NICE LEGAL POINT

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 42, 19 February 1935, Page 13

NICE LEGAL POINT

GRAND JURY'S QUESTION

WHAT IS FORGERY?

(By Telecrapi - ]'rc=<! Association) HEW PLYMOUTH, February 18. ,The congratulations of Mr. Justice Blair on their discovery of a nice legal point during ■ their deliberations were received by the Grand Jury at the Supreme Court. The Grand Jury had been considering whether there was a case for trial against R. Bennoch, W. J. Pycroft, Albect Edward Lewis, and W. H. Cosbrook, who ¥ wer.e. arraigned on fortysix charges, including forgmg and uttering, of relief workers' time sheets and time coupons. The Grand Jury had'returned to the Court to ask a question of his Honour. "We would like to ask what is the meaning of xorgery," said the foreman. The point was that the time sheets had been signed by each of the men in his own name- .Was it not false pretences ratner than forgery, and in that case, should they not disregard the forgery charge and concentrate their deliberations on the alternative charges? I anticipated that some question would be raised whether or not the giving of an. incorrect time sheet, seeing- that it is signed by the men themselves, is really forgery," said his honour. "I must congratulate you on nndmg a nice legal point. A better count for the Crown to have made would have been a count of false pretences. ' I had meant to deal with the question in summing up, but it appears mat 1 turned over two pages at once m my notes and. overlooked it."