FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR £1602

Southland Times, Issue 24887, 29 October 1942, Page 2

FAILURE TO ACCOUNT FOR £1602

Former Public Servant

Nineteen charges of failing to account for sums of money totalling £1602 and of fraudulently converting them to his own use were admitted by George Ernest Ironside, a former field supervisor on the staff of the Native Department in Wanganui, when he appeared before Mr J. H. Salmon, S.M. The offences were committed between July 1930 and January 1942. The evidence showed that accused

received a salary of £470 a year and had been with the department since 1929, He attended to estates administered by the Native Trustee and various field activities relating to estates in the district which extended from Patea to Wanganui. R. L. Jellicoe, chief clerk of the Native Department, Wellington, said accused’s reports on many properties were satisfactory and helpful to the department. He dealt mostly with Maoris who regarded him as a controller and looked to him for advances until they received their money. Thousands of cheques, the proceeds of sales of stock, and so on, were paid to the department. Witness could not say that many

of these cheques were made payable to accused, but it was possible. Witness could not recall any occasion when accused was taken to task on account of cheques being made out to him. L. J. Brooker, registrar of the Native Land Court in the Aotea district, said there was no reason why cheques should be made payable to accused. In a statement to the police, the accused, admitting the charges, said h& made many advances on account of thJ department and for its convenience mostly to farm employees and for farfl maintenance and improvements. He garded part of the money referred™ in the charges as reimbursement. He was committed for sentence,