EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF FALSE PRETENCES.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 346, 27 February 1889, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF FALSE PRETENCES.

Air extraordinary case of false pietences by a rather prepossessing young woman named Mary Jane Grant, aged 28 years, who had already sened six years' imprisonment for similar oHencefc, was investigated before a full bench of magistrates at Melbourne last week. The accused, who had several aliases to her name, was charged with having obtained money and goods valued at £143 6s 4d from Charles G. Amoore by means of false pretences. She was undefended. Mr Westley appeared to prosecute the case. The particulars of the case, as s-hown by the evidence of a number of witnesses examined in support of the prosecution, a»e that on the afternoon of the 22nd ult., the accused and a young lady companion called at the {-hop" of Mr C. (J. Amoore, in Burwood - road, Upper Hawthorn. She stated that she had rent-ed a nine-roomed house in Camberwell Road, in which she was going to keep a boardingschool, and wanted to know what it would cost to furnish it. She fmther stated that she had an account of £300 in the National Bank of Australasia, Melbourne, which she intended having transferred to the Hawthorn branch of that bank. She was then shown over the shop, and selected goods to the value of £138 4s, which were frwarded to the house. On account of the prenii&es having been taken by the accused without the permission of theagents, a trouble arose, and the furniture had to be removed on the following day to a houpe in Garfield-sti'eet, Hawthorn. As she failed to keep an appointment that she made with the prosecutor he proceeded to make inquiries about her, and found that she had passed off a valueless cheque on a publican in the district. On the occasion of his next interview with her the accused signed a cheque drawn on the National Bank of Australasia, Hawthorn, which turned oub to be valueless. Her friend afterwards saw prosecutor and told him accused was a swindler, and thab she had juefc been released from gaol after serving five years for torgery. Before signing the cheque she called at the Hawthorn branch of the National Bank, and gave the manager, Mr Vivian, a cheque for the purpose of having transferred from the Bead bank the money she represented was on deposit there in her name. Six previous convictions were proved against accused by Plain-clothes Constable Canty, who arrested her last Friday week. Major Barker was in attendance at the Court, and informed the Bench that Drs. Black and Shiels had testified to the fact that accused suffered from kleptomania. All her otlences had been of the same class. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant in Scotland, and her friend was a born lady. The Bench decided to sentence the. cueed to two years' hard labour.