SUPREME COURT

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 39, 9 November 1917, Page 9

SUPREME COURT

FORGING A WILL

HARRIS FOUND GUILTY

In the Supreme Court yesterday, the Chief Justice (Sir liobert .Stunt) and a jury of twelvo resumed the hearing of the case in which George Harris .was charged with forging and uttering a document that purported to be the will of his lato father-in-law, John Smith. Mr. P. S. K. Macossey prosecuted, and Mr. 31. Myers defonded.

The accused, in the witness-box, denied that he had forged the will, or that ho had known it to do anything but genuine. The first time that ho know of tho will was when his wifo roooived a copy of it from the.Public Trustee.

His "Honour, in summing up, said that tho first question to be decided was whether thero was a genuine will. If the jury found that the alleged will had l)ecn forged, the next question was whether the accused wiae the forger. There was no witness that swore positively that the signature "John Smith," borne by the will, was authentic, while some of the witnesses for the Crown were definitely of opinion that. it was not. Tkoro was also the consideration that the will was stated to' have been written out by cue Eraser, a fireman, and kept by him for twelve months. Was it conceivable that Smith, if he expressed the intention of gojng to tho Public Trustee to have his will made, would actually have) it written out by an illiterate fireman?. Wio jury retired at 4.20, after His Honour had reviewed tho evidence somewhat fully.

In about an hour tho jury returned "a v'ordict of guilty. Harris was .remanded till Saturday for sentence.