CHARGES AGAINST MORROW.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 150, 26 June 1889, Page 8

CHARGES AGAINST MORROW.

ACCUSED BEFORE THE POLICE 'COURT.

At the Police Court this morning Edward Morrow was brought up on remand on a charge of absconding to Fiji from the colony with certain money, the property of the Arch Hill Road Board. There were four informations of three charges each. Mr Tole appeared for the accused, and Mr Breham represented the police. Alfred Edward Augustus Clark deposed that he was agent at Newton for the Colonial Bank of New Zealand. He knew the accused, who acted as clork co the Arch Hill Road Board, and who was in the habit of banking the Board money there. He produced tho bank pass-book and copy of the ledger, which showed that the last sum ofmoney paid into the bank by the accused was £11 8d on the 21st March last.

George Taylor, general dealer, deposed that he was Treasurer of the Arch Hill Road Board from May, 1886, till May, 1889. The accused Morrow was in the employ of the Board as Secretary and collector. He was paid for this secretaryship, and received commission as collector. He received £15 as secretary, and 7 per cent, on rates collected. His duties were to collect the rates and deposit them in the National Bank ab Newton, whenever he held more-than £5 in hie Lands, after a period of three days. He had to produce a copy of the paying-in bank-slip as voucher that he had paid in the money. The accused left the employ of the Board on or about the 31st of March lasb. The next meeting of the Board was held on bho first Monday in April, but Morrow did not attend it. On the 28th March last witness met the accused, who said he had then on hand £7 or £8.

Margaret Burns deposed that she was the wife of Elias Burns, Arch Hill, and was a ratepayer in the Arch Hill Road Board District. She knew the accused, and remembered paying him her rates on March 12th last at her house. The amount paid was £-1 ss, and he gave her a receipt (produced) for the money. She had known the accused for a number of years, and had neverheard anything against his character. Pvichard Lenahan deposed that he was a ratepayer in the Arch Hill Road District. About a week or a fortnight before Morrow disappeared he paid him £1 of his rates owing, and he received a receipt for it. He bore evidence to the previous good character of the accused.

Robert Lindsay, ratepayei in the Arch Hill BoadßoardDistrict, swore that on March 19th last he paid the accused 14a 4£d of his rates owing.

Henry Thompson deposed that he was Chairman of the Arch Hill Road Board last year, and up to the 6th May, 1889. He was a ratepayer in the district, and knew the accused. Morrow absconded about the first week in April, or, at any rate, absented himself from the Board meeting on the first week of April, and was absent since then. On March 4th he paid the accused £1 3s 9d, rates owing by him, and received a receipt. After Morrow absconded, witness laid au information against him, and got out a warrant against him, in his (witness's) capacity as Chairman of the Road Board.

William Errinerton, engineer, ratepayer in the Arch Hill Road District, deposed that on March 2nd last he paid the accused £6 14s 4d, rates owiug by him, and received a receipt for the money. He had known tho accused for the last three years, and had nob heard anything against his character previous to this. Witness produced the Board's cash-book and turned up tho various entries showing the amounts due in rates by property owners of the district on March 31sb. In the entries regarding rates, turned up at the request of Mr Broham, no receipts were shown for certain rates paid away by property owners, and they were not di.ted.

Cross-examined by Mr Tole: I have kept the bank book all along. I have asked the accused to bank coney, when he said he had it in hand. I never suspected him of keeping any money back, and had no suspicion that anything was going wrong. I made up tho last annual ac. count of the Board for Government audit.

James Skeen, present collector to the Arch Hill Road Board, deposed that he was appointed to the office about the second week iti April. He had made entries of payments of rates in cases in which pavrnenb had not been made to him by the property-owners, but to Morrow previous to his departure.

Mr Tole objected to ths manner in which Inspector Broham was eliciting evidence regarding the rate entries, and then drawing his own conclusions from the depositions of witness relative to his entry of receipts for payment of rates alleged to have been collected by Morrow. The entries had been gone over previously in Taylor's evidence.

Mr Tole cross examined the witness, who stated that the entries of payment received had been made by him solely on the ground of the production of the receipts by the ratepayers in question for the amounts paid away by them. Miss Morrow's evidence, which Mr Tole obtained leave to have taken in private, was nofa available on account of the lady fainting. Charlotte Edgar deposed she was a ratepayer in the Artjh Hill district. On March Bth ehe paid the accused the sum of £2 6s 6d, receipts produced. She had known Morrow iion years and she never knew anything against lira. Edward Johnston deposed that on February 27th he paid the accused fcho -'*''■'•> of £1 Is 3d for rates.

(Left Sitting.)