ARTHUR CRACKNELL

Auckland Star, Volume LII, Issue 304, 22 December 1921, Page 7

ARTHUR CRACKNELL

rfgEE YEARS' IMPRISONMENT. 1 >"0 LENIENCY SOUGHT. f JUDGE OX ABUSE OF TRUST. , Arthur Cracknell was this morning outenced to three years' imprisonment n twelve charges of theft, involving mr f 8000. Cracknell had pleaded guilty at the Police Court, and came before Mr. Justice Stringer in the Supremo Court thli morning lor sentence. Mr. A. H. Johnstone, for the prisoner, stated that it had been no part of his instructions to make any appeal for leniuey in respect of the crimes which Cracknell had himself admitted. Rather -mi the attitude taken that in regard to iiß misdeeds the Court should proceed to sentence unhampered by any extraneous considerations. This had been the prisoner's attitude throughout what had {go for him a most trying period of six months or more. But there were certain aiiects of the case to which, in justice, counsel felt bound to refer. The depositions verc extremely bare of details. ' Hj» Honor: There is certainly no ex«]in*ti°n wliatever as far as T can see as to what became of this large sum of money. Mr. Johnstone: That is one of the aspects to which 1 desire to make some reference. This was a partnership matter and it may be that whilst the prisoner is legally liable for the whole of the' defalcations, yet it is quite possible that morally such is not the case. One has some hesitation in presenting these matters to the Court, and it is my earnest desire to avoid even the appearance of the prisoner sheltering 'behind a man not hereto answer for himself or to speak in »ny unkind way concerning the dead. But ■where I do so I do it with the utmost hesitation. Cracknell started in life as a law clerk with Burton and Hammond in 1904, at the age of 19 years, without any previous experience whatever. Very shortly he made himself a most useful nice man, and within four years (in 1908) he was appointed managing clerk. He then came closely in contact with Hammond, and especially because at that time Hammond's life was beset with considerable difficulty. At that time the hooks were kept by Messrs. Burton and Hammond, and Cracknell knew nothing shout the accounts of the firm. In December, .1913, Mr. Burton was appointed a magistrate, and Cracknell was offered and accepted a partnership with Hammond. The business was large and apparently lucrative. Cracknell was taken in without the payment of a premium, and naturally felt well disposed towards the man who appeared to h|ive acted generously and handsomely towards him. But the relations between the parties, excepting for purely business purposes, were still those of master and servant. Hammond was 20 years the senior, and was always Mr. Hammond to Cracknell, whilst the latter was "Arthur" to Mr. Hammond. There was no doubt that Hammond dealt exclusively with certain of the accounts of the firm, some of which concerned well-known large speculators in land. It turned out subse•nweffly that trust moneys in the hands of the firm were paid over in large sums to those speculators, and there is more than a suggestion that some partnership existed between them and Hammond himself. Persons who paid trust moneys into the firm inquired from time to time for interest, and they were paid, but no interest was paid by the persons to whom the money was lent, and gradually a huge defalcation was built up. When tie prisoner had been for some time in partnership he began to 6uspect that everything was not as it ought to he, and that the business was being conducted in a highly irregular manner. Borne time ago Cracknell said this must end, but Hammond was always the stronger personality, and he assured Cracknell that matters would come right. He was hoping that Kawau Island, belonging to Farmer, would be sold at a considerable profit, and everything would be well. In 1920 Cracknell spoke again, and he was told that in another three months certain sales would take place. They did not until three months later. So things were earned on until August of this year, when Cracknell decided that come what would, he would have to make the matter public and take the consequences. He consulted a solicitor as to his position—in fact he consulted mc. I saw Hammond and told him this way of business must cease, an accountant be secured, and things squared up. Even while Hammond was ill I was able to see he wag a man of masterful ways, and he was quite sure that if given a little more time things would turn out well. In another few days he was dead. Cracknell was left to face the position alone. He immediately called a meeting of creditors and faced them himself, and told them what the position was. As a resnlt of his own statements and affidavits he was adjudicated bankrupt and •truck off the roll of solicitors. Ever since then he has given his best assistance towards the cleaning up of the accounts and matters generally. "I do not think," continued counsel, "that I have ever had so painful a duty as that of this morning. Here is a young man—3s years of age—married, with one child, who in the ordinary way should- have been established comfortably and honourably in an honourable profession. To-day he stands stripped of his profession, hopelessly bankrupt, denuded of his good name, .disgraced. Yet there was a bright spo,t. He had "lade no attempt to enrich himself. None "f the money went into his own pocket. As far as can be gathered it went in paying interest and other charges—in • robbing Peter to pay Paul. There is no doubt that in 1914 grave irregularities had already taken place, but it may have been a sense of loyalty to the man he considered his benefactor which prevented Cracknell bringing matters to * head earlier than he did. It required * stsong and courageous man to take up that attitude. In some respects sentence will come to Cracknell as a relief. Whatever it may be, it must 'be lighter than the suspense, worry and disgrace that has been his for the last «nt months. I am also sure of this, that if the influence of ouol does not crush °irt of him the spirit he now shows, he Wll in due course make a strong effort to set matters right in the eyes of his fellow-citizens."

His Honor: I would like to know if you suggest that the accused was not A any of these instances the direct **'tor in the frauds, for I have his statc•nents before mc from which I gather 'iat lie received considerable sums of tnoncy and has been himself a party to >|« misuse of these moneys. Mr. Johnstone: 1 think that is true. The explanation was I hat he came into the whirlpool with the rest. Hie Honor: It is not a case qf a man Just letting the other partner go on in •retcmatic fraud. Hv participated him•iUftJJte fellow .. .. ,_.._...

Mr. Johnstone: Towards the end he did, and has made full confession. For that I offer no excuse. Things had to go on or be faced. I do feel that he was to a great extent under the influence of the other partner. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr. Meredith) said the defalcations of the firm amounted to about £20,000. Mr. JohnStone very properly had not wished to shelter the prisoner behind libs late partner. "And while I do not feel justified in making suggestions against a man' now dead," continued Mr. Meredith, "iti is only fair to Cracknell to say that ilammond was the outstanding personality, and no doubt Cracknell came under his influence, and that even after the partnership the relation of master and servant did largely continue. Of course there is the fact' that in the latter stages Cracknell knew of the defalcations and wag a direct party to them. It is true he did not enrich himself ,as far as can be ascertained; it seema the moneys were used to stem the tide until some fortuitous circumstance— such as the sale of Kawau— should replenish the assets of the firm and put it on its fe*t. The money was received from a great number of people i who thought it was being securely invested, whilst it was being used to kecpj things going. In many cases it was; the money of people who could ill afford ■ to lose it. In that respect Cracknell nbiwed the trust of a solicitor, causing much distress to many unfortunate people." His Honor: Is there any satisfactory explanation of how all this money has been got rid of—and is it clear that it was lost in speculation and attempts to recover the firm's position? Mr. Meredith: Once there is a large shortage and interest was kept on being paid to people who assumed the money they lent was on you •start paying six per cent, there is an outgo of thousands a year in interest alone. That is apparently where the money went. They were just waiting, and homing something would Iturn up to enable them to right things. In the meantime other people were being encouraged to lend their money.

In passing sentence, his Honor said:] "Making every allowance for what has I been said on behalf of the prisoner, there can be no doubt that this young man, in the guise of carrying on an honourable profession, has been systematically defrauding persons who trusted money into the hands of his firm. The only mitigating circumstance I can see is that it is just possible ho was under the influence of a man of more powerful character than his own, and had not the moral courage to make a. stand at an earlie* stage than he really did. I cannot, however, overlook the fact that he was not merely passive in the matter, because he himself, by his own statement, has shown that at any rate one stage he carried on in precisely the same way as his partner had before him. Of course it is a painful thing to have to pass, sentence upon a man in his position, but I owe a duty to the public to pass an exemplary sentence in a case of this sort, and I think I also owe it to the profession to which he belonged and to which he has delivered a blow—a blow to the confidence placed upon members of that profession. It is impossible for mc to treat this as other than a case of a man who has systematically abused a position of trust. It has been repeatedly laid down in cases of that sort that the punishment should be substantial. The sentence of the Court is that the accused be imprisoned for three years."