JOHN BLACK'S TRIAL.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1032, 9 May 1883, Page 2

JOHN BLACK'S TRIAL.

“ NOT GUILTY.”

As mentioned by telegraph, the trial of John Black commenced on Monday morning at the Supreme Court at New Plymouth ; Mr Barton for the Council, and Mr Samuel for prisoner. The following evidence was taken :

Edward C Horner deposed : I am Clerk, Treasurer, and Collector to the Patea County Council. I produce the County Council minute-book. There is a resolution there of the 6th February, 1877, appointing the prisoner Clerk, Collector, and Treasurer to the Council ; also appointing the Bank of New Zealand as bankers for the Council. I produce the cash-book for the County Council. . It is in Mr Black’s handwriting previous to the 30th September, 1882. In July, 1882, there is no entry in the cash-book of money received by Mr Gowland. When money is received the ordinary course is to enter it at once in the cash-book, and that was the, course usually adopted by the prisoner. In the month of June, 1882, there is no acknowledgment of money received from Mr Gallagher, or up to the 30th September. I produce the slaughter-house license book and pedlar’s license book. It is in Mr Black’s handwriting, except those in my own handwriting. There is no entry in that book for a slaughter-house license to Mr Gowland for the year 1882. It should have been entered in that book. I produce the publicans’ license book. It is supposed to contain the blocks of the licenses issued. There are eight licenses—all apparently have been used. All the blocks are filled in with the exception of one. Amongst those blocks there is none for Mr Gallagher, but in the block which is only marked in pencil it is stated to bo for the Manutahi Hotel. Tho blocks are numbered. I produce Mr Black’s resignation of office. It is dated the 2nd October, 1882, and stated that owing to severe ill-health he had nob been able to discharge his duties properly. There is an entry in the cash book as follows: firewood, £13." Moneys are paid by cheque from tho County Council, and moneys received are supposed to be deposited in tho Bank within ton days’ from tho date of receipt. Tho form produced is one of tho County Council voucher forms. It purports to contain tho account of J Hansen, for £l3 for firewood, and receipt of payment for tho same, without any date. Cross-examined : There is no other book that I can find giving particulars of payment of licenses except the cash book. I have seen a rough memorandum book of moneys received by Mr Black, but it was not entered up lately -at all nor as far as I recollect that* for 18 months before Mr Black resigned. I have been repeatedly asked by tho prisoner about a memorandum book, but I could not find it. I searched the office for it. Tho County Engineer was in charge after Mr Black resigned his office. After I took charge tho office was used for the temporary confinement of a lunatic. I did not occupy the room with the lunatic. I removed all the books and papers that I considered of value before the lunatic occupied tho room. This was before my attention was drawn t° the fact

of the memorandum book being missing; I had not searched for*the memorandum book before the lunatic was in the office.I do not remember finding ameraorandum book with two leaves out of it. According to the Cash Book, there are no entries of money received from April 21st to May, 3rd ; and from May 3rd to September 11th there are no entries of money received. In fact May is entered in one place after September. It apparently was not the custom of Mr Black to enter the money in the Cash Book as he received it. His Honor : Surely, Mr Samuel, you do not mean to say that because the accused failed,to perform his duties properly, that therefore he is not guilty of larceny ?

Mr Samuel : Oh, dear me, no, j’our Honor, but I wish to show that the accused did not attempt to cover any act of embezzlement by any punctual mode of making entries in his cash-book, but on the contrary has allowed his books to get muddled.

His Honor: I think that to allow his books to get muddled would be a likely way of covering his deficiencies. Mr Samuel : One may think so ; but fortunately, your Honor, most things in this world are capable of being differently viewed.

Cross-examination resumed ; I have examined the bank book, and do not find that any cheque appears to have been issued to pay Mr Hansen £l3 for fire wood. Mr Black states he paid it without a cheque. I noticed that several items have been paid by one cheque, so that Mr Black has apparently been in the habit of paying some of the accounts in money, and not by cheque. It appears T;o have been his custom to leave his cash-book not made up until the end of the half-year. The sum of £SO from Mr Haraerton was paid into the County account. At the time of Mr Black’s resignation there appears to have been £1 13s cash in the safe. I believe there were also certain cheques found in the safe after Mr Black resigned ; that has also been paid into the County account. A cheque drawn a year before was found in the office and paid into the Bank a year after it was drawn, and it was honoured. It would appear that £B3 8s 6d had been found in the office after his resignation, and it has been paid into the Bank. Mr Black ceased to be Treasurer in March, 1882, but be still continued to act as such. His salary was reduced from £250 to £BO a year. The copy of a letter (produced) is accompanied by a statement calling upon the prisoner’s sureties to account to the Council for £166 11s 4d, total deficiencies of the prisoner to date. Mr Barton objected to the document being received as evidence, as it was irrelevant, and the objection was sustained. Cross-examination resumed : I have occasionally found errors in the entries, wrong names being entered against receipts. The account (produced) for £3 7s 6d from Arrait and Co, for advertising, has been paid, but apparently not out of the County funds, but from a private -source. There are two other accounts, one £1 “is,' and <>n» 6s_paid in behalf of the Count}”, and which have~not been charged against the County’s account. There are several others in the same way, showing that the prisoner had paid these accounts, not by cheque, but by money, and those accounts have not been charged against the County’s Bank account. There are no entries for petty cash disbursements in the cash book, and if the prisoner paid away any such money it has apparently been from cash not accounted for. Besides the County Fund Account in the Bank of New Zealand, there is, I believe, a “ County Suspense Account,” and I cannot find out to whom the money belongs. It is paid into the Bank by the County Chairman and Treasurer. I find in the cash book an entry in 1882, “ cash forward, £25 11s,” which appears to have been a mistake, and the person who made it has apparently received it and neglected to pay it into the Bank. The Court adjourned to 2 p.m., and, on resuming, William Gallagher deposed : I am a publican, and keep the Manutahi Hotel. I took out a license for my hotel for the year 1882. The license produced is the same, and shows that I paid to Mr Black £25 for the license. I received the license from the prisoner. The cheque was drawn on the Bank of New South Wales. The cheque produced is the same. Peter Govvland, butcher, Patea, desposed that ho had taken out a slaughter-house license in 1881, and received it in 1882. He made payment for it by giving Mr Black a cheque on the Bank of New South Wales. No receipt was given, but Mr Black promised to give one at a subsequent time. When asked for it, he made the excuse that he did not remember having been paid the money. Witness had the circumstance of paying the money called to his mind, because Mr Black called at his shop to enquire if he could make a certain number of cards. Cross-examined : Witness’s first license expired in December, 1882, and be was seven months late in renewing it. Robert C. Tennent, manager of the Bank of New South Wales, Patea, deposed that Mr Gallagher kept an account at his bank. The cheque produced of Mr Gallagher’s was cashed by Mr Hansen. Mr Gowland kept an account at the bank, and the cheque produced, for £5, was cashed at the bank. , Gross-examined : Was well acquainted with prisoner. When first he knew him, he was of very temperate habits, but bad lately been intemperate. George Norman, manager of Bank of Australasia, Patea, stated that Gowland’s cheque (produced) for £6 had been paid into the hands of Samuel Taplin, a customer.

.Thomas Eogers Kells, an assistant to S Taplin, grocer, Patea, said accused was a customer of the shop, and Mrs Black paid an account to witness by a cheque for £5. He believed it was the cheque produced, but could not swear to it.

Kobert Macalister, Provincial District Auditor: He bad examined the Patea County Council accounts in September last, when balance sheets were handed to him by Mr Black. In the balance sheet for 30th September, 1882, there did not appear to have been any fees received for slaughter-house licenses. In answer to enquiries, accused said he had received no fees from slaughterhouses. Witness asked him why they were in arrear, and he said they bad not yet been collected. He asked him if there were any other moneys received beyond those shown in the book, and he said there were none. He asked him about the license for the Manutahi Hotel, and he said he had not received any. He subsequently stated that he would make enquiries respecting that £25. Previous to this witness had the license form book, and noticed that the first block was missing, and prisoner, on being asked what had become of it, said it was dirty and he bad destroyed it. None of the other blocks answered to Gallagher’s license. In the cash book for September be saw a disbursement for £l3 to J. Hansen, firewood to the Hospital. Mr Black explained, in connection with the payment of this that it had been made by Mrs Black for the amount, and he wished to re-imburse him-

self. On asking Mr Black to produce what money ho had in hand, he said tie had £l4 for rates not paid into the bank. Witness addressed a number of written queries respecting the account, asking why there was no record of receipts for slaughterhouses, and accused gave as an excuse that the item had been overlooked. A series of memos, between witness and accused was put in, and letters from G. D. Harrierton, who explained that owing to illness prisoner could not attend the office.

Cross-examined : Prisoner understood accounts perfectly well. I searched the safe. The office itself was in a state of confusion, all the papers were lying about in every direction. I would not have passed Mr Black’s accounts cven.if he had paid in the £SO. Re-examined : There was a passive obstruction on !ho part of the prisoner to my examining his accounts'. This closed the case for the prosecution.

Mr Samuel said he would not call any evidence for the defence, but immediately addressed the jury. Mr Barton followed, and at 6 p.ra. the judge summed up. The jury retired at half-past 6, and at a quarter to 8 o’clock returned with a verdict of not guilty.