A CHARGE OF CONSPIRACY.

NZ Truth, Issue 114, 24 August 1907, Page 6

A CHARGE OF CONSPIRACY.

BROSNAHAN AND CROSSEY ACQUITTED. An atmosphere of booze surrounded the case against Patrick Francis Brosnahan and Alfred Crossey, charged with conspiracy to defraud four trusting yo'mg men named Wallace, ■ IViarfcin', Elliot, and Follet, who r, r ere sent away to a job m Palmerston that wasn't there. Whiskey obscured the vision of McCauley, the V.'aipukc.rau contractor who was supposed to have given an order for men, and McCurdy, his partner, was positive thnfc the railing with Brosnahau and Crossey took place m .the Pier Hotel m the afternoon, whereas all other witness:* swqrc it was m the morning : so that a cloud of uncertainty, varied by a shout of drinks all round, enveloped, the proceedings. When some of the witnesses called a .t Sage and Cos. Labor Agenc^ Brosnahan bad hop leaves m his hair, and during the sitting, of the Supreme Court the inter i rent, but misguided, youne: man gave visual evidence of his Bacchanalian: tendencies. The Court assembled after lunch on Wednesday, when Brosnahan was found to be missing. The distracted person who had bailed him out located him m the police cells, where he had been deposited) by the police for overindulgence, and a cold shower bath had to 'be used to bring the reckless person to something approaching consciousness. Brosnahan was run hurriedly along to . the Magistrate's Court on Thursday morning and fincdi 10s, then whipped back to the criminal tribunal to be finished off there. Two fresh witnesses, Pritchard and Royal, narrated how they -h a d heen sent to the wilds of Wanganui after a bushfelling job, and a representative of Lewis and Co., land agents, Wanffanui, testified that he had not ordered wages men, but persons willing to take a felling contract, and that Sage and Co. had RECKLESSLY SENT 'ALONG PERSONS who demanded wages. The correspondence between the two firms, however, was not quite convincing. The early correspondence mentioned wages men, and Justice Cooper remarked that this documentary evidence as a whole was open to the misconception that tils men had been sent to Wanganui for a wages job. The testimony of the two men, however, identified Crossey with the registry office business as a menrher of Sage and Co. Barristers Luckde and Kirkcaldie made the most of the opportunities for the prisoners, and Crown Prose-., cutor Myers made a ■ strong representation of culpability m a weak case submerged m alcohol, and things were so uncertain that the jury were observed to look with anxiety to Judge Cooper for direction. His Honor remarked that the evidence certainly identified Crossey with the business, but the real issue lay m the question whether the registry office fees were obtained under false pretences. In the opinion of His Honon! the facts on this point were most inconclusive. The jury were absent for twenty minutes, and) returned with a verdict of "Not guilty.'-'