WHAT IS A FORGERY?

Dominion, Volume 18, Issue 150, 19 March 1924, Page 8

WHAT IS A FORGERY?

, EXAMINATION BY PROXY WERE THE PAPERS FALSE DOCUMENTS ? Whether examination papers written by another person by' arrangement, and handed in as the work of another, were false documents, find as such forgeries, was the question the Court of Appeal was asked to decide yesterday. The case before the Court was that of the Crown v. Herbert Hall Webb and Gordon Stuart McLachlan. The Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout), Mr. Justice Sim, Mr. Justice Stringer, and Mr. Justice Salmond were on tho bench. At the trial in Dunedin on February 12 botli accused pleaded not guilty to a charge of forging two documents. The case as stated for the Appeal Court was that in August, 1923, Webb was a candidate for examination in Dunedin for the teachers’ D certificate, each candidate being furnished with a card marked with his name and code number. Webb did not sit himself, but by arrangement was personated by McLauchlan, who presented Webb’s card and wrote on the slip Webb’s code number and "Herbert H. Webb.” He wrote the answers to the examination paper, which were handed in as the work of Webb. At the trial counsel for accused contended that neither, the slip nor the examination paper was a false document within the meaning of the Crimes Act, and that accused could not be guilty of forgery. His Honour Mr. Justice Sim ruled that both slip and examination paper were false documents, and held that answers to questions submitted to the jury amounted to a verdict of guilty. After hearing legal argument, their Honours reserved their decision.