THE ALLEGED " EMPLOYMENT " SWINDLE.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7356, 8 July 1889, Page 3

THE ALLEGED " EMPLOYMENT " SWINDLE.

At the Police Court on Saturday (before Messrs R. Westenra and H. R. Webb). 'Harry E. Stirling, alias Weiss, was charged with having no lawful visible means of support, and with having obtained money by false pretences. Inspector Pender conducted the prosecution. Mr Stringer ap. peared for the prisoner, who is a stylishly dressed man of uncertain age, with a Jewish cast of countenance, and from whose clothes, as he passed into the dock, there exhaled a fashionable perfume, not usually to be detected in the purlieus of the prisoners box.

Inspector Pender said the prisoner had been arrested in Lyttelton on the strength of a telegram from the police at Dunedin, informing him that a warrant had been issued there. Mr Pender called

Detective O'Connor, who said that he went on board the Mararoa. He saw the frisoner, whom he accosted as "Stirling.' 'risoner said his name was Weiss, but failing to produce anything to support the statement, witness arrested him. Inspector Pender, referring to details fiven below, asked that the prisoner be etained here until the arrival of tbe warrant, or else remanded to Dunedin.

Mr Stringer said the Inspector could not be in earnest, for he knew that tbe prisoner for such an offence as he was charged with could riot be detained on a mere telegram which stated that a warrant had been issued.

Inspector Pender then asked for the charge of false pretences to be gone on with.

Wm. Young, a laborer, residing at Sydenham, deposed that he saw' in a paper the following advertisement :— Wanted people to do work for us for the coming New Zealand Exhibition ; £_ to £5 per week can be made at home by

persons or eicner sex. new Dusmess; no canvassing, no talking, no walking required. Big success. Any one can do it. Capital not required. We stare you. Boys i and girls earn nearly as much as men. Full particulars and instructions mailed on the receipt of a twopenny stamp. Now is the time. Don't delay. Write at ouce if you want to make money. Address H. E. Stirling, A.M.P. Buildings, Dunedin." Witness did not delay but wrote at once, and in reply received a circular :— " Office of New Zealand Branch, " A.M.P. Buildings, Dunedin. " Yours to hand, and we herewith give you an idea —that is if you are willing and energetic—that you can easily earn at home, in a comfortable room, from £2 to £5 per week. It will cose you nothing ; capital not required ; we will stare you. It matters not what your profession is, you can easily do the work. We have had all classes of people to work for us from all sorts of professions, both men and women; and those that we did employ and send out work to were well satisfied at the end of every week. The employment we offer is easy work when you have done several lots. For the Melbourne Exhibition we had over 4000 people at work, and all earned from £2 to £5 weekly. Many boys and girls that we employed earned almost as much as men. To all persons we employ we send enough work to last one week, and when that is finished you send it back to us, and by return parcels post we will send another lot, and by the same mail we will send you your wages earned for the work finished, which runs all the way from £2 to £5 per week. It all depends upon the person's workmanship. It is very natural that one who is quick and fast in working earns more than one who is slow. If you could furnish us with good -fair references, we will send you enough work, to keep you going for two weeks instead of one, and in this way you will lose no time. We have enough work to keep many people at work until the Dunedin Exhibition opens in November next. We send you the articles that we want you to work on, and also the material to do the work with, free of charge, but in order to be secured , and to know that you will work we ask you to forward us 8s as a security and guarantee for tbe articles and material, etc., and when we see you are at work and have sent your articles back all finished to us, then we will return with your wages the 8s again. The reason we ask this amount of money is to secure - cost money;. and" now, if you want to ■■> make money, let us hear from you. Don't delay, for our li3t will soon be full, and when we once have enough people we will not chanßP, but keep everybodyright on till the Exhibition opens up. Don't be afraid to venture that you cannot do the work. We know that everybody can do it, for we send printed instructions to go by, and anyone that can read can work with us, as the work is very simple. Koping to hear from you, I remain very Mily yours, "H.B. Stirling." Upon this, witness sent on June 24th, to the address given, a postal card for Bs, and a day or two afterwards received in reply, a post card, on the back of which was wr/vten:— "Dunedin, June 27. "Dear Sir,—-I will send your work about July 4th. I am awaiting some colors. Respectfully yours," "H. E. Stirling." On July sth witness received another post card, on the back of which was printed:— " N,Z. BRANCH OFFICE. " Manufactory of Cameo and Ivory Type Pictures. " P. 0., Box 27& " H. E. Stirling, '•Manager. "July 2nd. 1889. " On the arrival of the steamer from Melbourne to-day, I received word that my goods to complete outfit could not be sent till the next steamer, so will send yon outfit complete in another week.—l remain, very respectfully yours, "H. E. Stirling." This quickened the suspicions already aroused, and communicated with the police. No work had been sent to hi m, nor anything else except the post cards and circular produced. To the Bench—Witness thought the work was some kind of type writing ; he knew nothing about that kind of work, but relied on the assurance in the circular that anybody could do the work required by following the printed directions. He did not care what kind of work it was, and he was induced to send the 8s by the promise contained in the circular. Detective O'Connor deposed as before to the arrest of the prisoner. On searching . him he found a saloon ticket in the name i of Weiss, for Auckland, and £59 in gold, also a letter from a lady enquiring what sort of work he was advertising about. Among his effects were various clippings from newspapers of his own advertisement ; also the following :— "£l to £4 per day to be made by persons of either sex, in their own localities, at work for us. New business. All meet with wonderful success. Anyone can do the work. Capital not required. We will start you. Outfit worth £1 mailed free. The employment is particularly adapted to the region in which this publication circulates. Boys and girls earn nearly as much as men. Full particulars and instructions mailed free. Now is the time —don't delay, but write to us at once. Address Stioson and Co., Portland, Maine, United States." Inspector Pender said he could go no I further at present, and would now ask for a remand. • Mr Stringer said the case as it stood was complete, and he intended to show that no ' criminal offence had been committed, and that the prisoner must be discharged. The transaction on the prisoner'spart was simply a breach of contract. The man "Yvung was fool enough to rely on a promi.ie contained in the circular, and the pri«oner had broken bis promise. The remivly for this was a civil suit to recover the Bs, for which, probably, the p.-isoner was liable; but there had been no fraudulent misrepresentation to constitute " false pretences." He promised to supply certain material, and he had not done it. that was all. A fraudulent representation must be of some bygone event or fact; anything relating to the future did not come under that category. Mr .Stringer quoted authorities on nis contention, and said the Bench could not sustain tlw charge. . ~ ,_, . T nspector Pender said the man was only Jimc arrested. The evidence on this char as was hurriedly got together, and there were other charges to come. Sir Stringer-Will the Inspector say *>,»* fSere is any more evidence in this cSe? The case i 5 complete, and ready for rt,„ iudetnent of the Court. . Tniriector Pender—The case is not comany means. What I go on is i police at Dunedin must have ! had " a sufficient charge against the prisoner, or they would not have issued tb Inspector has let the theTbalr. He wants to detain the sfa£e?-S « account of this case but Spence of what may turn up from D K_ne L Jor Pender-That is not so; what the wl*» want to do is to investigate j lb!. TwSfo thoroughly, and to do so it

is necessary to detain the prisoner and to communicate with the police at Dunedin.

Mr Westenra said he thought it was not unreasonable to ask for a remand, and a remand was accordingly granted till Friday next- the prisoner to be allowed bail, one surety in £50.