IDLE AND DISORDERLY.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 June 1918, Page 7

IDLE AND DISORDERLY.

SORRY CASE ()L<* EDUCATED MAN A story ol Lhe way drink can urnlermino Iho morale ami blast the prospects of even a well educated man was unfolded in the -Mhgistratq's Court at New Plymouth yesterday'before Mr. A. Crookc, S.M,, when a young man named Arthur Wilfred Cecil Mountford was charged with being an idle and disorderly person, and also with the theft of an overcoat which he subsequently sold for Js (id. Sub-Inspector Hutton said the case .was a bad one. The accused had a long record of previous convictions :ukl had been released, after serving a sentence of three months at Wanganui for a similar offence, only a few days ago. He came to New Plymouth. and was arrested for begging from a wfellkiiown citizqn. He 1 had. also, during the same gentleman's absence froin Jiis office, stolen his overcoat and committed a nuisance in tho office. When arrested; he denied the offence. Accused, who pleaded guilty and elected to be dealt with summarily, was represented by Mr. P B. Fitzherbert, who said he had been a fellow-student with accused at the Wanganui College., Ho was a brilliant scholar and gave good promise of a successful" career 1 Upon leaving the college he had been engaged for some years with a legal firm in Wanganui, but during that time his pen-, cliant for drink had been the beginning of a downward course and he vsa now a confirmed dipsomaniac, and draiik every penny he got his hands upon. His record was a bad one even for a man of 110 education. Every offence' of which he had been convicted was the direct: result of his moral failure through drink. He admitted the .difficulty of dealing with, such cases, and thought it time the State provided for the employment of prisoners. 011 release from gaoL In the absence of such provision men were almost driven into criminality and each time they came out of gaol it was with lessened moral resistance. Tho accused had been called up for service but had evaded going into camp. Ho thought that if it was possible for tho man to be sent into camp the discipline and association with fel-low-men might work the reform that was needed. He offered no excuse for tho crime, but said the case was. one of the saddest that had ever come under his notice, ami he hoped something might be done to assist the man instead of to what practically amounted to damning him. He had, simply through drink, lost- all moral restraint: Sub-Inspector Hutton said he had communicated with the Military authorities and with tho Government Statistician as to what should be done with the man, but as yet no rc-ply had been received. Men of good character in camp did not care about being associated with men with a record such as focused had. ' , .• The Magistrate said he had' no option hut to penalise the accused, though the military authorities could take him at any time if they would. He was sentenced to three months' imprisonment on each charge, the sentences to run [ concurrently An order for the restitu- ! tion of the overcoat was made.