BEBBY GOES TO GAOL

NZ Truth, Issue 1212, 21 February 1929, Page 2

BEBBY GOES TO GAOL

Fifty-pound Note and Suitcase For Night's Shake -down HIS FOCKET-BOOK CLEANED OUT (From "N.Z. Truth V Special Dunedin Representative). Fifty pounds for th« privilege of sleeping all night on a suit-case ! That is what it cost a Dunedin man when , *he was guided to a house m Clark Street.

FORTUNATELY, the £50 has been j restored to the owner, but only j after a jury had found Hume Mather Beeby, a bearded old man, guilty of stealing the amount. Before Mr. Justice MacGregor at the Dunedin Supreme Court, John Mei:ry, a middle-aged laborer, told what he could remember of the night of January 15. For Merry, it was an embarrassing story. Mr. F. Adams prosecuted for the Crown, and Mr. C. J. L. White watched Beeby's interests. •According to Merry he was well m funds — about £70— when he met a woman m the street about 6 p.m. The pair went along to the woman's home m Clark Street. ;

So far as he could remember, there were three others at the house — -two women and Beeby, the accused.

In the form of payments by Merry, money to the total of . £1/7/6 changed hands; 25/- of which was for a room, and 2/6 given •to Beeby to purchase some liquor. "After that I do not remember much," said Merry, f'l woke up about 6.30 the next morning. I Yfas not m a bed, but slept on a suit-case. Beeby was m a bed alongside me. I looked for my money, and found my pocket-book ha^ been cleaned up." Subsequently, witness informed the police, and detectives returned with him to the locality. Mr. White: Do you mean to say you

slept on a suit-case for twelve hours? — Yes. And is that what you paid £1 for?— Too right, that's what I paid for. Witness could not remember Avhether he had parted up with more money after the first transaction, but he knew he had not handled a £50 note which was m his possession and kept m a separate compartiiient of his wallet. Detective Jenvey and Constable Johnston gave evidence of having retrieved a £50 note which had been passed over the bar of the Metropolitan Hotel by Beeby a short time before their visit. When the officers first accosted ■ Beeby, he said he 1 got the note from the Public Trustee dn the nature of a remittance from Home. Later, at

, ' the detective office, he stated that -Merry had given him the note to go out and purchase a bottle of whisky. The police were aware that Beeby did get some small money drafts from England. Describing his client as "a silly, halfdeaf old fool," counsel stressed the legal point of "color of right" of possession. Had the man stolen the money it was only feasible to assume that he would exercise caution and concealment after purloining the note; whereas, he had openly traded the note at an hotel-bar which he frequented and where he was well-known. After a retirement of 15 minutes, the jury found the old man guilty. He was sentenced to three months 1 gaol.

Three Months