CLOCKS DISAPPEAR

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 149, 21 December 1921, Page 8

CLOCKS DISAPPEAR

A CASE IN COURT.

The recovery of some clocks alleged to have been removed from a case before being delivered in Wanganui led to a young mail named Bertie Dent being brought before Mr. W. G. \Riddell, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court to-day to answer a charge of receiving from Edward S. Carr five clocks, valued at £50, knowing the same to have been dishonestly obtained. There was an additional similar charge of receiving from Edward S. Carr two mirrors, valued at £50. Clue /-Detective Kemp prosecuted, and Mr. W. E. Leicester appeared on behalf of the accused.

Juguat Neilsen Brous, a jeweller, of Wanganui, stated that on the 23rd May he left \ case, in which there'were five clocks, at the premises of a Mr. Connan, with a request that it should be forwarded to witness at Wanganui when advice was received. The case and contents were, examined before witness left for Wanganui. Later he" sent a request for the case to^be forwarded. A case subsequently arrived from Mr. Connan, this being the one in which the clocks had been left. The clocks were missing, and in the case were Danish books, straw, another clock, and bricks. The Danish books and the clock remaining in the case had been placed in the case by witness.

William Connan, a building contractor, gave evidence as to the storage of the clocks, the unpacking and repacking, and the subsequent forwa-rdin- of the case to Wanganui. He said that from May to September he had in his employ a man named Edward Sidney Carr. The two mirrors (produced) were recognised .by the witness as his property. Carr left his employ before the clocks were sent to Wanganui. William Burton, a photographer, said that on visits to a house in Epuni-street he had met a man named Carr; who on j one occasion showed witness a clock. The ! Westminster chimes of the clock took his fancy, and as a result of a conversation with Carr witness met Dent in Molesworth-street. The latter, agreed to sell the clock to witness for £2 10s. The clock was delivered by Dent to witness's house, and Dent received payment. Sub> sequently witness gave the clock to a jeweller for repair, as it was minus a pendulum. Defective J. Walsh said that he interviewed accused, who denied having had any clocks in his possession or hav-i ing sold any. Afterwards, however, accused made a statement that he had met a man named Carr in April, the latter having just arrived from Sydney. In September Carr engaged the accused, who was a licensed carrier, to transfer some luggage from where Carr was boarding to accused's place. The luggage was shifted, and on being opened up at Dent's t>lace was found to-contain five clocks. " Accused suggested that the clocks had been "pinched," whereupon Carr replied, "Don't ask any questions." Carr later left for Sydney. Witness, on going to accused's place, found three of the clocks in a large case on the landing outside his room. The mirrors were also found there. The mirrors and clocks had been received at the one time from Carr. So far as witness could ascertain, Carr had not returned to New Zealand.

This concluded the evidence for the prosecution. The accused reserved his defence, " pleaded not guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. Bail was allowed in the sum of £200 and one surety of £100.