"A WHITE SEPULCHRE."

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 149, 20 July 1909, Page 1

"A WHITE SEPULCHRE."

DEFALCATIONS AT LEAST .£IO,OOO. Sydney, June 30. At the Quarter Sessions at Darlinghurst, ltobert Bi'andct.h Parry, solicitor, pleaded guilty to charges (1) of having fraudulently omitted to pay to James Wilson £3OO which he had received for that purpose, and (2) of having fraudulently omitted to pay £3OO to Charles liobert Sumuierhayes. Mr. Keid, in the course of an appeal for clemency, said he would be sorry to minimise the seriousness of Parry's offence, but ■ he would have to undergo imprisonment, •which was of itself a terrible thing to a man in the -prisoner's, position, in addition to which he would * be struck oil' the roll of solicitors, and in that way'the profession to which he had belonged would be closed to him fer the rest of his life. The prisoner had a wife and children, as well as aged parents, and although it might he said that he should have thought of these things before falling away from the path of rectitude, it was a consideration which might perha.ps be taken into ac-, eouut in allotting punishment. Kestitu-1 lion to a large extent had been made in one ease. Mr. lteid asked his Honor to, I if possible, extend as great a measure of clemency to the accused as he could in | consideration of the awful blow—the practical destruction which it meant to his life. Up till the transactions in • question Parry appeared to have borne an excellent character and to have enjoyed the esteem of the whole community.

Judge Murray: You don't dispute, Mr. Eeid, that these two cases are. only representative eases, and that the total defalcations amount to something like £10,000!

Mr. lteid: A very considerable amount must be admitted, but nothing like that. His Honor: That is to the effect of the report attached to the depositions. Mr. Harris, Crown Prosecutor, said the information which he now had was to the effect that the defalcations amounted in all to about £IO,OOO. Tho particular items numbered about twenty. His Honor said the matter was so very serious that the Court would have to adopt an extreme course. How long, had these transactions 'been going on. Mr. Harris: For six or seven years.

His Honor, in passing sentence, commented upon the frequency of such crimes ns this, in which men whose respectability and honesty had to be attested to before they were admitted to practice, robbed their clients in a scandalous manner, and 'frequently escaped punishment. It was a painful case to! have to deal with. "It is easy to see,'' | said his Honor, addressing the prisoner, "that your respectability was nothing more than a white sepulchre. You were going on keening up the position which you had attained in society on the Hfc-'iilood of your clients." His Honor went on to say that he must remember that he had to make an example of the prisoner, and that the sentence he was about to pass was not alone for the prisoners correction, but 'as a deterrent to others, and he hoped that it would have n deterrent effect in holding many others in check who attempt in various ways to betray the trust imposed in them by the Supreme Court and by their clients. The maximum term of punishment was seven years' penal servitude, and he was in doubt whether he ought not to impose the full penalty, seeing that the amount of the prisoner's defalcations was at least £IO,OOO. Considered from the standpoint of the unfortunate people who had been robbed, Ji'e could not see low he could conscientiously go far below the maximum .penalty. 'No doubt there were circumstances of peculiar temptation; but, giving everything full consideration, he could not ' possibly bring it within his conscience to impose a sentence of less than five years' penal servitude on each charge, the sentences to be concurrent.