A GAY DECEIVER

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 90, 13 October 1931, Page 10

A GAY DECEIVER

(By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post.") MASTERTON, This Day. A stir has been caused in educational and other circles in the Wairarapa by' the escapade of a man who is said to have appeared in Court in Wellington on a charge of fraud, and described as a school teacher. Between 7th September and 3rd October, he visited about twenty schools in the Wairarapa, posing as an inspector. At one denominational primary school in Masterton he conducted what he called a proficiency examination, declared that all tho pupils but one had passed, and asked that the school bo given a special holiday. The holiday was duly given and enjoyed on a very pleasant spring day. By some means, the man appears to have gained th 6 confidence of the educational authorities iv Wellington. He came to the Wairarapa, it is stated, bearing a letter from a high educational official, entitling him to enter any New Zealand school as a visitor. One of his stories is said.to have been that he was an inspector of schools in Queensland, spending a vacation ill the Dominion. One of the people whose trust he gained was a Masterton taxi-driver, who drove him to various district schools, and on one occasion to Wellington and back. It is alleged that two real inspectors accompanied the impostor to several schools, presumably accepting him. as an accredited visitor from Queensland. It is anticipated that he will make an early appearance in Masterton, with roference to his debt to the taxi proprietor, and another debt incurred for board. ■