A Series of Serious Charges.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 199, 25 August 1886, Page 2

A Series of Serious Charges.

At tbe^ Police Court this mdrning; belFoH)? the Resident Magistrate, Mr H. G. B'etk Smith, Mam-ice Casey, of the firm of Catey and Lovett, and Edward Short, an employee of the said firm; were charged with the larceny of nine weighbridge ticket*, the property of Mr llobert William Byron anil another. Mr Hudson Williamson prqaeouted ob behalf of the police, Mr Theo. Cooper appeared for the accused, Maurice Casey", and Mr Cotter for Edward Short*. ~ Mr Williamson said that he had been instructed to apply to have this caae token 83 an indictable offence. Although the tickets were not in themßelves of much value, still the fraud?, if frauds they were, appeared pretty widespread and extensive, and were involved in tlis larceny of these weighbridge ticket*. Mr Cooper objected, as there wu nd epecific value for the tickets. Mr Williamson agreed to assess the value of the tickets at 9d. Mr Cooper: Then perhaps your Worship would dismiss the case under Section 87? (Laughter.) Mr Williamson paid that the case arote out of certain loads of coal delivered by Mt Casey, who was a member of the firm of Casey and Lovett, to various public ln> stitutione, and perhaps private ones, which the police had at present been unable to trace out. The man Edward Short was engaged as a clerk by the abort firm, and the prosecution would be able to produce evidence showing till Short took the tickets from the book at Messrs Hammond and Carpenter's; in fact, he bad admitted having dot* fo. Mr Catey being an employer of Short, and considered cognisant ot the act, must bs looked upon as la accessory to the act, and therefore vm equally charged with the offence. It appeared that the ca<e had arise! through the Eutpi-uons of Mr Hogtn, of the Kohimarama Training Schooli who apparently doubted the weight of th» loads of coal delivered by MeEsrs Casey and ■ Lovett at the institution. Mr Hogan requested to have the coal weighed, and accordingly tho next time weigh-bridw tickets were supplied with the coal. Mr Hogan, however, was still euepicioni, and on the 29th July he took the tickets to Messrs Hammond and Carpenter's establishment, as they purported to have come from their weigh-bridge book. Upon examination beinj made, it WM found that these tickets had been abstracted from the books of that firm. Shorl then admitted that ko had taken the tickets. Subsequently tickets had also been received from the Hospital and Refogei. The evidence they were prepared to pro"dues would, he felt sure, ba sufficient to warrant the Court in committing the socusod to take their trial. Mr Robert William Hammond, ,ol the firm of Hammond and Carpenter, coal merchants, of Auckland, deposed that he was the proprietor of the weigh-bridge at the railway station, and also at Newmarket. He knew the accused. Their premisei were adjoining, and a cart proceeding from Casey and Lovett'a must paw hU weighbridge in order to go up towDi The weigh-bridge was open to tho tmbllo on payment of sixpence per load. When a load was weighed a ticket was given to the driver containing the gross and net weight of the load. The tickets were signed far the man in charge, and went.fcrth M thoir guarantee as to tho correctness of the weights so inscribed. Frederiok Hinton was in charge of the weigh-bridge. Witness had never given authority to any person to take tickets from the book. The tickets at tho Newmarket weigh-bridge were quite distinct from those at the breakwater. All tickets issued should bs initialled by Frederick Hinton. Owing hi tho representation of Mr Hogan, of the Kohimarama School, witness examined his book, and found that ten tickets had been abstracted. The weigh-bridge book had not boen used since. There wag no entry in the blccfc whore the tickets had been torn out. On the 13th of August he receired some tickets from Mr Schofield, of the Hospital. These tickets purpotred to come from their weigh' bridge. The tickets were not initialled. Witness could find do duplicates in the block of the book corresponding with these tickets. On the same date he also received tickets from Mr Brophy and Mr Walter!, of the Old People's Refuges, for which there was nothing to correspond in the butte of the blook. Upon examination of the book, witness discovered that one ticket vtu genuine, and ultimately six of the tickets were declared to never have emanated with authority from their office. Tanpiri coal could not be deiivered at the Kohimarama School under £25 per ton, and could not be done for profit at £22 M (Casey and Lovett's contract price). Cross-examined by Mr Cooper: That book was called Casey and Lovett's book! a 8 they kept separate ones for their more important customers. He bad tendered to supply Kobimarama School in opposition to Mr Casey. The price at that time was not much above Caeey and Lovott's prico, but thon he would nave taken it to Kohimarama by' boat. bS Mr Cotter: They had no private mint upon the weighbridge tickets by wbicn they could tell them beyondjthe initialling. There was nothing to prevent the printers issuing duplicate tickets. The p«" foils of the tickets were sometimes not filled out when pereons were willingjto trust to the bu<t< of the book. Did not always know what became of these prefoils. Thoy might be swept out under some circumstances. Thetr tickets did not identify the horee, cart and driver with tne load. There was nothing to prevent drivers from exchanging tickets outside if tliey chose. The driver might take off some Oi the coal afterwards if he chose. . , William Lovett, partner in the firm 01 Casey and Lovett, deposed they had been in business together about;twelve montds. Short had been in tho firm when witness joinod it. Witness generally attended to tho outside part ~ £,: carts and horses, and such like, wni» Shnrt looked aftor the office, U«ey lot ked after the business generally. »nor» looked after the ordinary daily accounts oi the firm, He knew Short's nMlo>"'jf' The signatures on two o» three of w tickets produced were like Short* o»»« wrilidfr, fcttt to could not b» p<w»ttvt.