SYNTHETIC MOTOR SPIRIT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20103, 5 December 1930, Page 13

SYNTHETIC MOTOR SPIRIT.

CHARGES AGAINST ALLEGED INVENTOR. (rRESS ASSOCIATION TKLEG-BAii.) AUCKLAND, December 4. The claims of an inventor to have manufactured synthetic motor spirit and his dealings with a company floated in Auckland, formed the basis of a case in the Magistrate's Court, when Gordon Dugald Crawford, aged 23, was charged with obtaining £IOO from Herbert Allan Steadman, of Auckland, as agent for the New Zealand Petrol Company, Limited, by a false pretence, by selling to the company a certain formula and process which was valueless. There wore further charges of obtaining £25 from the company by falsely pretending that he could manufacture a substitute for benzine, of obtaining £IOO in the same manner, and of stealing £22, tho property of the company. Herbert Allan Steadman said Crawford claimed to be the inventor of a formula for making petrol or motor spirit from chemicals. Accused arranged to sell tho formula to the-New Zealand Petrol Company, and entered into an agreement with it. Tho company eventually agreed to purchase the formula.

Witness said on August IGtli it was arranged that the formula should be written out, and £2OO paid to the vendors, Crawford and his uncle. The formula was secretly written out by accused, sealed in .'in envelope and deposited in a bank. Subsequently accused received money from the company to purchase ingredients to make experiments. Later Crawford said ho had received a threateniug letter, and had been followed. The letter, which was written on a telegraph-form in block letters was then produced ia Court. It read: "If you go through with this demonstration you will not live twentyfour hours after." The Alleged Formula. "Witness then described a demonstration by accused which was a complete failure, accused saying he did not have the correct apparatus. Later witness got the formula from the bank. Its contents were as follows: —"The formula is concealed on tho property of "W. H. Soppett, Hunua, and the place is known only to me. When I wrote it out I neglected to state one important thing. As each and every ingredient is being transferred from the test tube t the container the person doing it must count from 1 to .10. This is very important. I have done this in the interests of the company, as I consider the formula is very much safer where it is than in the hands of aiqr individual or iudivid-

uals. I l'ecl sure the company "will appro ciate what I have done."

Thero were no chemicals or ingredients mentioned in tho formula, continued Steadman, who said a suitcase was opened at a directors' meeting on October 9th and found to contain a number of empty four-ounco bottles and some with a liquid in them which looked like potassium permanganate. Witness said on July 16th accused gave an unsuccessful demonstration, but another on the following day was successful. He produced about two-thirds of two quarts of what appeared to be motor spirit. Ho carried out this demonstration alone, and no one saw what he was doing. The Government Analyst at Auckland said the ,iars of fluid submitted to him for analysis contained Condy's fluid. Accused pleaded not guilty, and was committed for trial. Bail was allowed, a condition being that accused report weekly to the police.