BRADLY'S BLUFF.

NZ Truth, Issue 67, 29 September 1906, Page 5

BRADLY'S BLUFF.

DSDNTGQ: HIS "PARTNER" "SAW HIM." | DESPICABLE DESPOILER WHO DUPES DUFFERS. * A Warning to the Public that should be Hearkened to and Heeded. (Prom Out ChmtclKirch Correspondent).

A vile mephitic odour pervaded the Christchurch Police Court last week end when a cool, calculating, cute, cautious codger of youthful aspect named Harold Montague Perm Bradly, who described himself as a commission and financial agent, proceeded on an information against Ernest Edward Bacon for havinr committed forgery, but left the court with his character blackened, disgraced and discredited, and with the torrid comments of the bench ringing m his ears. It was one of the bit^es t exposures that has taken place m the Christchurch court for many a Ion?, day, and instead of Bacon being sent for trial he was released and Harold Montague Perm Bradly given -the warmest time he has ever had m his natural. Lawyer Russell subjected him to a Sruel cross-examination ; about his snide business, but it was a. positive delight to those assembled . m court, who love to see people of Bradly^ s class shown up without mercy. The fellow is one of those who.-.advertise •for partners with fifty quid or so, get hold of the oof, have a row or otherwise make things unpleasant} for the newcomer who , gets out; of the "business" m sheer dissrust, the advertiser collaring the gonce. Bradly has bnlv been m Christchurch six months, and he has had three socalled "partners," or salaried paitr ners, or whatever he calls 'em, m that time, and they have all "took their hook. ' ' It seems to be a paying game, but now that this bounder Bradly has been exposed the pas-, time may cease for a bit;. When giving his evidence, led.. by Detective Chrystal, the informant looked as honest as the day is long, and his yarn bore the impress of truth ; but when Lawyer Russell got at him he was the most uncamforta;ble man out of gaol, where Russell said he ought to be. The iaccused, Baton, was charged with . '.. FORQING THE NAME of R. H. Lowe to a cheque and uttering it to Bradly. The facts are extraordinary. Bacon ji. who has been working for the Drainage Board during the last six years as boss, of the sewage farm, and who is as honest as they make 'em, bearing a splendid character, noticed » Bradly V enticing advertisement for a man with £50, and answered it. Bradly didn't have replies addressed, to his own pffice m . Hereford-street, .; but, to the paper office. Ait any rate he hooked Bacon, whicli is -generally booked, and he was taken on at £2 10s a week. • Bacon was to pay the £50, but /only parted Up £9 .iOs, and gave a p.n. as a security for the remainder. He was there a fortnight, I>ut hadn't received any wages, and on Saturday he mentioned ajbout two horses which belonged to him, and which' he coukl sell to make up, the balance o| the £50. In the afternoon Bacon, according to Bradl' -entered the office ; with a cheque for £57 10s, signed by ' H. N. ;Lowe, whom he said was a ' contractor who had an account at the Bank of New Zealand. The , cheque form came but of his (witness') cheque book, as he discovered afterwards. As change was required he , gave Bacon three cheque*, "totalling ,£22 10s, which made things square. After Bacon had left he found that the cheque was made out on the 15th September (the correct date), but that the year was 190!). i iThe cheques witness had given him •were oost-dated ut> till the following Tuesday, the 18th. Went m a cai> ' to accused's house next day (Sunday)) Iwith his brother, Clifford Biradly, and drew his attention to the 1909. 1 Bacon offered to return witness' cheques as he 'didn't get them if witness would return -th«> cheque for £57 10s. Replied that the cheque m question was then out of his hands. It was never Presented afc the bank. . On Monday morning Bacon rushed into the office and demand-, ed the keys of the front door, and om petting a refusal he barricaded the. door with a chair, and also closed the window. He sakl he was going to have that cheque : they were alone, and he'd have it if he had to j SCREW WITNESS' NECK ! for it. Induced him to let him out to get it, and then went, down the. street .and told Detective Cox about the business. Then followed a hot half-hour for Harold at the hands of Counsel Russell. In reply to queries he said ho had come to 'Chris tchurch from Wellington, where he was m business 13 •months. Prior to that he was at Palnierston , North for three months and before that at Gisborne for IK i months. He star feed his career at I Auckland where he lived eight years. I Are you the son of the Honorable (• Peim Bradly ?— No. / How many people have you told / that you were. the son .of the Hon. / Perm Bradley ?— None. (By the way who is the Hon. Perm Bradly?) -\ There was an Aucklander named Bradly who stood for Parliament, but he was shamefully rotten egged b" those of Auckland's straightest shots who are adepts at shooting rotten epgs. There was another of the same name, and who, is alleged to be of the same good old family, who was arrested by Detective Kennedy Cnow of Christchurcin ou charges of false pretences and what not, but he (lied while awaiting trial. However, to get back to the coot under crossexam ination. Mr Russell : Whose son are you ?— I'm a descendant of Admiral Perm, af Pennsylvania, was the proud resaonse. (NotWe descendant.) How much money had you when /ou arrived here from Wellington ?— £160. What dt* you do with it ?— I spent : it, or. at least a good deal of it ; I ' put £16 m the bank, and sent £40 '■ ; to my brother m Auckland. I sent ' ft up by a friend. *" -And the remainder ?— I spent it m • expense* and business. More personal questions, were being

asked, and Bradly wasn't inclined to answer them, but Mr Payling, who presided, said that he must answer. Mr Russell said he wanted to know a lot of things ; this was one of the BIGGEST FRAUDS ever committed m Christchurch, and Bradly should be m the dock instead of Bacon. So the prosecutor was then asked about a nice seven-roomed house he had rented m Holly road. He said' he did lease a house there ; he was a married man but was living apart from his wife. "Then why seven rooms ?" asked Russell. Bradly explained that he expected his brother and latter 's wife down from Auckland. The true reason, however, wasn't given, but it is pretty generally known. Now, about that £160, did you have it m the bank m Wellington ?— No, I had it m my possession, keeping, some m my pockets and some m my oash box m my lodgings m Upper Willis-street. Where did you get that money ?— I.! got it from my 'brother Clifford, who came over from Sydney. Was it m notes and gold ?— Yes. And how did you cash the notes?— In the ordinary way, Sydney notes— you never thought of that ?— Oh, yes I did, and I sent £40 to mv brother m Auckland right away. . But you said you sent it from Christchuroh.— l was always sending him money. . Now, what is your business ?—Estate and financial agency. Do you i»et money from Raphael to loan ?— Yes. And from .Kesteren ?— -No. Is it a fact that pant of your business is to make valuations of furniture owned, by people who want loans, charging 7s 6d a time ?— Yes, and Bacon made a number of the valuations. And no money was lent; and you collared the 7s' 6d ?— Half the fee was; returned m one case. Did you have money m the bank to lend?— No, Raphael would give me the. money when /the security was good. , Asked what profits Bacon was to get for. his £50/ the witness said £2.ios a week. Two or three asses had paid you £50 each previously hadn't they ?— No, two, Dennis and McClintock. Did they get their 1 cash back when they left ?— They got portion of it back m wages, . < .'. ■ Didn't trou tell Dennis that if he didn't go out you would put him out ?— No. What became of these .two amounts' of £50 ;j did they go into the business, or into your own pocket ?— The money went into mv own account. Haven't you had another advertisement m the paper lately wanting, a; partner with £150 ?— That's m connection with a patent which may be seen at the office. I suppose funds have run dry ; how much have you m the hank to-day?— I don't know exactly. What are the. profits of your business ?— I couldn't say without referring to the books. ; How much . have you had from these temporary partners of. yours?— Well, £50 from Dennis on an agreement of £250, £50 from McClintock and '£9 10s from accused. What have your earnings been durin" "the last six months ?— Not much. Catching partners is the most profitable, isn't it ?— According to your statement. Have there been any other profits except the seven-and-sjixpences obtained from poor women who wanted loans and couldn't get them ? Can you give me one instance of- a profit of a single honest shilling during the six -months ?— I oan't'from memory. There is a < lot of mystery about this precious business of yours ; do you keep a clerk, and what do you pay him ?— Ten shillings a week and commission. And how much has he made ?— Not a great deal.; that is his own look out. Could your three cheaues have been met on the Tuesday morning ?— i Yes ; but , there wasn't enough to meet them on the Saturday. The next witness was Clifford Gordon Perm Bradly who gave brief corroborative evidence. He said he did a 'bit of work for his brother, and also worked for the Southern Publishers, located m Grey-street, Wellington. His Christian name was Clifford, he told Mr Russell, but he point blank denied ever having sent a telegram from Pendalton or St. Albans to his brother, signed "Clifford," saying "The business is nearly completed," such telegram being shown round the town by the brother. He was positive about that. (The idea was alleged to be to ' lead people to' think that Bradly was having dealings with Sir George Clifford>. Then Russell had a go at the young fellow about the money he had brought over from Sydney. The witness was out of court when his brother gave evidence, and things clashed with a loud clatter. He said he had brought £200 over ; he had been working for a theatrical firm, and had run a show himself. Was any of that £200 m Sydney notes ? asked counsel. — No, it was all m gold. (The brother swore differently How much money did you give him .?— I gave him £50 when I came back from the war. I No ; out of the £200 ?— I don't know how much I cave him. You brothers seem to have very little knowledge of anything. How much did you have when you came to Christchurch ?— A hundred pounds. How did you spend it ?— On the races. How much did your brother spend of the money ? — I rlon't know. He has sworn that you brought £160 from Sydney, and that a lot of

it was m Sydney notes on which exchange had to be paid ; now, one of you is telling a lie. He has told us a story which is diametrically opposite to yours about that.— Well, I don't know. You don't know which is the liar ? —What I say is the absolute truth. Your brother is the liar, then. The B,ench : I suppose you remember handing him, £160 m Wellington ; did you do so ?— I can't say. Ledger keeper Pinckney, of the Bank of New Zealand,, put Bradly's pot on properly. On the Saturday that he gave Bacon three cheques for £22 10 he only had five bob m the bank, and that practically (meant nothing, because the bank collars the 5s for keeping the account. And during the month of August lie only banked £7. Bradly has plenty of gonce to lend all right on this showing:, yet he advertises this way m the daily papers:— MONEY. CHEAP MONEY— CaII on us before going elsewhere. BRADLY and COMPANY., Financial and General Ag«jnts, opposite Bank of N.Z., Hereford-street. Counsel submitted that he had , a complete answer to the charpie, and that the accused shouldn't be committed for trial at all. It was, he said, a most impudent swindle on the part of Bradly, and possibly, on the part of his brother. There was ho intention to defraud ; accused had done just what Bradlv had told him to do^-get his wife to si<m a cheque, and this she did m the name of Lowe, her maiden name. After a fortnight m. the office accused found that he had got mixed up with A COUPLE OF SHARPERS and wanted to f*et out of it. He (Mr Russell) didn't think there was such p. fool m Christchurch as accused, until he heard that there were two others m the mire. If anyone should be punished he was m the court that day. and he was clearly, liable for swindling these men. The accused Bacon detailed how he got m tow with Bradlv. and as to his neglecting to ask what the profits were. There were a pile of books m the office, and the way Bradly represented things they looked all right. When women paid 7s 6d for valuations, and then didn't get loans he saw things weren't going straight and he soon wanted to get out of the show- He gave Bradly £9 10s, and there was a fortnight's wages due. He had a couple of horses which he could have sold to make up the £50. and Bradly knew this. Bradly gave, him a cheque and asked him to fill it up for £57 10s, and he would give his own cheques, m change. Told him he had no account at the 8.N.Z., and Bradly asked him to get his wife to fill it up. Said she had no account either, but Braidly said that would fee all right. His wife did fill UN the cheqaio. signine: her maiden name of L&sre, and post-datin- it three years. Then Bradlv called at his . house and wanted to bounce him into getting him the .. £50 or he would place the matter m the bands of the police. But it' didn't come off.

Mrs Bacon then entered the box, and said her husband had nothing to do with the cheque; she signed it, and although she hadn't any account she might have one before 1909. The Wnor of it ! Mr Russell had other witnesses, including . ONE OF BRADLY'S DUPES, but ho stopped right there, or else Bradly would have been shown up some more by Dennis, from whom he had originally expected to net .£250. Counsel said there was no forgery on the part of BaCon, Bradly had tried a game of bluff over this prosecution ; he thought that they wouldn't let the case go to court, but would sell the horses and he would set hia £50. His intention evidently was, once he had duped them into signing that cheque, to ,blackmail them. He played his trump card, but there was not a more sorry man m the court now that it was exposed than Bradly. Payling, 'J.P., then had a cut at the beautiful bounder Bradly. He said there was no intention on ttoe part of Bacon to forge the cheque, Bradly had coerced him and held the whip over him, trying to make him sell his horses and pay the £50. He thoueht that it was a very good thing that this case had come into court, and that such a firm should be exposed. There was no doubt about that. This firm advertised for partners with a view to getting money BY MEANS OF EXTORTION. This had been goinn: on for si:c months, and during that time some foolish people had been gathered m. They were to put up* £50, and get £2 10s a week with an agreement as well, and they were dispensed with at the earliest possible opportunity ; then efforts were made to get another "partner." Dennis had paid £50 on a £250 agreement ; the larger amount he was supposed to pay inpay m to a dummy business. Bradly had told Bacon at the outset that he was rushed with business, when he had no business, and his bank credit was nil, there being only 5s there. The opinion of the Bench was that a case of this kind should be exposed, and that it should be known that such a firm existed. The public must be protected from people of this sort, and be made aware with a view to taking particular notice of advertisements of, that kind. The case would be dismissed. Bradly and his brother, who makes pockets full of gonce out of theatricals (or says he does) slunk, away from court like whipped curs, the exposure of the tactics employed by Perm Bradly, the elder, to secure dupes was as complete as it well could be, and the surmise suggests itself that he followed the same gp,me at Auckland, Gisborne, Palmerston North and Wellington. As he lived 13 months m Wellington any number of people there should know Harold Montague Perm Bradlv. The Christchurch public are now wondering if the police intend taking such action as will result m this cute cove being placed m the dock.