“STORM IN TEACUP”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 908, 27 February 1930, Page 8

“STORM IN TEACUP”

IDENTITY OF LETTER WRITER ACQUITTAL BY JURY From Our Own Correspondent HAMILTON, Tuesday. A verdict of not guilty was returned by the jury in the case in which James Alexander Ritchie was charged in the Supreme Court with having made a false document with the object of getting it published in the Rotorua “Chrbnicle” as genuine and of having offered the letter for publication knowing it to be false. Mr. H. T. Gillies conducted the case for the Crown, and Mr. P. IT. Basley appeared for the accused. For the prosecution evidence was given that a letter was received by the editor of the paper purporting to be written by one Robert Yule, but that Yule could not be found. The accused produced an enrolment receipt book containing an entry connecting Yule with the New Zealand Workers’ Union, and, subsequently, the South Auckland Forestry Workers’ Union. He gave evidence that when Yule approached him last October with a letter for publication, he said it would have to be copied out, as it was written on both sides yf the paper. Subsequently he endeavoured to have the letter typed, but was unsuccessful. He then copied it out in his own hand* writink and sent it in to the paper. Arthur Cook, general secretary of the* New Zealand Workers’ Union, said the name of Robert Yule had been entered in his register, and corresponded with the butt of the enrolment form.

In his address to the jury, Mr. Basley said it appeared by the evidence for the Crown that accused had concocted a false document. Counsel contended, however, that it had been shown by the defence that accused had copied a letter written by another person and forwarded it to the “Chronicle” in the belief that it was genuine. It had not been proved that Yule did not exist. Counsel argued that the prosecution had failed to show that the document was a false one, and* characterised the case as a storm in a teacup, resulting in no real injury to anyone.