A STRANGE DELUSION

Hokitika Guardian, 14 June 1921, Page 3

A STRANGE DELUSION

AUSTRALIAN STATESMAN PERSONATED. MELBOURNE, June 1. Whether a certain young man, James Cook by name, regards himself as a rival of the Acting Prime Minister of tlie Commonwei.lth in his aspirations to the High Commissiouership, or whether lie is suffering from the delusion that he is actually Sir Joseph Cook himself, is a question that is engaging the attention of the detective forces of two States. Some days ago a young man of good address entered the Melbourne office of the P. and 0. Company, and in the names of James Cook booked a first saloon passage to England by the mail steamer Morea. He tendered a cheque for.LlfiS in payment for the ticket On the following day, however, the cheque was returned marked

“X.5.F.,” and the matter was reported to the detective office. When the Morea was sailing from Port Melbourne a special watch was kept for Cook, but he did not appear. The next news of Cook came from Adelaide, where he joined the ship, apparently after travelling from Melbourne by train. The .Melbourne police received a report from the detective office at Adelaide, stating that Cook was detained there in custody, and asking for information concerning him. From the report it appears that when the Morea was about to sail from Adelaide on May 2nd Cook was removed from the vessel imd .handed over to the police. In his possession was found the boat ticket from Melbourne to England, a Commonwealth Bank “pay in” slip for £3, and a cheque book, the blocks of which showed that eight cheques had been drawn and paid to various firms in Melbourne. When interviewed by Detective H. Trotter, it is alleged, Cook said it was urgently necessary for him to proceed to Condon immediately, as lie had the prospect of being made High Commissioner for Australia in England. But the Adelaide police, evidently, were convinced that the High Commissioner’s job was “cut and dried” for Sir Joseph Cook. They held James Cook in custody, and charged him with having insufficient means of support. (The sum total of his cash amounted to 5s 2sd). Cook was brought before the Port Adelaide Police Court, and, having pleaded not guilty to the charge, lie was remanded to enable enquiries concerning him to lie made in Melbourne.