"A CONTEMPTIBLE COWARD."

Taranaki Daily News, 18 August 1915, Page 4

"A CONTEMPTIBLE COWARD."

KEOEIVES WELL-DESERVED PUNISHMENT, \ By Telegraph.—Press Association. 1 Wellington, Last Night, i "You are one of the meanest sort of ■ characters, and one of the most con« 1 tcmptible of cowards who has ever come . before me,"declared' Mr. D. G. A. Cooper, ; S.M., in the Magistrate's Court, to a 1 young man named Charles 'William charged with false preteneesi ! The man pleaded guiHy. His wife was also charged with him. The factß of the case were that Groves gave hia wife a cheque for £3 to pur* oha.se some goods from the store o{ Henry Lenhart, and the cheque wa» \ afterwards found to be valueless. Chief Detective Boddam applied for permission to Withdraw the case against Mrs. Groves, who had been found to . be an innocent party and was more sinned against than sinning. He asked •his Worship to withhold sentence until 'he had heard Mr. CLeary, who! appeared for Mrs. Groves. Mr. O'Leary said that Mrs. Groves " was born and had lived the whole of her' life in the Wairarapa, and her parents and grandparents, who are very respectable people, had been resident In the district for some 50 years. About three or four months ago Mrs. Groves met Gloves at Masterton. Groves bore an air of respectability, and was introduced to his wife's parents at Carterton. Later he got permission to marry the young lady, and it was not till after her marriage that Mrs. Groves discovered her husband' 3 true character. The marriage took place three weeks ago and the couple came to Wellington on their honeymoon, and it was while in the city that accused made use of the bogus cheque. He led his wife to believe that 'he was in receipt of money by drafts. Groves gave bis wife a cheque for £3 and asked her to procure him some goods, from a tobacconist. This his wife d'd, and when asked by Lenhart, from whom the goods were procured, who was C. W. Groves, who had signed the cheque, sl>* said that was the name of her husband. Later, when the cheque was presented at the bank for payment it was returner 1 marked "N T o account," and the matter was placed in the hands of the. Tioliee. In the meantime Mr. and Mrs. Groves had returned to Carterton, where they were arrested. In arresting Mrs. Groves the police, were of opinion that she was another woman, who knew of accused's character, 1 or otherwise the arrest probably would not have been made. "The <ase," said counsel. "U a very unfortunate one as far as the young woman i-j concerned, and she is compelled by this unscrupulous individual to suffer, to a far greater extent from false pretences than is occasioned by the small amount of monev involved." He wa* not appearing for the prosecution, hut ho trusted his Worship would see his way to give the accused Hie maximum sentence that the law allowed. Chief Detective Boddam said the «c cuscd had been sentenced to fourteen flays' Imprisonment, in 11)12, on tro chnrgos of false pretences at P-almorstoi and served a mouth for a similar offence in October last. In each case valueless cheques were used, and the cheque that was the subject-of the present ohm wiu between 20 and 30 vears ' old. ami could not be traced, Ilis Worship, in addressing Groves, said it was useless saying Rnvthina to him, or to give advice. He would be sent to gaol for nine months. "Mrs. Groves," concluded his Worship "leaver the court without any stain of wrons doing on her part,"