FALSE PRETENCES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 167, 6 July 1908, Page 4

FALSE PRETENCES.

At the .Magistrate's Court on Saturday morning, before Air. 11. S. I'iUherbert, S.AI., tlie police, proceeded against William Lloyd Jiatemau, alias MeLellan., 011 a cliarge ol" forging a cheque l'or £2 and uttering if. to Olive Nicholas, at the tii'osvcnor Hotel. The charge was amended to omt of false pretences. (Hive Nicholas, daughter of the licensee of 111" tirosveuor Hotel, said she remembered the accused coming to the hotel iii Alarch alii! April. She. kad known him previously under the name of Alcl-eod, but in April he told her she had made a mistake, and that his mime was AfcLelian. On those visits he had paid his accounts in cash. In Alay he visaed the hoi el again. On ail three occasions he was uccompaniou by a woman. In settling up oil the last occasion he wrote and tendered a cfieque tor .t!2, and received Cl change. She handed the cheque to her mother. Kutli Nicholas, the licensee, aaid that wdieu defendant came to the hotel in Alarch she understood his name was AlcLeod, but she might have been mistaken, lie stayed at her house subsequently. She remembered receiving his cheque from lier daughter, and she paid it into the bank, whence it was returned marked "No account."

KilwiWil ilcl'hail, airi:on)iL:int in tinBank of -New Zealand at Wanganni, deposed that ho knew the accused by sight. si nil that lie. had an account sit iiic liank in tin* liiinir, of Wm. Lloyd Baldwin. Since this i-lni|iii' was presented in ill l ' name cf t>iih'in:iii had been presented ami honored. There was a small credit in the arronnt. He hail refused'i-heipies issued by tlu> ile--I'iMiilant. Tin' eh (!i(iir for -C~ was on I. of ISalcmau's i.'lii'ijiii-lsnok. and I lie sig nature was in llatenian's handwriting. Jlr. F. K. Wilson, who appeared for t-lu* accused. admitted thi' lads. but said there had'been no intent to defraud. The accused elected to give evidence. He said his name was William Lloyd ISatcman, and he was a fanner living near Tailnipe. lie hail been travelling about Willi a woman under the assumed name of McLellan. lie had stayed with her at Auckland and at the tlrosveuor Hotel. Whilst in Auckland he ran short of money, and had several-amounts lorwarded to him by his solicitors in Wanganni. On one occasion a .Mr. Priest, hotelkceper, cashed a cheque J'or Hi for him. He wa» known In I'riest as McClcllau. and therefore Used that name in his signature. He asked I'riest to hold the clH'ipie til' hi' received money from his solicitiors at Wanganni in a lew days. When, the cash came to hand he paid over the £2 and received the cheipie back again. He had inlcuded destroying that cheiiue, but lie slipped it into his pocket and forgot il■_ Lest he should be short ol cash oil his way i'rom Auckland, he wrote out a ehet|ue for .Cj, and that was the one he had intended handing to Aliss Nicholas. To the Jiench: He had not account with the Bank in the name of JJcClellaii, anil used this name because lie was introduced bv that name to his female companion. He. had arranged that this cheque should not be. cashed, but held by -Mrs. Xichulas merely as a security until lie got money from his solicitors, and he must have torn up the .Co cheque and given the one, returned to him by i'riest. He had no knowledge of the mistake until interviewed by the police. At the time he was not in a lit condition to know what he was doing, or whether he should hare received any change at all. Keplying to the Magistrate, Sergeant lladdrell said he knew very little about tin.' accused, lie seemed, however, to be aihlieled to drink.

The Magistrate preferred lo believe the evidence of Miss Nicholas thai accused wrote Mill, the cheque, and 1.-eiuler-cd il iu payment of his account. lie muld not believe the accused's story, aml must convict. Mr. Wilson asked that aerugo" Tie admitted to probation. Me objected t«> that Hie accused had been travelling round the country victimising people. The police knew nothing against, hiiu. The Magistrate said he would take, into enumeration that r>ateman was a Jirst that lie was n married mail with a family. A Jine would indicted, instead' of imprisonment. Accused was Jined ClC>, ordered to refund to Mrs. Nicholas, and to pay 12s -Id ci •si s of prosecution. A week was allowed iu which to pay the umpimt, in default of payment the accused to be imprisoned lor one month with hard labour.