MANIPULATING MAY.

NZ Truth, Issue 70, 20 October 1906, Page 3

MANIPULATING MAY.

She Was a Sunday School Saint. Now She is a Sneak Thief. A Gentle Shepherd Testifies. From New Zealand— Who is the Lady ? (Prom Sydney "Truth,")' ' Miss Jane Jeffries, oi 1-1 Myrtle- i street, had a very unpleasant ex- j perience with Miss May Mason, cs ; young woman, described as a pianist, j and a native of New Zealand. Miss : Mason, dressed m mourning, appeared before Mr Payton, 5.M.,. at the Central Police Court, on Tuesday morning, charged with stealing from Miss Jeffries the following articles:— Two gold rings, two gold brooches a jacket, . three petticoats, . two blouses, a skirt, a fur boa, valued at £12, together with the sum of £2 13s. The evidence showed that ' MISS MASON TOOK A ROOM with Miss Jeffries, that m this room Miss Jeffries left, padlocked, a box containing the articles and money stolen, and that she missed everything the day after Miss Mason took possession of the room. Miss Mason, when spoken to by the police, complained that someone had stolen some articles of hers. Indeed, May had even made a complaint to Miss Jeffries on this score, and assumed an air of great indignation at losing her goods, before the latter had discovered that her own things had been taken. Then, later on, when Miss Mason saw that her story to the police was setting a little tangled, she admitted having manipulated the lock and appropriated the articles which she was tlien charged with stealing. Miss Mason was a blob of sobs pretty well throughout the whole court proceedings. There was more sympathy, however, with bar mother, who was also m court, m deep mourning and who— aged, frail, and m manifestly poor health—presented a GENUINELY SORROWFUL FIGURE. 'The mother stated that she was living m a cottage at Botany, that the girl's father had been dead 12 months, and that the girl- herself had left home only a week ago. She had' certainly never been m trouble before and witness could not at all account for the 'slip she had made m the present case, "I have not got any friends," was the mother's pitiful reply, when Mr Payten, with a view to giving May a chance, suggested dealing with her as a first offender.. ] "The reverend gentleman there," remarked Senior-sergeant Dayis, at this stage, "would, I believ e> also like to say a word with regard to the girl." The Shepherd thus indicated, whose clothes eloquently proclaimed the fact that his sheep were a very backward lot m coming forward whenever the collection plate I was passed round, then stepped into the witness-box. He remarked, with the air of dignity which only J A POOR, STARVED PREACHER could affect, that he was "the Curate-in-charge of the Anglican Church at Tempe"— which prompts "Truth" to remark, "Shame on the Anglicans of Tempe for their evidently niggardly treatment of the poor pastor," for if a minister is worth having at all, heis certaihl^ worth , keeping decently and decorously. The reverend gentleman, it seems, had known Miss Mason for a lone time. Six or seven years ago she belonged to his church and Sunday-school. She used to teach the piano, and he was m the habit of recommending pupils to her. Her oharacter, he added, was excellent. Senior-ser-ireant Davis said thatso far as he knew it was Miss Masr on's first offence. One thing tie Ijhoucht worth mentioning, however, was this— that Miss Mason had talwa a room at 72 City-road, and was supposed to be living there (m f?.e^, was living there) at the time shii -pretended to live with Miss Jeffi^js. Moreover, . DIFFERENT SUMS OF MONEY WERE MVSSED at the house in^C'ity-road while Miss Mason was $>:&*. With the exception of the- money taken from Miss Jeffries-;- a s well as some, of the jewe^"^'i amounting m all— the money i»Ti'ii the jewellery— to the sum of £5 3s, the articles had been recovered. Mr Payten sentenced Miss Mason to four months' imprisonment, the sentence to be suspended upon her entering into sureties— herself m £5, and one surety of the same amountto be of good behavior for twelve months. He also ordered her to pay I the sum of £5 3s, the loss sustained Lv Miss Jeffries. Here Miss Mason burst into tears, saying that she [hadn't taken anything beyond what she had already given back to the police. Senior-sergeant Davis, m refusing to accept Miss Mason's assurance/tin this point, remarked that Miss Jeffries was by no means m ?Tood circumstances, and that she found it hard enough to get on without having to forfeit the sum for which the order had been made. The senior-sere-aant also intimated that Miss Mason was NOT THE GIRL'S PROPER NAME, and at his request Mr. Payten directed that she be retained m custody for two hours for the purpose of identification. So Miss Mason, m getting off without the public disclosure of her name and on such iip-ht sureties, must consider herself very lucky indeed, and 'tis to be hoped she will show her appreciation of this fact by steering clear *m future of the evil track along which she had undoubtedly started to travel.