WANGANUI SUPREME COURT.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 37, 3 May 1879, Page 2

WANGANUI SUPREME COURT.

TauasDAYf Ist May, 1879. 'A )A y^ioaoEßY. - Y William.fMonkVas charged that he .did, . ton the sth day«j of December, 1878, at g?almerstdhi' fojrge and utter, a cheque for ||?4 by adding^, "teen" after the word ?fpur,a^EUttmg a figure of " i .? before the figure 4, thereby, making the receipt of the value of £14, instead of £4.. The prisoner pleaded " not guilty," and A. was. defended by Mr. Hutchison. The following was the jury : Stuart Manson (foreman)', William Raihbpw, J.?Atkiiw, J.. Armstrong, J??. Robinapn, J. 15. Jertson, Robert McLean,. yVP|.'' ,-larldir' Rpbinsdn," Samuel Stoll, William Ibbert,-A. ;Eiliaeiv Simon Richards. „: . ' ■'...' ' Y '<■■ Mr. Fitiherbert, the Crown- ,pro»epU^>r,> briefly stated the piicumstences, and called. Alfred; Stace* who deposed: I,am,a ; farmer, residing at Fitzherbert, near f Palmerr ''* ston. In the year 1873 I ; waa in: partner-^ Bhjpywith my brother, Thomas Steee. T I* knew the prisoner 'tod. Had some bushiest dealings with him, as he was then butchering. . I sold him seme^beef. T received' £-i" from him on the 14th of October, 1873. That sum was on account of what he owed; the firm. y When I received the.J&i. l -gave;. him i a receipt, and that now produced is the; same," but- it has, since been, altered. ;f?Ar " teen.",, baa beeny&dij^to^^ and a figure of 1 has, been p^tte^ making, it into 14. I wrrote the body of the •receipt but withoutthe alteration. The £4 was paid by a cheque • for that amount drawn by Mr. PeterJtfanson. -Whe_? t,received. it> I was paid no, cash, money s nor money's-worth.. The additions to the receipt are not in my handwriting, and I did not H authorise the prisoner, or any person, ' to make the' alteration. I never 'saw the . receipt from the time I gave 'it'-fo^Mbrilc until I saw'it on the occasion of a "civil action in the Resident' Magistrate's Court' on the : sth of December last'.- He had been sued; by ! my brotheryto; whom I had eeld the, book, debts, and the altered receipt' was handed _vagain9t it. '•'■'■ r- .'■'.-. ',' ■'-,'■ .," y':' j?At; this stage. .of ' the ■' proceedings, Mri Baker, the clerk" of the Pahuerstoh 'Police' Court, ywas 'put into the .bpx.to prove the plaint-book in which the record of the civil cose had been entered.] Alfred Stace's examination continued : My brother, tod myself both-kept the books. At the hearing of the case prisoner was de* fended by Mr. Samuels. The receipt was prbduced bv Mr. Samuels for the 'defence;. It was then m the. same condition as it' is. how, as far as value is considered. Prisoner swore that the receipt had not been tampered with^ that' it had Been put upon a file ; and he ' said " that he- -bad given me, when he got the receipt, the £4 cheque and two' £5 notes. lam quite sure I never received the cash mentioned/ 1 ! noticed'thealteration o'n the receipt the rudiment it was: handed to .me, and I gave evidence in Court to thSt effect. theactipn--^ notwithstanding the production of the re-ceipts-was that my brother got a Terdicty-Cross-exa_amed; by ;Mrr Hutchison v I think prisoner had some ' small transactions prior' to those fpr' which' the; receipt! had been, given.. I had given him credit beforethat time, ■ but I* did not.book.them, as h© paid, me, a few. days afterwards, and I did not' give ' Kim' rebeipts, '"Prior -to 'that'; he paid us £10 on account ; the money was paid to „_iy brotherr lam quite certain I dicl not,' sign any receipt' before the;ctyte of thU^ which caused the prosecution^ The handwriting onthe e^imt marked E is not mine, it has been written by.nay. .brother Thpmas Walter.. The money for which the leeeiptwas /given was v paid jn Monk's house £ in Palmorston. It was .in tbe'evehing, after" I left bff work," and'T believe' it > wasy-dark,: as it was- near, nine o'clock. WKen I.asked fpr the money," he said he could paly pay me £4. He gaoce me pen, ink', and paper, and; h» told*' me h» wotdd give. ;me?dß^. for .which I wrote the receipt,^ he: furnishing me with a stamp. The prisoner had been in the Manawatu for , about a year before the transaction, bukhe ■"bleared bi-fc -shortly sifteswards, and I*. did not get the balance,. of my account ifrom him'. .1 sold . my.book debts to my brother about two yearsa'go. The book debts went with ptK-Tj property, ,s.uch as cattle, sheep, &o. 1 did not ieU a person, siiicethi sitting of the Court [sold my share of the book "debts, for iJL' - : My brother was. not married in 1 a'hbuse' atall; lw was mar--.ried iri'atchufoh.i ' >'jy^ ; ;■;<?' r 7 "' .Thpxpas Walter Slice exasained i'Tfoa a farmer, J re3iding near ->alme*Bton. :la 1873 I wast in partnership .y with, .mybrotheiti Alfred Stace. . ; .I-knew. / the accused, to whom, I sold cattle to the amount bf £17 16e.-4d.» the price being fixed by weight. I brought to action against him at the R.MI €*>urt* Palmerston, for the reWvery 'of the money,. ./The ,.jfi4 .^b^ t which credit is giten was not paid to me. ;Sefbre the cue came on -.1 diet the prispneis ',' wh*n n he said r it was hard to -Bummon him, as if I had sent him. .* proper bill h^e would have paid niey as ■' he Tiad paid me mere mphey than I had r given him? credit for. The -receipt was produced in the 'Police !Court, which in my Brother's handwriting;: .Only part has been written by my jbrottierV I never reesived any money bevond the £4,nor ; did I author rise any person to write reeeipts, unless my .brpther. I first knew of the discrepancy ' betwlsen ther £4 and £14 through tbe accused's solicitor, who put; in '.-.'a set-pif t fpr£lo. In Cpiirt prisoner said the receipt had been written by *ny brother for £14.- --'■ CrossWxan-inedby Mr. Hntehison : When I met priebner, a few days before th'eheari'ng' of the case, he said he would show j» in' Court that Ihad not giyto him'ißufficienfc; credit^ I remember toy counsel that* he expected . a tampered ireceipb'tb; be 'produbed., I presume he drew.'his; inference, ■frbra t^e sefc-pf-vv I hid knwn Nothing afeaipst the prisoner preripnslyi.'*; Aftey ha left Ifheardrthat he : was in HawkeVßay'. .. ; - . ; Tlie', evidence bf i WiU» m : Sydittgr^Staite^ .harrwter, and,' John Dungan, jotirntliek, .was. to tJie. effect %a| r tbey hSd( heard: the prU soner swear itYth'e Police Court, -Pjalmer* ston, that hp, had p>id« Alfred Stace £14 5 thtt-the receipt -was given.fer r that r amoiyit ; andtnatyas^far as he knew, it had never heenitampeyed'Tnith. ■• y ' *3_tr.^^llutcl-i-bh _aade a long and ingrt-ious defence for the prisener, and after a short, deliberation the jury returned a verdict ef euilty.'?; '■ ? ;' r ;