SUPREME COURT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2885, 25 September 1916, Page 11

SUPREME COURT

A SOLICITOR'S DOWNFALL

THE CASE OF W. TOSSWILL

•' 'At the Supreme Court on Saturday morning, before Mr. Justico Chapman, William TosswiU, solicitor, of Pahiatua, was arraigned on five charges of theft of trust moneys, namely £200, .from Edith Emily Gilbert, £400 from John Kidd, £200 from Eliza. L. Mackio, £600 from Henry T. Dawson, and £240 from Selina Boxall. . He pleaded guilty to tho : first, second,'and third" charges, and nipt guilty to the other two, and ; with respect-to these Mr.'"V..R._Mere- \ dith, the Crown prosecutor, intimated that a nollo prosequi would bo entered. Mr. D. M. Findlay appeared for accused,; and made a strong appeal for leniency. He pointed out. that TosswiU was 61 years of ago, and in ill-health. Ho was on the foil of barristers and ■ solicitors, and had practised in Pahiatua for many years, where ho was well known'. Until five of six years-ago accused's financial position was sound. In -: 1910 and following years illness overtook him and changed him to some extent mentally. Accused was not able to look after his-business, and.from ' them the downward tendency began. Following upon his illness and : his inability to attend to • his business he ' purchased a farm, on'which he placed his son,- but this turned out a failure. The stock had to be sold and: the property realised. The : whole of the proceeds were applied to satisfying creditors. In addition, there came the war, .and the value of property in Pahiatua dropped.. Accused's properties were Afound to be unsaleable. In regard to the sums (£800) for which he has been charged, he had made restitution as far £3 possible, and had repaid £575, "" Reaving only £225 unpaid. ■■• Continuing, counsel stated that Mrs, TosswiU owned a property worth £900, oh which there was a liability of about £523, and this would he made available to meet, the losses. Counsel further stated, that there were two young children,- aged! seven'and four respectively, and Mrs. TosswiU would' be unable to support herself and the children without assistance. The accused would lose his status as a lawyer, and it was difficult to see what he could turn to. Taking all the circumstances into consideration,, counsel thought the Court might order him to coma up for'sentence when called upon; His Honour: That is quite out of the question.. Mr. Findlay: The longer the accused is in durane* the harder, will the struggle be for the family. Mr. Meredith stated that tho moneyswere given to Tosswill for" investment,and they were invested for a time.; iWhen the loans were repaid the moneys were transferred to accused's farm account, and he gave the owners of the money to understand that it "was still invested, but he was himself paying' tbe interest.. He made efforts to tho money, but the'pressure became too great, aiid he was foroed into bankruptcy. His liabilities wore £6000, and assets £26. ' ' . His Honour:. How far back do these defalcations' gjo? Mr. Meredith: Tho first indication that he was in financial difficulties occurred in 1912. No explanation could bo obtained from his books as to how he got into financial difficulties. There ~ wore no vices'urged against him,-nor was he a'co'used of speculating;in land.. A sentence Of two years''.imprisonment on f each charge'was imposed, the sentences to.ho,concurrent'; v. " ■ ;j ' OTHEK::spTENOEs:-' i-y'X Alfred James 'Taylor, who pleaded guilty in the Lower Court to the theft of llcwt. of scrap copper wire, valued -at £45, from the Post and Telegraph • Stores, was brought up for sentence. Mr. H. F. O'Leary, who appeared for prisoner, called E. B. Bnstow, :of George Thomas and Co., Herbert J. Thompson, of 'Thompson Bros.,- and , Georgo Neilson, who gave Taylor an .excellent character.' Neilson further stated that ■ he was prepared to let the prisoner hare £27 4s. with which, to refund the dealer to whom the wire had been sold. The probation .report was also satisfactory, • and His Honour admitted Taylor, to probation for a period of two years, and ordered him to repay the £27 4s. by monthly instalments of £2, the first payment to be made on October 1, and also to pay £3, the'costs of. the prosecution. John Alfred Shirley, who had pleaded guilty in tbe Magistrate's Court to the theft of petrol from Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald's garage on Lambton Quay, was the other prisoner. In reply to His Honour, Mr. Meredith stated that according to the police report the character and reputation-of the'prisoner were not of the best. He;kad been previously convicted for theft in Dunedin.His Honour sentenced Shirley/to nine months' imprisonment. ',