RESIDENT MAGISTRATES' COURT.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1119, 26 August 1879, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATES' COURT.

Cambeidge, August 20, 1879. (Before H. W. Northcroft, Esq., R.M.) Alfred Clune, aged 15, was charged with obtaining goods under false pretences, by presenting a fictitious order, purporting to be signed by his brother, Alexander Clune. Prisoner pleaded, " not guilty." James Bead, on oath, deposed: I am Storeman for Mr McVeagh. I remember the 11th inst. I know prisoner. I saw him that evening. He brought an order for half a pound of tea, 2s worth of biscuits, 21bs cheese, 1 tin of salmon, 2lbs sugar, and, I think, there was some tobacco and matches. He gave me a written order (produced) for these things. It was solely on the strength of the order that I gave him the goods. The goods belonged to Mr McVeagh, and are valued at 8s and some odd pence. ■ ■ ' By the Conrt : I would not have given the things without an order, lam. in the habit of giving good.B goods to the order of responsible people, I would not have trustee^ the prisoner, without the order. Alexander Olune, sworn, depnaed : I am a labourer, residing in Cambridge. Prisoner is a brother of mine. I never gave him an order, in my life, on any store, for any goods, and gave no. authority for an order t© be «va.d.e, cut in lay name. The writing an,d. signature on order produced,, & ap,t mjne, Ido not know the writing, I saw it before, in Mr MoVeagh's store. By Prisoner : I never instructed you to write an order, or promised to give you a pipe, I never, on a former occasion got you to write an order for, m.^ •Bp the Court \ \ positive, 1 never instru^M Poofter. to wri fo aa on Mr Js#acs t " op. a former occasion., Ido no.t know the writing on, the order. I never, gave a,fl ordes for goods, and my brother- never gat anything for me. Ifob,eris McVeagh, on oath, stated : lam a storekeeper residing in Cambridge. I saw him in my own store on the. Uth instant. My assistant Bhowsd. me an order prisoner had pres^n^, the boy (prisoner) called^ fo^. the goods this order ™» TOB. $ff-, At. % 8 t I demurred, hut I after, re.dding the order, I told, layassiai tant to give the gop.d^ The order pro- ; duced, is the. order I gave the goods on. :If it wera not f of that order, I would not i have trusted prisoner. The goods supplied were my property. By the Court: I have ne.ye.r- trusted prisoner. The person aigning the order never sent »ng a^ ord.er. before, Mr Reid $MjM W t 4 te: Clune and. J spoke to him the order, and he. denied having given 9^e. " WiHiamßrennan, constable, Cambridge, deposed to arresting prisoner on the 18th instant in Uambridge West, in consequence of the above information. Prisoner sitated, in answer to the charge, tfcftf his brother had given/ ftm. permission to write tfcg pr4e^, fpd, o,btain the goods. _ _+ n d 6%ce t prisoner called his mother, Mrs Margaret Cluue, who. swore to hearing her son Alex, tell nr.iaon.erf to. write the order. ?y&VC.PWt! X heard Alex, tell the Poofter. tne order as cannofc write himself, and did not like to go into Cambridge to get his rations, and he promised to give him a pipe. I kaow the writing on the order w^uc.ed. It is prisoner's, " C;Qi\H^ahle Bjennan. informed the Court ihas there was. another case against the prisoner of a similar nature, and his Worship decided to hoar it before giving a decision in the present one. The prisoner was then charged with obtaining goods from John Groodfellow-, sfareinaq, to Mr, A* Isaacs, valued, at <ts 4

upon a similar order to the one in the former case. John Goodfellow deposed to the prisoner going into Mr Isaacs' store on the 9th instant, and handing him a written order for goods, signed by Alex. Clune. I would not have given the goods but for the order. Alex. Clune, sworn, denied giving the order. By prisoner : I did not ask you to write an order in my life. Other orders on different storekeepers were brought forward, but not gone into. Several other convictions were proved against peisoner. He had been eighteen months in the Training Ship, and one month in Mount Eden for deserting from the steamer Wanaka. - Sentenced to two months imprisonment. His Worship commented very severely upon the way in which orders are honored by the storekeepers, thus offering every facility for evil disposed people to defraud them, and throwing temptation in the way of boys who may not have sufficient moral courage to resist it, when they see how easy a matter it is to get what they wish for without paying for it.