Jury Disagrees In Trial Of Manager

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31304, 25 February 1967, Page 3

Jury Disagrees In Trial Of Manager

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, February 24. After a retirement of nearly six hours a Wellington jury tonight failed to reach agreement on any of the 27 charges of theft as a servant against Ebenezer Pollock Galt, aged 50, former manager of the Midland Hotel.

The Chief Justice, Sir Richard Wild, on the application of Mr J. H. C. Larsen, ordered a new trial to take place at the present sessions of the Court. Galt was allowed bail. Mr W. R. Birks, with him Mr Larsen, prosecuted. Galt was represented by Mr R. Stacey and Mr D. Slsarich. “One Explanation”

In his final address, Mr Larsen said the Crown’s case was that Galt, having taken the counter lunch money to his office, abstracted amounts totalling £1246 for his own ; use, Mr Larsen said. i There was one explanation • of the thefts—that the money I had been taken by Galt. i Mr Stacey said the defence did admit that the money al- : leged to be missing came into ■ Gait’s hands. > “This case calls for the I highest standard of proof in : connexion with all 27 ■ charges,” he said. “The 27 charges against my client : have been worked out on a I theory of subtraction, but it ■ must be proved that he took’ • the money and if he did so, ■ intended to permanently de- : prive his employers of the I amount. I “This is a case in which the accused has given evii dence. If he had not given I evidence, no-one in this Court i could have asked him any questions,” Mr Stacey said.

The Chief Justice said the accused had not complained that the money received by him in the counter-lunch returns was deficient.

“Indeed, he admitted to the police that he had taken the money from these returns,” he said.

“You may think that the Midland Hotel had a very loose system. A bad system is a bad thing, but it is not defence to a charge of theft.” Earlier, Galt said in evidence he had been manager of the Midland for the past five years. He had previously managed the Star Hotel in Auckland, the Lake Taupo Hotel and Brents Hotel in Rotorua. Up to the time he left the Midland there had been a number of either robberies, thefts or discrepancies in the hotel. There had been one of £5BO and Galt went straight to the police about it. The then head porter, who did the banking on that particular day, resigned. On another occasion £l2O was taken from his drawer in the manager’s office. It was his own money, representing race winnings. Galt said the amounts he took from the “pie money” were spent on the hotel. At no time did he intend to make the money his own or deprive the hotel company of it.