FOUND NOT GUILTY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 51, Issue 175, 8 May 1931, Page 5

FOUND NOT GUILTY

ALLEGED FALSE PRETENCES. MATTER OF A GOLD MINE. AN AUCKLAND INCIDENT. (Per Press Association). -. PALMERSTON NORTH, May 7'-. Edward Ralph Martin, the man who claimed to have found-gold at I okomaru, was the only accused before the present sitting of the Supreme Court, when he successfully defended himself against charges of false pretences arising out of representations alleged to have been made by him to induce" a farmer and a second-hand dealer to put money into the syndicate. , , .1 A Martin, who is a slim, active-looking American negro, of middle-age, was a member of the 1910 Jubilee Singers troupe" which came to jS”e' v ' - Zealand, and since then he has resided in. this country. He claimed to -have-been educated in Edinburgh University: Mr F. H. Cooke, Grown Prosecutor, said that Martin had claimed he was a geologist and went about calling him--self a professor. He had traded on the ignorance of certain people until he met a snag in the person ol Mr- *J. Linklater, M.P.; who knew something of mining. Mr Linklater came to “tue conclusion that the supposed mine was a dud. and that Martin did not know anything about gold. Samuel J. Rossiter detailed how the accused showed him some rock, an<i said lie was a qualified miner, of 30 years’ standing. This information was followed bv a request to go to see. the mine Witness said lie went and had' a look at the face of the rock, iv-kmli. looked very nice. He paid £2o to- Mar-, tin in three sums. A balance-sheet was asked for, but the accused declared that lie was managing director and there was 110 need for a balancesheet. , .* • • ~ In, his own defence, the accused produced a. letter signed by one of the witnesses, Bridle, winch declared that all concerned agreed that Maitm ha acted fairly to them, and that n the assays were not satisfactory they agreed that they had not been f 1 Hi? Honor: ‘‘This letter sDouM have been produced when Budle \.as in the box so as to have given t.lie, prosecution a chance to cross-examine, him on it. Other members .of. .the, syndicate would not sign it, and the matter then dropped The P‘, ls^ ie L however, probably kept the m the event of such proceedings, a™* ha,, produced it in dramatic fashion , It also has to he remembered that Bndje is not the main one concerned, hut that Rossiter and Simpson aretheoncsinterested. The former was not m the syndicate at that time. . y After a short retirement the jury utanSi a verdict of not guilty, and Martin was discharged. ... ‘ \.