THEFT OF MONEY ORDERS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1019, 20 July 1911, Page 3

THEFT OF MONEY ORDERS.

At the local police court this morning, before Messrs Runnier and Stiles J’s.P., David Lauder was charged on the information of the police, with the theft, on July 19th, of two post office orders to the value of £4 ns 2d, the property of the New Zealand Government.

Constable Woods conducted the case on behalf ot the police. Upon being asked whether he pleaded guilty or not guilty, the accused said “I don’t know how I came to get them. I won’t say I stole them.”

This was taken as a plea of not guilty. For the prosecution the police called James W. Furrie, telegraphist at local post office, who slated that at about 2.25 o'clock on Wednesday afternoon he placed two money orders on a file on the counter. A little later the accused came iu to send a telegram. Witness asked him to wait a moment as he had to answer the wire, and left him standing at the counter. While he (witness) was engaged at the instrument Mr Hodgson, the counter clerk, came in and he told him Lauder was waiting to send a telegram. Mr Hodgson attended to him and accused went out. Mr Hodgson then asked witness where the money ouims were, and it was then found tlut they had been removed from the file. The police were communicated with, and Lander was subsequently arrested and the orders found iu his possession.

In reply to a question by the accused witness said the orders would be of no use to him as he would not be able to cash them. Constable Woods in answer to the Bench said that accused, when arrested, was under the influence of liquor. ■ The accused said that he had the orders in his possession, but did not know how he got them. He asked for leniency. His plea was therefore altered to one of guilty. The police reported that Lauder had only been out of the Palmerston gaol for about a week, having served a short term there for theft ; he had also been convicted of theft in Wellington recently. Accused was convicted and sentenced to one month’s imprisonment in Palmerston prison.