THEFT OF POSTAL MATTER.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 October 1919, Page 6

THEFT OF POSTAL MATTER.

LETTER CARRIER COMMITTED FOR SENTENCE.

Wm. Donald Blair, a letter carrier in the employ of the Post Office at New Plymouth, was charged before Mr T. A. B. Bailey, S.'M., at the Magistrate's Court yesterday, on 14 counts, with stealing and destroying mail matter.

Detective Fitzgibbon conducted the prosecution, and Mr P. B. Fitzherbert represented accused.

Evidence was given by a number of people from various localities as to complaints that letters posted by them to certain addresses had not been delivered, and the addressee in each case also, deposed to the non-receipt of the letter. Most of the letters had contained sums of money, postal notes, or cheques. Some of them had been registered, and some sent through the ordinary'post. The head postman deposed to the rounds to which accused had been detailed on certain dates, and that the letters reform! to should have been delivered by him on those days. The chief postmaster gave evidence as to complaints received in respect to the non-delivery of letters, etc. These complaints came from the rounds served by accused. His districts were changed, but each time comolaints came from the new rounds to whV« he" hail been detailed. Search had been made for every letter or package of which oomnlrtint had been made, but none of them had bpen recovered. Accused had never complained to him that his rounds wore too long. Since hi? suspension the number of complaints had appreciably (Vcreaspd.

TTnder cross-examination, the witness denied that letter carriers were often rennired t* work from 10 to 1-2 hours a dev. He sairl that never I>anpenod Tf nhev were smart they could sometimes finish Hioir work in seven hours. Detective Fits"»i.bhon stated he had interviewed accused, in tlio Tn-psence of the chief nostmosfjpv and the head nostmnn. and he hud at first denied :\ll knrw!od?e of the missinsr mail matter. He snbseqtientlv admitted having destroyed a number, of letters by burning them on the beach. He signed a statement to that pffeet, and thereupon hj" wn o . nrresterl.

Accused nlendcd guilty to all the charges, and was committed to the Sunvpmc Court for .sentence. Bail was allowed in the same sureties as previously. The Magistrate remarked that bail wns not usuaßv allowed in tfueh cases, but on nccorint of the youth of Hip accused he thousht it. .desirable that he should not be kept in custody.

The police did not oppose the application.