LIGHT FINGERS

NZ Truth, Issue 1141, 13 October 1927, Page 3

LIGHT FINGERS

Irresistible Impulse Only A Bogey

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Christchurch Rep.) What makes Annie Ryan shoplift? If not bounteously supplied with a share of this world's good things, she is certainly comfortably off. She is middle-aged, attractively dressed, and not by any means the possessor of features that would tell the student of physiognomy that she does lightfingered things- m shops. YET she has stolen things from shops before. It was thought that the last time she descended to the forbidden fruit of a city emporium and took thereof, would convince her that it paid to buy what she wanted or go without. The serpent of desire tempted her and she did eat. But according to Magistrate Mosley, of Christchurch, there is no excuse m cases Uke this. Lawyer M. J. Burns, who appeared for Mrs. Ryan when she was charged with theft the other day, painted a rather sad picture of a woman m moderately good circumstances, drawing £4 10s. a week and thus able to afford all she wanted, living m her own house with a step-daughter and living a life of utter respectability. She had come to a certain period m life when certain acts were scarcely traceable to consistently good health. As a matter of fact, it was purely an "irresistible impulse." Magistrate Mosley then handed a straight tip to she who would purloin from shops. There was positively no excuse for cases like this, said his worship. The acts were deliberate and the practice 'must be put down for all time. The woman had sufficient to live on. "Counsel has attributed this lapse mainly to an 'irresistible impulse'," continued his worship with a nod of the head. "But really there is no such thing, m a case, like this, of an impulse being irresistible. "Impulse which leads to these unlawful things must be curbed. "Of course, the 'irresistible impulse' is a catch-phrase used a great deal m courts m matters like these. . . . "There is only one punishment m a matter like this. . . She was before the court only seven or eight months ago for the same class of offence. "She will be sentenced to seven days' imprisonment with hard labor,"