was continued until a very late hour, when it was adjourned until nine o'clock this morning.