WINE AND WOMEN.

NZ Truth, Issue 75, 24 November 1906, Page 4

WINE AND WOMEN.

WALTER DURKINS WILD TIME.

Giddy Auckland Girls Disgrace Their Parents,

Pudding-head Colonial-experiencer Loses His Oof.

All last week Fullers' biograph threw on the sheet a set of moving pictures entitled "Ephemeral Wealth." It showed a dead-beat picking up the well-lined wallet of a swell, and for a brief space that dead-beat made things hum. He experienced the race-course heart palpitation. He lingered lovingly and longingly m the arms of fair and fast females ; from their fair, jewelled hands he lapped champagne and finally he finished dead-drunk m the gutter, to be picked up and kicked headlong m a lock-up cell. With one or two exceptions that picture, of course a fake, might well be borrowed to illustrate the day-out that young Walter Durkin, a crook from Australia, had on October 18 last, .on the money filched J?y him from a bank-note bulging po.cket-book, the property of one William Sherwood Motley, a young. Englishman of indepen.d'&nt means out m the "cawlinies" for experience, dontoherknow.

It -was for niching £160, comprised of eight £20 ilotefc that Wally monopolised the Criminal Court dock on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning last, and truth to tell Wally 's fame 'had preceded his appearance and consequently the dashing young buck attracted a lot of attention. Wally is evidently one of those individuals who cannot Stand corn. Soft and flat as Morley is, it is doubtful whether Wally is not a bigger flat. Mr Wilford, who defended, and made use of every point, m Wally 's favor, and, sad to relate, they were not many, no doubt told a solid truth when addressing the jury he averred that after all' it was only the different means employed m the spending as the boodle was bound to go fast and furious. . . . «

F^om the i -Grown point of view it was a perfect, simple, plain case ; one, Crown Prosecutor Myers .assured the jury, admitting of no defence, From a poverty-stricken bar bummer Durlrin effected a metamorphasis m 24 hours. On October 17. without a feather to fly with, Durkin cadged a >drink from a ibar-tender m, the Em-r pire Hotel, assuring' : him. that he was broke. On th^ mormns of October 18 Wally is still found bumming m the ; Empire bar. He scored two drinks, having fallen m with some "friends," .and fearing that he might be asked to make a good fellow of himself, he swore himself blind that he had not a stiver. The "friends" hte had fallen yinv m with were the wealthy young Englishman, Morley, Edpar F. Toby, an optician, and John Johnson, a saddler In the bar the English flat flashed a roll of notes. He- swore that m his pocket-book he had. 12 £20 notes, while m his hip pocket he had. £1 notes galore. The proposed purchase of a diamond ring for £20 caused Morley to flash his roll. The owner of the ring was only joking, and the £20 note went back to the other 11 m the pocket-book, which Morley carried m his inside pocket. Walter must have seen those notes and he hung on like a leech, Billiards, £1 a game, was proposed between the Englishman who oarried over £^300 on his person, an open invitation as it were, "to come and rob 1 me/,' 1 and, uninvited, Durkin accomparfied the . billiardists to Wise's room m Willis-street, and so as to make himself the 1 more welcome and a more sociable companion proposed to mark the game. The wealthy young Englishman took off his .coat and hung it near the scoring; board. After going a message for. some beer, Walter got hungry, so' he said, and left, When the cues were cut up, Toby discovered that Morley's pock-et-book was m the wrone pocket. It was m a side-pocket, and the wealthy young Englishman for irot his "haw"

and straight away announced that he had been robbed. Eight of the 12 £20 notes had srone. This was .indeed an experience the experience-seeking wealthy young Englishman had not bargained for.

The same afternoon Walter bad come into a fortune, so he told his lady friends, and to a barmaid at the Masonic Hotel , /%. confidently whispered that he haidt'iSjPn a Tattersail's sweep. The drinfe-Cfids;er >f the previous day had/been uansiiffured into a bloated plutocrat. If was at the Masonic that he started m to smash £20 notes. Wallv/ lived m Percival-street a.ntt one of 'his fellowboarders, was Annie Maud Sayles, who, thoueh ma/ried. is .hot particular. She is si rhp.rminn- amiable voun"- person and had previously introduced Wally to two of her inti-

mate female' friends. Clara Hargreaves and Margaret McNeill. It was rather a curious coincidence that at the moment Annie and Wally walked into the Masonic, Clara and Margaret should also be there, contented with having a glass oi stout each. Flinging down a £20 flimsy, Durkin m a lordly wav called for "■cham" and a big bottle of it too. This was duly dispensed and drank, and up went the quartette to the White Swan where another big bottle was ordered and another £20 note was smashed. To the Imperial they next repaired and another big bottle was swamped and another £2& note changed hands. "It was a 7->eaoherino of a drunk." The ladies were fairly loaded with' fizz, what they couldn't drink they carried m their arms, and Walter* dear Walter paid for it all. Crown Prosecutor • Myers wanted to make sure on this . point, and so questioned the ador- ' able Annie, and she withered him with her answer, "you wouldn't ex-, pect the ladies to pay for it." Crown Prosecutor Myers said hs did not expect they would. For his untold wealth Durkin had assured ths ladies that he had come into a few thousands, and two of the ladies held that he "only said it m a joke " and as they had not mad 3 that remark m the Police Court, the Crown Prosecutor elicited from them the fact that they had on the previous day. honored dear. Walter with a visit at the gaol. Prior to the. "trouble," as one of the ladies called) it, Clara and Margaret had only known him a couple of days, and the fact of their visit to the gaol drew a surprised remark from *he Chief Justice.

Well laden with wine the party broke no somewhere or other, where they all .erot to was not made very clear. It had been a glorious day for them all ; but it had an inglorious ending for Walter., Late that, night the 'tecs got on his 'track and located him at his boarding-house, arsd a third explanation for the money m his possession, amounting to nearly £70. was ■ forthcoming to Detective Cassells. This time Walter averred that he had worked for it. and to five color to his story said that the previous night he had cashed a £10 note at the Royals A barman from this hotel contradicted this, story. Walter told a Ion" rigmarole, , but only got deeper m the mire- Furthermore, be seemed to have been very careless with his money. as, a £20 note was picked up m the I>a.ck-T«v4 of the place where he lived, ?nd this note, the wealthy young Englishman

staid, was very much like one he had: once owned. Walter was dnlv locked up and on Wednesday last he faced ■.Fudge and jury right through wearing! an impudent look,' narticularly when his gay female friends, who had, when trouble loomed on the horizon, cleared off to Auckland, but- wetfe yanked back on summonses, sfepped on to the witness stand to tell of that <?av afternoon.

Mr Wilford had not much defence to set up, but he thought that it was not for the accused to prove where he, got his money from, but. for the Crown .to prove that th« money was tlie EnglaMerV and this, he contended, the Crown had failed to prove.

In summing the case up to th» jur^ the Chief Justice did not give Duirkin the faintest hope. 6f leaving the dock a free man. There coulijj not be any doubt, the judge impress^ ed on the twelve Rood men and truey that Morley had had a considerably sum gf money on him, and the fact \. that it was m £20 notes, taken to-'i gether with the- fact that Durkin had \ kept- on cashing .£2O notes m tho various hotels was very suggestive.

The jury, after a very short retirement, found Durkin guilty, a.n& he was remanded for' sentence till Friday.

I When brought up for sentence: yesterday Walter had a woe-begone apjpearanoe, but when asked whether h« i had anything to say Against sentence, t j he brightened up considerably and said that he had been three years m the -colony and had worked hard and honestly "during those years. He instanced that he had been engaged with one firm, as collector and during the twelve months he had been working he was never once short a. penny. He said m addition that he had never been convicted of crime. The police report before. His Honor showed that .Durkin, though never convicted was a reputed lioiise-foreak-er and thief, and had been tried several times. Durkin : Only once, and I was found not guilty. His- Honor : The Melbourne police report' you as being a bad character. Durkin : I was charged with larceny and acouitted. , His Honor- : Furthermore, you have been the associate of thieves and prostitutes and other bad characters. Dur,kin: I never lived with a woman of bad repute m my life.' His Honor : I shall deal leniently, with voi!, this being your first offenoi. You are" sentenced to 18 months' im« prisoninent.