R.M. COURT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4259, 2 November 1892, Page 2

R.M. COURT.

' CARTERTON—TUESDAY - (Before Colonel Roberta, R.M.) H. Gaulton v E. Mould, Mr Acheson for plaintiff.. Claim, £2l. Judgment by default, with costs 16a, and solicitor's fee 21b, ■ " S. 0. Skelly v Kate Carilen. Mr Acheson for plaintiff; Mr Middleton for defendant. Claim, £2O for valu* in» stock when tho defendant took possession of the Marquis of Nornianby Hotel, Carterton. Judgment by default, with coats 20s and solicitor's feo 21s. Thomas Kay vJ. Tucker. Claim, £2 6s for oais supplied, Judgment by default, with coats 9s, R. Acheson v Kate Harden, Claim £311,-is 9d for professional services. Judgment by default, with costs 3(h, ALLEGED FORGERY; Geo. Osborne vO. U, Giles. Mr Middleton for plaintiff; Mr Acheson for defendant. The plea set forth that the defendant did on or about October, 1891, forgo and make'use of a cheque for £SO,

Geo, Osborne, on oatb, deposed: I kept stables adjoining the White Hart Hotel, Carterton. I rsmomber the mouth of October, 1891.' The accused wbb at that Him tho proprietor ofthe White Hart Htf* let, hefire mentioned, The accused came to tun in the stable wherel was ' ,lying down, it was early in the mum-. ing, uu»l asked me to lend him £6O. I told him I was not well and not lit to sign a cheque, (I don't remember exactly as it was so long ago). He said," Ooiuo on. You'll lie able, to manage it," He took tte inside the bar next to tho road. The accused stood at my right hand. The body of the cheque was filled in, I took the pen and signed till I got to "0„" when the acoused said hold on, He took the cheque from me and placed it on his right hand. He dipped the pen into the ink and fillod iu another chequo for £OO, and passed it over lo me and I aiened it. When I was going out .I said tear <hat cheque up or burn it. The accused said tliat will be all right. I meant tho cheque which I had only paitly signed, tho cheque marked (A) is the oue I recognise as tho forged cheque. I tecognise the exhibit (B) as the othw cheque I signed subsequently. exhibit (A) I recognise, that' I wrote up to "Os'oo," the "ne" is not my writing and the "r" is left out altogether. I used to have a memorandum book, in which I kept transactions between myself and tho accused. (The book was produced, the leaves bad been all torn out,) Ahout two months after the cheques were'given I missed the book. Subsequently I found thS book behind a stump in the paddock with the leaves torn out. I went to the bank to ascertain how my account stood. When 1 found out that I had not so much money as I expected, on the advice of my solicitor, I got, possession ofthe cheques I had given,, and found the forged one amongst them,

To Mr Acheson: I cannot say how long ago it is that I first ascertained the fiaud. I will uot swear-that it is not twelve months ago since I went to tliQ bank to ascertain how my account stood, It is not over twelve months ago or over six months ago. I -v might have paid money into the baipji on the day I gave the cheques, Tho accused has paid me tnouoy at different times, I have never given the accused'a cheque in exchange forcasb. The accused has always got roy cheque first, 1 liave nover received cash from the accused. Immediately he recoived my cheque the accused wanted me to shift my hanking account from Carterton to Masterton, I never exchanged one of my cheques for cash over tho bar of the public house,' The accused did not givo me cash for the cheques marked (A) and (B), If I hud not seen the cheques were dated so close together I should not have discovered that anything to wrong, I could not say whether I over gave the acouued any cheque (but the one before the Court) with the signature incomplete. I only remembered the one before the Court when I saw it. I have given theaccussd several cheques at various times, and for various amounts. I cannot swear as to dates. I don't know the date when I gavefcg,, the accused tho cheque with the signa-V ture incomplete. 1 do not even remember the day of the week. I don't know whether any other person was; present when I gave the cheque. I did not read the cheques before Bign* ing them. I think it is very unlikely that anyone hut myself would under, stand the entries in my book. I believe all Iho pages were torn out when I found the book but I have not examined it, I - art not a teetotaller, I get drunk occasionally, but always know what I am doing. I cannot swoiir to the number of cheques I signed in favour of the accused, dur. ing the month of October, 1801, I only remember one cheque with the signature incomplete, and 'that is the one now before tho Court. Tho accused made a demand on me for rent of tho White Hart Stables, for £Blos, which I repudiated. The acoused hag hud occasion lately to search my siables for artiolcß which he had lost. When the acoused took the chequoi away before I had completed py* signature, I did not mako any marks about it. To Mr Middloton! Tho accused always got ray cheque beforo I received any value for it. I nevergave two cheques for £SO each as the two now before the Court. It was my practico simply to look and see , the'. v amount in figures before I signed a cheque, I pay the rent for tho stables to Mr G, A, Fairbrother, as agent for Chief Justice Prendergast.. I bad no malice against tlw accused.

Denman Wilton, assistant (o Mr. T, E, Price, photographer, of MacAorton, remembered making an Enlargement lo a signature on a chequo exliibit (A). " . lo Mr Aclip^r,!,. Received the cheque from'^ r Middleton, Tbe letters on p.xhibit (B) are not connected, f %ik there bays been some breaks in tbe signature, Mr Middleton admitted that the mark asshown alongsidetheletter "u'.' was inadvertently made by himself, jfc G. A. Burgess, agent-of thoMk • of New Zealand, Carterton, deposed that be produced an extract copy of an entry from tbe bank book, The entries were all made in the ordinary course of business.. Exhibits (A) and . (B) were cheques drawn on the Carterion branch of tbe Bank of New Zealand, and were debited to Osborne's account. Both of tho signatures on the exhibits (A) arid (B) are Osborne's. The letters "ne" on exhibit (A) are so much like Osborne's usual ■ signature, that I would not say that they are not bis, .The final !'e" is rather fuller than Qsborne usually makes it, • ! To Mr Aoheson: I have been Agent at the Carterton branch of the Bank of New Zealand, since Jast. March.

Sufficiently long for mo to identify tlio signature ofOsborne. The conolus- ' iou, is that us the cheque was honored, the teller of the bank whs satisfied thai the signature was Osborne's or lie would not lmvo paid it. I think it quite possible that ilio " r" in Osborne wight have Iron omittid by the nignur of tho cheque. Tho extract shows that on Ootobor 28tb, £4!) was paid into Oabotno's account, mid on November 3rd £SO was paid to his account. On the same dale the two! cheques for £SO oacli, were debited io him.

F. G. Kimbell, accountant of the of the Bank ot Australasia, M»storton, deposod that tho two cinques, exhibits (A) and (B), wive pass; d through their batik, ami that the bodies of tlio cheques .woro in tho handwriting of the accused. Tho two cheques were paid in to the credit of the accused, To Mr Acheson: I have born in Hie Masterton brunch of the Hank of Australasia about filicen momhs. The amounts paid into liie Dank by accused, wero generally in cheques The pay-in slips show that there wciv no other monies paid to the credit of the accused, but the two cheques, ou those dates, George Osborne, re-called, said: The amounts paid into tho Bank at tho dates as shown, woro paid in by inc. £49 1 received from iho licensed, got £3O at another tunc from the ' accused lo pay torsomo horses. After tlio Court had been ablv

addressed'by the connsol engaged in the case, the accused gave his statement of the transactions be: ween liiniFelf and the plaintiff, as lolluws: —I did not w lite any portion of the signature outbo exhibit (A). I did not receive the cheques (A) and (H), both on tho same day, I gavo the plaintiff cash for tho cheques as it was more convenient for me lo fonvaid to 'liasterton when I wished to pay in moncv to uiy credit in Mastcrtoii, If the informant was about, I used io give ltiin tho cash and take his cbequo, and if he was not about I have gono to Messrs Deller, Lindop or others. The monies tho complainant paid into the Bank to his credit, on the days before mentioned, ha received from roe. The complainant owes mc about £GO. To Mr Middlnton: Both the cheques were written out by me at the White Hart Hotel, on the dates as

shown on the face of them, Some '"frcoks I might tako from L6O lo L? 0 and other times not moro than £3O. I have taken as much as L9O in one weok, At the time the two cheques were met 1 had received a deposit of LIOO for some land sold. I have had a good many cheques from the complainant. I always filled in the body of the chequefor the amount required, I did not ask for a cheque for Lls, and fill in i cheque for L 35. The amount which the complainant owes me is for rent of stables, and money lent, The stables wei'o included in my rent for the hotel, The complainant only paid rent for a paddock to 0. A, Fairbrother. Minnio Giles, wife of the accused, gavo evidence in confirmation! of the statement made by her husband, G, W. Deller also gave evideiico in corroboration of the statement made hy the accused. The information was dismissed.