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CHARGE OF FALSE PRETENCES.

I At the Magistrate's Court to-day, before Mr 11. VV. Brabant, S.M., Henry j Johnston, late managing director of the j Kauri Timber Company at Auckland, > was charged on remand with that he did I on December 1, ISMH), with intent to de- I fraud, by a false pretence obtain from | the Kauri Timber Company, Limited, the sum of £500, the property of the .said company. Mr Thos. Cotter appeared for the prosecution and Mr F. Jiarl for Johnston. George Lush, of Melbourne, managing director of tin: Kauri Timber Company, was the first witness. He said he knew accused, who had been for some three years managing director of the company at Auckland at a salary of £1000 per annum. John Brown stated that he had been a director of the Kauri Timber Company for the last eight or ten years. Part of the business of that company was the purchase of kauri timber. In certain case--: the company made advances actual delivery of the timber. At the end of November or the j beginning of December last year he and the accused had a conversation regarding aMr James Knox. Mi' Johnston : brought, up the matter of the purchase of timber to the amount of £500. He stated that the timber in question belonged to a man named Knox, who had a small bush at the Wairoa, and that he (Knox) knew of an adjoining block of equal value that he could purchase if he had the money. Mr Johnston urged that the company should make this purchase owing to a probubie shortness of timber at the Wairoa mill. Johnston said the Wairoa bush foreman had commended the purchase. Witness asked him if he thought the head Board would approve of the tran.sact.ion. He informed witness that it was one he had no doubt about. Witness then told him that he would support the purchase bein<* made. Johnston did not suggest or say that he was in any way personally interested in the transaction. Relying on this statement the advance "was ordered to be made. Edgar Ward, Secretary of the Kauri Timber Company at Auckland, de-posed to a cheque for £500 (produced) bem# drawn for one James Knox, countersigned by witness, and handed to Mr Johnston, who gave a receipt (produced-) for it. Subsequently Johnston brought, into the. office a receipt purporting- to be from James Knox, and also a contract for the delivery of the timber. (Documents produced). No timber had been supplied in accordance with that contract, as far as witness knew. Mr Cotter: I think yesterday, Mr Ward, that sum. of £500 was refunded, accompanied by the letter which you now produce. Witness: Yes. A letter, described as a letter of receipt, was handed in. by Mr Cotter. James Knox, gardener, of Orakei, llemuera, was the next witness called. He said he knew the accused, and he had been doing g-ardenino- work for Mr Johnston for about eight years. He (witness) had never owned any bush property, either at the Wairoa or anywhere else. He had never authorised any person to sell any kauri timber to The Company, nor had he himself sold, any. The signatures to two documents produced were witness's. Mr Cotter: How did you come to sign those documents? Knox, in reply- said: As near as I can recollect it was near about the 24th of January. I was working on the morning of that date at Mr Johnstone's place. He came to me when he was going- to his business in the morning, and asked for permission to use my name. He said he was a director in the Kauri Timber Co., and couldn't sell. "Take those papers home/ he said, (meaning the documents and the cheque prodticed), "'sig-n them, and return them to me in the morning." I did as I was requested, and-returned them to him in the morning. I handed him the whole of them, and he then handed me his cheque, saying, "keep that till T. ask you for it." Witness knew that one of the documents he received was a receipt for £ 500. He had never received this sum or any sum from the Kauri Timber Company. Mr Cotter here read the receipt, which purported to be a receipt for £500, in consideration of a quantity of timber in the log, about one million superficial feet, at the Wairoa. In answer to further questions by Mr Cotter, Knox said: I was under the impression that Mr Johnston either owned the timber or could produce , it. That was the reason I put my name to it. I have never owned any timber. Some time after this, T said to Mr Johnston, "Are you not afraid, Mr Johnston, that I will go and cash the cheque - and clear out?" He answered, "I am afraid you couldn't get it, Knox." 1 never saw the Kauri Timber Co.'s cheque for £500 (produced) before today. Yesterday my solicitor, Mr Hantia, refunded to the Kauri Timber Company the amount of £500, which I was enabled to do by Mr Johnston's solicitor, Mr Earl, having handed that amount to Mr Hanna. His Worship: And you did not receive any money from anyone in connection With this transaction? You have said you did not receive any from the Kauri' Timber Company. Knox: No, sir; Mr Johnston did not pay me any either. This concluded the case for the prosecution. Johnston said he reserved his defence. COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. His Worship then committed the accused for trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court to be held in Auckland .

POLICE COURT PROCEEDINGS.

SUM OF £1250 REFUNDED,

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19010517.2.49.1

Bibliographic details

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 116, 17 May 1901, Page 5

Word Count
944

CHARGE OF FALSE PRETENCES. Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 116, 17 May 1901, Page 5

CHARGE OF FALSE PRETENCES. Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 116, 17 May 1901, Page 5