73

I.—4a

Inspector Atch-i--ton.

22nd Oct., 1878.

his name was played with for years, he found ? —When he came to me I thought he was in a state of confusion, and that he would get himself into some difficulty. I have taken the same course in many cases. Some little time ago a man rushed into one of these cases against my advice, and lost a small property over it. 2068. But this is a case in which there was a conviction ? —But I did not know the facts of the case until afterwards, else I should have taken proceedings. I may have made a mistake, but I had no other motive than to do the man a good turn, and prevent him from getting into litigation. 2069. Mr. Swanson] Do you think it strange that a man should get excited or confused when he knows his credit is being damned ? —I did not look at it in that way. I asked him if he had lost any money. He said " Not a sixpence ; " and then I could not understand why he should be so excited. 2070. Is not the loss of credit worse than the loss of money ? —Not in such a case as this. 2071. Having a mark put against his name as bad, is that calculated to put a man in a good frame of mind ?—lt may have been a mistake of mine. 2072. The man comes to you and says a forgery has been committed : AVas it not your duty to go about the matter at once, and see if anything was wrong?—No doubt. 2073. Suppose this man had come to you and said he had been robbed ?—Of course I should have taken steps at once. 2074. Is rrot a forgery case worse than a robbery ? —Well, he only showed me the notice from the bank, and I was under the impression that he did not know what constituted forgery. I told him he ought to make himself certain, because there were two or three Mclntyres in town. He said there was no mistake ; and I replied 2075. Were you right or wrong?—l believe I made a mistake. 2076. If this man had taken your advice would not the criminal have escaped? —No. 2077. How would he have been detected and convicted ?■ —After a day or two I should have begun to make inquiries. 2078. If he had left it alone you would have taken the thing up ?—Tes. 2079. The Chairman] Mclntyre went to see you more than once?— Not more than once. 2080. Mr. Swanson] This man has been put to some expense and to considerable trouble in doing what was your duty ? —I should have done it, had I known it to be my duty. I should have proceeded if he had brought me the original document which constituted the forgery. 2081. He told you where it was? —No. 2082. A summons from the Supreme Court would have got it. It must have been in the bank, seeing that the bank sent Mclntyre the notice ? —Tes. 2083. Do you think the bank would have refused to give up the document ?—No ; of course it is all very clear now. 2084. AVas it not your duty to go to the bank at once ? —lt did not strike me. Perhaps this is one of the mistakes I have made in the course of sixteen or seventeen years; but everything I did was done with the best motives. Certainly I could not make the thing out at the time.

Authority: George Didsbubt, Government Printer, Wellington.—1878.

Price 2s. 9d.]