GUILTY OF FORGERY

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 148, 24 June 1915, Page 8

GUILTY OF FORGERY

MILITARY MEAT SUPPLY CASE. SYDNEY, 23rd June. At the hearing of the Kidman case, Edward Simes, a carcase butcher, in whose name one of the tenders was signed, gave evidence that he had authorised Kidman to use his name on tenders, but the attached signature was not his. He never ' had anything to do ,with the carrying out of tenders. One contract in his name was carried out by Kidman, witness doing nothing beyond signing it. Alfred James, printer, whose name was attached to a tender, said that he did not know Kidman, and had not authorised anyone to sign a tender 'for him. Kidman, in a lengthy statement, said he had been twenty-seven years tendering for Government supplies, during which he had had no trouble. With regard to the disputed tenders, he arrived at the teuder office at 11 o'clock, and tha tenders closed at noon. He put in tenders in his own name, and then, after some conversation with a gentleman who had interests in other tenders, he thought his might be too high, and he put in others in order to have a second chance. That practice, he understood, was common in Australia. In the hurry, he used names at random In every case the tenders were genuine, and would be carried out if accepted. He had' no intention to injure or defraud tho Commonwealth, The Chief Justice, in _ summing up, said the case was most important, because it concerned contracts for use in defence of the Empire. If some interested person took advantage of such a state of things to exploit the public for 'his own profit, he deserved public reprobation, if nothing else. It was admitted by the accused that he made the document and uttered it. The question to be considered was whether it was a false document. It was false if it purported to bo made on behalf of a person who had not given authority or was a non-existent person. The object of calling for tenders was to get genuine offers, to obtain fair competition, and to avoid favour Kidman was found guilty, and sentence was deferred.'