CRIMINAL SESSIONS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 102, 27 October 1925, Page 7

CRIMINAL SESSIONS

"A VERY SMALL LIST"

'NO SERIOUS CASES"

POST-WAI! CHIME WAVE CEASED,

The Wellington criminal, sessions opened at the Supremo Court to-day before his Honour, the Chief Justice (Sir KoUert Stout).

BJr S. Potter was chosen as foreman of the Grand Jury.

CHA.UOE TO GHAND JURY.

His Honour, in his charge to the Grand Jury, said: "I am triad .to be able to inform you that the list this sessions is very small, and that there art) really no serious cases, so it is perfectly plain that what was mentioned on -the previous occasion is still true, that the crime wave which, followed upon the . war has ceased. All of the cases are simple ones, which you can easily dispose, of."'

PLEAS OF GUILTY,

James Ward and Charles Morgan (with several aliases) were indicted for breaking and entering in the day time at York Bay on 25th August the house of William Gray Young, and stealing a bottle of whisky, half a bottle- of cocktail, and a bottle of port ■wine, valued, at. £1 2s 6d, also a. lady's knitted juniper, valued at 10s. Tho prisoners pleaded.not guilty to taking the liquor, but guilty--to taking the jumper. They made a similar plea with regard to a charge of .breaking and entering in the day:time at York Bay, Wellington, the house of. Elsie Alice Fife, and stealing therefrom eight blankets, an electric iron, two mirrors, a lady's dressing gown, etc., six bottles of methylated' spirits, a bottle of beer, and a. bottle of wine, of a total value of £20. Mr. P. S. K. Macassey (Crowit 1 Prosecutor) said .that, the Crown was prepared to f%ke these .pleas, and the prisoners were remanded for sentence. CHABGE OF FKAUD AGAINST

EX-SOLDIER,

Edward Walter Perry was charged that, being the grairtor of certain instruments by way of security to His Majesty the King, ,he did sell part of the chattels or stock constituting the'securities, thereby defrauding the grantee of the same.

Mr. P. S. K. Macassey appeared for the Crown, and Mr. 11. F. 0 'Lcary for the accused, who pleaded not guilty.

Mr. Maeassey said that in June, 1920, the accused, an e.vsoldier, obtained the lease of a returned soldier's farm"'of 51 acres, near Mastortou, and took with him on to the farm 19 cows and a bull, on which the Lands Department advanced £98 _to him to build a wharc. Other ad"vances; making in all a total of £336, odd, and involving 42 head of cattle, was made to: the accused. , Prisoner first sold four head of stock to Messrs. Wright, Stcphcnson, Cartcrtou, for £-i. odd, and that amount was in the regular course handed over by them to the Department. rinding ' that the money ■ for any . stock , thus sold to or through reputable -firms j would, as a matter of course, be handed over to tlio Department, the accused began to sell privately and keep the money himself, without' getting permission, 'for, or saying anything about the sales to the Department. The result was. that when an investigation was made by fho Lands ■Department they found only eleven cows and one bull on the farm. The only amount that the Department re'ceivod in respect of all the sales was that of a little over £4 from Wright, ■Stcphenson, aud. Co.

Mr. Bocson, an officer of the Department, giivo evidence, in support <t'f tliis statement.

Questioned by Mr. o'Leary, he stilted that, in addition to the stock, the Department also' had as security the goodwill of Perry's lease, 'and the latter had effected it number of iniprovements on the farm. Owing to the slump, the sol'dicr settlers had had :i bad time during the past four years. The accused's farm hud been revalued, its valuation being reduced by £1650, and his rent was reduced from £100 a haf-ycar to £59 a half-year. .Mr. Macassey objected that this was quite irrelevant to the charge of selling part of the security and defrauding the Government; V " Mr. 0 '.Leary said that the more sale of this cattle was not a criminal eJTence. It was not merely a question of selling those cattle, but of defrauding the Government. The case was taken under section 5S of the Chattel Transfer Act, 1924, not under the Crimes Act.

His Honour: "If a slump came and a man gets into difficulties, that does not justify him selling stock, reducing the value of the security, and defrauding tho Government. The section cited, he added, did not make such evidence relevant." -;

Mr. o'Leary. "Surely, the Crown and your Honour will will not prevent iuy_ bringing out these facts? I am 1 tying to lay the foundation of my case that he had not done anything to defraud the Government."

His Honour: "I shall tell the jury that the mere fact of the Government reducing his rent is no evidence on this case."

Mr. O'Leary: "I shall tell them the same. It is a-question of reducing tho security, and the crux of the case is whether he sold these'cattle with tiny intent to defraud. We contend he did not."

Mr. Becson, further questioned by Mr. O'Leary, said that the Department were also protected by an order ou tho prisoner's milk "cheques, and had received in. all some £174 through that order, from March, 1021 til! October, 1925. ■■

By Mr. Macassey: "The milk crcd:ls for two or Ihree months might also hitvo gone to his rent account."

Mr. O'LoiJi-y: "But this £170 odd is for interest only ."'—"That is so."

:«.v Mr. Mai-nssry: "The total amount now owing by him to the Department, to HOvli .Sof>f<_■ mib«i- ]; t st was ,'C7~)4. The, Government had advanced ;Co."iO oil buildings creeled." ■Janics Burn Vin);iyaou Sutherland, field officer to (lie Department, M;.sterton, gave corroborative evidence, and slated lluit lie always informed .settlers (lint tiicy had no right to sell the stoi-k concerned in their securities without the consent, of' the. Department:, jukl without accounting to (■lie Department. As far as ho know, the. [moused never got the permission of the Department to sell stock. His section was a. very good. one. Wit ness knew of no other unauthorised sales of cattle, liy returned soldiers. The conditions of the lease in regard to improving the property luid been complied with, but no more.

Air. O'Lcary: "Do you recollect any soldier-settler reading this luug

I document through (the chattel mortgage) bci'oro signing it?—" Yes, onu or two; but they generally took it us read. Perry read a part of it. , I cannot any what part." In reply to further questions, he could not say speeihViilly whether he'called Perry's attention to the clauses forbidding the sale of! the cattle, but it wits itlways his custom'to call the settler's attention to the 'clauses in question. The farm had been" flooded niid there had also been droughts, and that would affect iho cattle. On buiitlitifp mid fencing the Government had advanced it'.fJT'O in all, and ho valued the improvements roughly at £540. lib could not estimate th& goodwill of the lease. It did the laud good to fpcll the land ih the winter and to cull the herds, but when culled tho animals should be replaced. George Francis Glackcn, field inspector, Wellington, said that he made it a hard.and fast practice to read over the bills of sale to the settlers, and he read over to Kerry the bill of sale securing the £98 to build the whare. Ho also explained tho clauses as to the selling of stock. He inspected the farm and found only eleven cows and a litill there. He. asked the accused to account for. the shortage, and Perry replied that some had died and he had sold some. He refused to say to whom be had sold cattle, and when asked if ho had handed the proceeds over to the Department, he said ".No; it waS not enough to buy beer with."_ Accused refused to go.with.him to the police station; but on his return to Wellington, witness reported the shortage—only eleven cows and a. bull instead of 42 head of cattle—and the present action was taken.

(Proceeding.)