CAUSED A FIRE

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 114, 16 May 1934, Page 11

CAUSED A FIRE

TO COVER A THEFT

MESSAGE BOY'S CONFESSION

The explanation that he was too poorly paid to clothe himself decently, that he had stolen £3 10s from his employers to buy clothes, and then set fire to their premises to cover the theft, was offered by George Edward Hill, aged 18, a clerk, who was charged in the Magistrate's Court today with stealing £3 10s from his employers, Armstrong and Springhall, Ltd., and with wilfully setting fire to premises occupied by them in Feath'erston Street. He pleaded guilty-to both charges,and was committed by Messrs. C. E. Aldridge and W. P. Sommerville, J.P.s, to the Supreme Court for sentence.

Mr. A. J. Mazengarb appeared on his behalf.

Outlining the case for tho prosecution Detective-Sergeant L. Bevell said that the accused had been employed by Armstrong and Springhall, Ltd., as an errand boy from February, 1933, to the timo of his arrest. One of his duties was to pay small accounts for the firm, for which purpose he was periodically given a cheque to cash and tho accounts to pay. He had to return the receipts to the office and if he could not pay all tho accounts in ouo day he had to hand in any surplus money at night. On April 26 fourteen small accounts and a cheque for £5 17s Sd to cover them .were handed to the accused. He cashed the cheque that day but1 did not pay any aceouuts and did not hand in'any money that night. . At 6.21 p.m. the Fire Brigado received a call to Armstrong and Springhall's premises, which were on fire, and which suffered considerable damage. The accused had admitted watching tho secretary, a clerk, and the nightwatchman leave the premises at different times up to 6 p.m. Ho said he had then entered through a rear door and set fire to some paper which he put in among a lot of other paper under a bench. Ho then left the place by a side entrance. He cxt plained that that day, after cashing the cheque, he had wanted to buy some clothes, so he took £3 10s of the money, and in order to cover tho offence and make it appear that tho money had been lost in a fire he had caused the outbreak. EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE. William F. Morrison, secretary of Armstrong and Springhall, Ltd., said that the damage to the stock and fittings owned by his firm was £1095 15s 4d, and he had been informed by the liquidator of Britannia Motors, Ltd., which owned the building, that the damage to it was £120. On April 30 > the accused brought in a parcel and left it on the floor of tho shop. The police took possession of the parcel. The witness stated that Hill was receiving 12s (3d a week. He would have received a rise had he proved himself, but he had not been very satisfactory. To Mr. Mazengarb, the witness said that Hill had been getting 12s 6d all the time he had been with the firm. Euth Stevens, a clerk employed by Armstrong and Springhall, Ltd., said in evidence that 6a the morning after the fire Hill had handed, her 17s Bd, which he said he had found after the fire. He said he had cashed the cheque, but had • had no -chance of paying the accounts. He had put the money aside at the office and had forgotten to hand it in to be put in the strongroom. The evidence of Detective-Sergeant Eevell was that he had obtained the parcel left by the accused at Armstrong and.; Springhall's.:ltr contained a new coat, two pairs of shoes, two pairs of socks, and two ties. The accused said that he had bought the articles with money, belonging, to his employers. He said he had stolen £3 10s altogether, and in his possession was 4s, the'balance of that amount. THE ACCUSED'S STATEMENT. In a statement made to tho detectivesergeant and read by him in court, Hill said that he was getting 10s a week as wages and 2s 6d a week for his bicycle. Since he had been working he had not got enough pay to buy decent clothing, which he badly needed, so he thought he would have to steal money to get it. He had been promised a rise, but did not get it. He admitted the main facts as alleged by the prosecution, and said that he had no . intention of setting fire to the building when he first stole the money. . .