UNIQUE HORSE DEAL

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 151, 23 December 1926, Page 9

UNIQUE HORSE DEAL

NEW ZEALANDER'S TRUST

"TROTTER" BOUGHT FOR £90, SOLD FOR 24/-

TRANS-TASMAN PURCHASE, AND ITS SEQUEL.

An extraordinary account of a transaction between a dealer and two New Zealand buyers who wished to acquire a good trotting Aorse was related before Judge Woinaraki and a jury in General Sessions, Melbourne, on Ist December. Percy "William Davidson, aged 42 years, of Stanley street, Northeote, Victoria, was charged with having, between Ist December, 1925, and Ist February, 1926, obtained from Percy Lionel Ford, of Hikurangi, New, Zealand, the sum of £90 by means of a certain false pretence, with intent to defra,ud. The Crown case was conducted by-Mr. Sproule, and accused was defended by Mr. Moriahan. Mr. Sproule said that On 14th November, 1925, Davidson inserted an advertisement in a New Zealand paper offering for sale a olack three-year-old filly, described as "a good, natural, unhoppled pacer, with great speed, which had done a mile in 2min 16sec." The filly was further described as being by Don Pronto, the famous American trotting sire. Ford saw the advertisement and wrote through an employee to Davidson in Melbourne saying that he was interested, and asking for particulars of the filly. In reply, Davidson said that the filly's sire held five world's re- J cords. She had inherited great pace. He offered the filly to Ford for £90, including freight. BOUGHT OLD MARE AND SENT IT. After further correspondence had been' exchanged, Ford (continued Mr. Sproule) sent over the £90, which was received ay the accused about 9th December. Ford asked that the filly be sent to him in New Zealand by the first steamer. Davidson sent a cable message saying that the filly was being sent by the Moeraki. Instead of sending the filly described in the advertisement, Davidson bought an old bay mare, for £2 15s and sent it. Tho history of the old mare showed that it was once owned by a man named Washington, who had used it for five years in a milk cart. "Washington then sold it by auction for £3 10s. It was bought by a man named Connor, who sent it back to be auctioned soon after. It was then sold to accused for £2 15s. The mare was "heading for the Zoo" before it was bought by Davidson. James Foley, baker, of Hikurangi New Zealand, said: "In November, 1925,: I was employed by Ford. I saw the advertisement offering a black filly, and I wrote to Davidson on behalf of Ford asking for particulars. It was our intention, if we got the filly, to. go into partnership. In reply, Davidson said that the filly was a strongly-built pacer, with a long, skimming action. It had no vice, and a child could handle it. He prophesied that on the New Zealand tracks the filly wbu'ld easily cover a mile in 2min lOsee. ' "When I found that a bay mare and not a black filly had been sent I refused to take delivery. I received a cable message from Davidson saying that he was shipping a bay mare, and that he was coming over to Christchurch, and would see us there. A veterinary surgeon said that the mare was aged 22 years." CARBINE AND COLOUR. Mr. Monahan: "Has the colour of,a horse anything to do with its pace?" "Witness: '"Blacks are better than bays." "What about Carbine, then?"—"Oh, I know Carbine was a bay. I often saw him in action. But He was an exception." Lionel Percy Ford, baker, of Hikurangi, New Zealand, said: "I sent £90 to Davidson, with instructions to forward the filly. Later, I wrote to Davidson about the matter, but got no reply. I heard later that the mare had been put up for sale by the ghip'ping company and sold for 245." John Washington, manager for Larcher and Sons, dairymen, of Moor street, Fitzroy, said: "In. October last year I sold a bay mare at auction for £3 15s. She was aged about 9 years. She had been used in a double-horse lorry and a milk cart for five years, and had no sign.of quality or breeding. The purchaser' was a man named Connor." Ernest Arthur Kendall, chief veterinary officer, Victorian Department of Agriculture, said: "I examined a bay, mare for Davidson for shipment to New Zealand by the Moeraki. I signed a certificate of health. She was represented as being aged seven years, but I considered that she was much more." Mr. Monahan said that there was no attempt to hide the fact that the horse sent was a bay mare. She was an animal which had been tested and found to show speed. If Ford had taken delivery of the mare, and had got to know her speed capabilities and other qualities, he would have kept her. Age to a i trotter meant less than to any other class of horse. Hard work never hurt a trotter —in fact, it tended to improve. If about £80 had been paid for the animal by Davidson nothing would have been heard of the case, unless, perhaps, in a civil action. verdict or OUILTY. Percy William Davidson, the accused, in a statement from the dock, said: "I received £90 from Ford for the purchase of a troffier. During Cup Week, 1925, an acquaintance of mine named Frank Jenkinson, of Sydney, who was over for the Cup, told me that he had a black filly which he wanted to dispose of. I said that I would try to place it for him. I advertised it in the New Zealand papers. When I got the offer from Ford I psked Jenkinson about the filly, and he told me that it had been sold ia the meantime. I then tried to obtain another suitable trotter to send to Ford, but failed. I had. previously, bought the bay mare, which I tried out and found possessed of good speed. She did half a mile in lmin 7sec at a trial. I sent the mare to Ford by the Moeraki, and also sent a letter saying that if it did not suit he could return it, and I would givo him back his money. There was absolutely no intention "to defraud."

The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and tbe accused was remanded for sentence.