"WHOLESALE FRAUDS.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14898, 11 February 1914, Page 5

"WHOLESALE FRAUDS.

Mr Ostler said there were 32 charges of theft against all the accused, involving £832 19s. The indictments reflated to charges from April 1911, to October, 1913. It was tho policy of the Customs Department not to keep records . for a longer period than three years, so whether other thefts had occurred before this time would never be known unless tho accused choso to make a clean breast of things. The records however, showecT ffcat Campbell, in Christchurch, had been implicated during the last 18 months in 101 thefts, totalling £2874/ Hill the last three years with 88 thefts, totalling £287-1 5s od. Smith and McCormick 131 thefts, totalling £4616 8a 10d, and Smith, alone, with 43 thefts, totalling £798 lls Id, though possibly McCormick had had a share out of this latter amount.

la reply to Mr Hoban's allegations, Mr Ostler said the landing .waiter was the chief check to the landing inspector. If the chief check, a. man of many years' service turned out dishonest, of. course, the check was gone. It was the duty of thfa landing surveyor to sco that the invoice and prime entry agreed. When he saw they agreed, he put his stamp on the invoice and on the prime entry form.' If that had been done in this case there would have been a double .check, the landing surveyor, and these men, if they had been honest. He, Mr Ostler, however, would have brought evidence to prove if the cases had gone to a. jury that the stamp put on was a forged stamp, and not the landing waiter's stamp. Although no doubt the system was not perfect, no system was perfect, it could not with justice be said that there was any extraordinary laxity on tho part of the Customs Department to encourage.these frauds.