BETTING BY TELEGRAPH.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1421, 23 April 1912, Page 2

BETTING BY TELEGRAPH.

POSTAL OFFICERS CHARGED WITH FRAUD. (By Tclegraph.-Spccial Correspondent.) Pnlmcrston North, April 22. Boughs Munro and Edward Bnigent, officers of the Ungburn Post Office, were charged at (he Police Court to-day, beforo Mr. A. J). Thomson, S.M., with conspiring to defraud William Scott and Henry Martiniale, trading together at Wellington under the style of Sectt and Martindale, nl .£3O. Detective Siddells explained that one of the accused had been at the W'aiigamn races, and had got into telephone communication with the other accused a Longburn immediately after the race, tolling him the name of the winning hor.se, and the latter put an earlier time on a telegraph messago t» Scott and Mnrlindale, hacking the hor*o Frederick Pen-in, Post Office official from the General Post Office, Wellington gave cvidcnco that he had the MinisWa authority to produce certain telegrams One contained an instruction to back Lady Moutoa first start nt Wnngnnui The telegram would have to pass through the Palmerston North Office. It was timed 12.55 p.m. at the Longburn office. Tlio witness had seen the accused at Long, bum, and told Muiiro that he wished to know the circumstances under which the telegram was transmitted. The lattor made a written statement, stating that the mallei' had been pre-arranged between himself and Baigent, A statement was also given by Baigent. The telegram was finished at Wellington at 1.2G p.m. The witness did not tell Munro that he had a constable waiting to arrest him, nor did ho make any mention of the police. Munro wrote out three statements altogether, one of which he took back. Thi« was In the effect that Baigent was wholly responsible. The witness did not accept this statement as ho did not think it true. Ho told Munro that he was nt liberty to give another statement if ho wished, but did not bring pressure lo bear on him. He told him that he would like him to clear the Palmerston officer, who had tillered the telegram in response to a request from Longburn, if he wo» .not to blame. Leonard Sylvester Downes, railway slalionmastei' and postmaster nt Longburn, deposed that one of the two accused was a railway endet in his office, and the other (Baigent) was a postal messenger. Hector Johnston, operator in the telegraph office at Wellington, .stated that he was on duty at Palmerston North on March 2. He received a telegram from Longburn, reading "Shall Lady Moutoa run," at 12.50 p.m. .Tames Dilks, employed in the Palmerston Telegraph Office, said ha received a telephone message from Longburn on March 2. He got a telegram from the Wellington line, and asked if he could alter it as a result of the message received, and was informed that he could. He altered it in consequence to read "M, Lady Moutoa, first start." William Anderson, telegraph operator at Palmerston North, stated that the distributor, Dilks, brought the telegram to him, and he commenced to send it. Dilks then came and asked that, it might lie altered. He took it, and witness sent it a little later in its altered form. Donald Robbing, assistant secretary to the Wangnnui Jockey Club, stated that the first race at Wniigamii started at eight minutes past twelve, and was won .by Ladv Moutoa. She paid a JCIS Bs, dividend on the tolalisatov. Henrv Martindale, of Scott and Martindale, AYellington, on being asked if his firm received the telegram in question declined to answer, on the grounds that he might incriminate himself. Both the accused reserved their defence, and entered a plea, of not guilty. They were committed for trial at the next sitting of tho Supremo Court, bail being allowed in their own recognisances of .£IOO each, and two sureties m each cos* of J!sfl each. The Conservative majority at the last election was 1470, and at the previous election 152. At the 1900 poll, Sir Henry Cotton (Liberal) was elected by a majority of 1730, defeating Mr. E. 'Uoud (Conservative), who had hold the seat from 1895. Sir John, Rccs, who is an authority on Indian affairs, seceded from the Liberal party at. the time of tin House of Lords crisis, and joined th» Opposition.