FOR GERMANY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 34, 10 February 1915, Page 3

FOR GERMANY

TRADING WlTBt THE ENEMY DUERKOP FOUND GUILTY. A LAW POINT INVOLVED. "The jury are agreed that the accused is guilty on counts 1-4, inasmuch as he did not break off negotiations with Gustav J. J. Witt." This was the official record of the find-" ing of the jury yesterday afternoon ,at the Supreme Court in the case in which Wilhelm Heinrich Magnus Duerkop, a German, 26 years of age, was indicted on five charges of trading with an alien enemy. His Honour the Chief Jnstice (Sir Robert Stout) wae on the Bench. Mr. H. H. Ostler (of the Crown Law Office) conducted the prosecution for the Crown, and Mr. T. Neave appeared on behalf of the accused. The detailed charges were :—: — 1. Being a partner in a firm of merchants carrying on business at Auckland . . under the name of Duerkop and Mackay, on or about 17th September, at Auckland, at a time while His Majesty was at war with a foreign State, to wit, th© Empire of Germany, did attempt to supply Gustav J. J. Witt, a person carrying on business in the territory of such foreign State, to wit, at Hamburg, certain goods, to wit, seventeen casks of casings. 2. A similar charge laid in respect to 6th October, the charge reading : "Did supply thirty-three casks and one case of casings." 3. In respect to 28th October, of "attempting to supply nineteen bales of sheepskins, twelve sacks of cow tails, and fourteen sacks of glue pieces." 4. On the same date, ten casks of casings. 0. Of attempting to trade with th« ©n«my by supplying Gustav J. J. Witt and Co. 's Handelma&tschappie , a German firm trading at Rotterdam, for transmission to an enemy country, to wit, Germany, nine casks and one case of casings. After his Honour's aumming-up (as wported in yesterday'e Post) the jury retired at 2.55 p.m., and returned at 3.40 p.m. for directions by the Judge. The first question the foreman put to his Honour was : If the jury found that Duerkop was dealing with Witt, did it matter whether he (Witt) was acting for the Rotterdam houee or hi» own house ? Hi«, Honour : " I don't think «o. He (Duerkop) was trading with An enemy, and it doe«n't matter for whom Witt was acting." His Honour added that after trading with Witt prior to the war the point was whether Duerkop, when war broke out, kept Wit/- alive in the negotiations. The Foreman : One other point is as to the majority required. His Honour : You mvs 1 . be unanimous. Again the jury retired, and at 4.25 p.m. returned with the following replies to the issues for determination :—: — 1. We find that the prisoner did trade with a company called the Gustav J. J. Witf and Co.'s, Handelmaatschappis, which was registered in Rotterdam, in Holland. 2. That this company had as its sole director* Germans. 3. That all its shareholder* were Germans. 4. That itts managing director was Gustav >J. J Witt, a German, who resided in Germany. That, if ir law this wa* trading with an enemy, then the prisoner was guilty under the second and third counts of the fifth indictment. Mr. Neave was granted leave to appeal on the point of law involved in the fifth indictment, and accused was thereupon released on bail.