THEFTS FROM D.I.C.

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 33, 8 August 1933, Page 9

THEFTS FROM D.I.C.

■THOROUGHLY BAD CASE'

MAN AND WIFE SENTENCED

EQUALLY TO BLAME

The last stago in tho ease against Harry William Porter, a eleanor, aged 28, and Ms wifo, Florence May Porter, aged 31, on charges arising out of tho theft of goods, from tho D.1.0. over a considerable period, was reached in the Supreme Court today, Mrs. Porter having been found guilty by a jury late yesterday afternoon on a charge. of receiving, and the husband having pleaded guilty in tho morning to a charge of breaking and entering the premisos of the D.I.C. with the intention of committing theft; and to a charge of stealing D.I.C. goods.. Por-. tor and his wifo came before Mr. Justice Reed for sentonco today. His Honour said ho regarded..the prisoners as. equally blameworthy, but as tho jury in the case of Mrs. PortOr had made a very strong recommendation to mercy he would discriminate in their punishment.,; Mrs. Porter wus sentenced to six months' reformative detention, and the husband to two years' imprisonment with hard labour. COUNSEL'S SUBMISSIONS. Mr. J. Meltzer, counsel for the husband, emphasised the fact that up to the present time Porter apparently had borne what appoared to him to bo an irreproachable" character; Ho was a native of England and had naval discharges of the very best. Counsel •siiid ho believed that had it not been for the fact that Porter in his occupation of a window-cleaner had been putin a position of temptation, he had the temperament that would go to the making of tho best type of citizen. lie did not believe tho man had a criminal make-up. Tho case, he thought, was ono of pure temptation, prompted by the fact-that,his acts-enabled him to give his wife some .extra pleasure which his income would not allow her to have. Counsel suggested that if tho Court could hot see its way clear to grant probation, tho ends of justice would be met-by the imposition of a short sentence. -.«■-- Appearing on behalf of Mrs. Porter, Mr. A. B. Sioywright referred to tho fact that the jury's recommendation was not one merely of mercy; the jury had brought in a .verdict with a very strong recommendation to mercy and counsel. asked that duo regard should be paid to this. In the past Mrs. Porter had apparently made ono small slip, but that was fifteen years ago when she could not have been more than sixteen years of age. Ho suggested that -the Courjb would place no weight on that previous conviction. Counsel submitted that tho case was one _in which the Court could grant probation, . despite the report of the Probation Officer. .- . - . . . : . . "NO REDEEMING iFEATURE." Addressing the prisoners, who stood side by sido-in the dock, Mr. Justice Reed said he did not think there was a single rodeeming feature ii. tho case, and he regarded them both sis equally blameworthy. "You wore in receipt of adequate •wages; wages that bVany, an Honest man- now out.of work would consider.-a. godsend to get,, and yet you deliberately and methodically stole these gbbda over a considerable period of time,'.' continued his Honour. "I think--I> cannot help thinking—that it is obvious that the goods that were actually found in your possession do not represent' anything like all that were stolen*. ... The .balance, no doubt, has been disposed of. That which remains , . .';, ..yery largely consists of articles for /personal use. -The largo quantity of femiitfne attiro proves conclusively that the Vfemalo prisoner was a consenting.'and a willing party to the thefts. V 3 haven't the slightest doubt that had' she been honest in the matter she could1- have prevented her husband, or exercised some influonce over him, to'pi-isvent him going on like this. But' as If is, these clothes wo nave seen herei'clothes Whiclrshe could not possibly.'hay© purchased out of , their wages, havei been worn and used by her, I cannot lose sight of this fact either, that the male prisoner to.a large extent might M said,jo- have ; occupied almost a fiduciary, position with regard to the goods' in .the.place,.whprc. he was employed to work. / ' "I look'on the case," saidhis Honour, "as A thoroughly, bad oncy and were it not for the very strong recommendation to mercy made by: the jury in the case of the female prisoner I should have considered it 'any duty to have sentenced you to equal terms of imprisonment. The report of '.the Pro-. bation Officer with regard .to the female prisoner is .bad. However, I think when jiiriei. make, recommendations the greatest attention should be paid to those recommendations, and, therefore r I Bhall discriminate in the punishment to bo awarded." His Honour ..passed, sentence and theprisoners pa6sed out of view down the steps leading from, the'dock.THE WIFE'S TRIAL. : : At. tho conclusion:, yesterday after-" noon of the caso for the Crown at : the wife's trial,' an outline of which was given in'yestorday's "Post," Mr.Sicvwright called ho evidene-e. -In his address to- the jury eounsol said that the ingrodients of. the charge, against .Mi-si Porter were, (1) that the goods were actually stolen or dishonestly obtained, (2) that- they were received by Mrs. Porter, and (3) that at tho time they ■were recoived she knew they had been dishonestly obtained. Counsel submitted that the Crown had failed to establish to the jury's reasonable satisfaction that the articles were stolen. Witness after witness had said that tho articles produced in Court wore like goods stocked by the DXC, and others had said that certain goods wore part of the D.I.C. stock, but nono had been ablo to say definitely that they had been taken away dishonestly. Tho bulk o£ the goods was found in tho bedroom oecupiod by the husband and the wife. Presumably, then, if they had boon stplen, they wore still in the husband >s possession. There was no evidence, it was eubmittod, that they wore in Mrs. Porter's possession, with tho exception of a suitcase, a. dressing-gown, and some stockings. The fact that she was occupying tho same bedroom as her husband did not mean that she was in possession of all tho goods found in tho Toom. As to the suitcase, tho- dressing-. gown, and the stockings, Detective Ritchie had stated that Mrs. Porter gave as her explanation for having removed the articles into a room ronted by another lady, that she was trying to protect her husband. That was not necessarily the act of a person who had, received the goods. It might possibly be the act of a person who was endeavouring to prevent her husband being found out by the police. Counsel submitted that tho evidence foil far short of satisfying the jury in respect of the three main ingredients of tlio charge against the accusod. Mr. Sicvwright. suggested that the jury would-take the "broad view and say that Mi's. Porttfr acted entirely innocently _ throughout the whole of the transaction. The jury gave their verdict after hboufc an. hour 'a retirement.