B.—l [Pt. ll].

8

Thomas Walker, employed as a ledger clerk in the North Auckland Office of the Lands and Survey Department, pleaded guilty in the Magistrate's Court to charges of theft of £5 3s. 2d. and £6 respectively. He was admitted to probation for three years, ordered to make restitution within one year, and to abstain from betting of any sort during the whole term of probation. He was dismissed from the Service. Charles Whittaker, who had received advances under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act, and pleaded guilty to the charge of selling stock under security to the Crown and converting the proceeds to his own use, was sentenced at Palmerston North to probation for a period of two years and ordered to pay costs of the trial The loss on realization requiring to be written off by authority of Parliament amounts to £470 os. Bd. C. R. Joy, Kakahi, pleaded guilty to a charge of wrongfully disposing of stock which formed the security of the Crown for advances made to him under the provisions of the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act. He was sentenced by the Supreme Court to reformative treatment for two years. Pensions Department. Mrs. Kate Jackson, mother of a deceased pensioner, by forging the name of deceased, in whose favour the children's pension instalments had been made out, obtained moneys to which she was not entitled, and was warned by the Court of the seriousness of her action. Hori Ngarae, of Tauranga, an old-age pensioner, by failing to disclose his true position in regard to his earnings, obtained payment of several instalments of pension to which he was not entitled. In the Magistrate's Court he was convicted, fined £1 and costs, and ordered to refund pension, amounting to £29. " James Boulden, Timaru, an old-age pensioner, by not disclosing the true amount of his income, obtained, over a period of two years, pension totalling £78. Being a very old man, no conviction was made, the Magistrate adjourning the charge sine die, the case to be brought before him again at any time if pensioner did not regularly make restitution of the amount overpaid, at the rate of £3 ss. per month. The pension was cancelled. Henry Keogh, a waterside worker, by making a false declaration regarding his weekly earnings, sought to obtain an economic pension in addition to a permanent pension already being received. He declared that his average weekly earnings were £1 ss. per week, whereas they actually were, from the 3rd August, f922, to the 11th July, 1923, £4 Is. 3d. per week. He was convicted, and ordered to come up for sentence, if called upon, in six months. Thomas Savage, Auckland, by declaring that he was earning £1 per week, sought to obtain an economic war pension. Inquiries showed that his earnings were £4 4s. 3d. per week. He received a sentence of one month's imprisonment for false pretences. Jane Cragg, of Hamilton, an old-age pensioner, by failing to disclose the receipt of a legacy of £425, received pension amounting to £39 to which she was not entitled. The Magistrate convicted and discharged the pensioner, but the pensioner's daughter, Mrs. Pye, was convicted and fined £5 for aiding and abetting. The pensioner having no money from which refund could be made, the State will be recouped by keeping her off the pension roll for one year. The pension was cancelled. John C. Neill, a clerk employed by the Labour Department, returned from the war in 1918 and resumed duty in the Department, but in 1920 was obliged to enter the Pukeora Sanatorium. Whilst there he received half salary, and later one-third salary, from the Department, in addition to £2 10s. per week pension. On examination by a Pension Board doctor he stated that he was unemployed, and was granted a supplementary pension, his total income reaching approximately £400. The amount overpaid was £125 13s. 4d. He was charged with making a false statement, but a jury returned a verdict of " Not guilty." The War Pensions Board therefore decided to recover the overpayment by withholding from the current grant of the pension the balance of each instalment due after making payment to the pensioner at the rate of £1 per week. The pension was renewed at £2 per week subject to a reduction of 10s. per week for four months on account of his conviction on a criminal charge in connection with his duties as a member of the staff of the Labour Department. Piha Teretui, an old-age pensioner, was proceeded against for wilfully misstating the amount of his income and property, thereby obtaining a pension. The Magistrate convicted him, and ordered him to come up for sentence when called upon. He was also ordered to pay all Court costs, and make a refund of double the overpayment made by way of pension, which was two instalments of 10s. each. Francis B. Turner, an old-age pensioner, was proceeded against for making a false statement regarding his income, thereby obtaining the old-age pension. The Magistrate convicted him, and fined him £5 and costs 7s. The pension was cancelled, and steps are being taken to recover the amount overpaid, £6 10s. Nicholas Peters, formerly a temporary clerk in the Pensions Department, and his wife, Olive Mavis Peters, were reported in October, 1923, by the Commissioner of Pensions as having forged pensioncertificates and advices for payment, thereby misappropriating a sum of £975. The matter was placed in the hands of the police, and the offenders were arrested in Melbourne in January last and brought back to New Zealand. Peters was sentenced in the Supreme Court to three years' reformative detention, and his wife was released on probation for a period of two years. No portion of the amount stolen was recovered, and the amount will require to be written off. Police Department. Andrew McJennett, constable, employed in the Arms Office at the Police Department's headquarters, appeared in the Supreme Court charged with stealing £26 75., fees received by him for licenses under the Arms Act. In consideration of the high character given him the Court granted a term of probation covering a period of two years. Restitution of the amount has been made. Dismissed from the Service.