“SLIMY IMPOSTER’*

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12534, 22 April 1935, Page 3

“SLIMY IMPOSTER’*

MATRIMONIAL AGENCY. JUDGE’S SCATHING REMARKS. MELBOURNE, April 10. Scathing remarks concerning the actions of a man and woman who conducted a matrimonial agency in Elizabeth street, and conspired to obtain money from two women by means of fraud, were made yesterday by Judge Woinaski in General Sessions, when Charles Leslie Ashton, aged 40 years, commercial broker, and Jean Vance, alias Silver, aged 41 years, appeared for sentence. Speaking for both accused, Air ,T. L. Long said that they had been in gaol lor three months. This in itself had not been an inconsiderable punishment, especially for Silver, who had never been in prison before, although she had been convicted twice for fortune-telling. Ashton had not been in prison before, although lie had been convicted of fortune-telling, evading a faro on a railway train, and hawking without a licence. Mr. Long said that ho was not insensible of the wrong that had been done to tho two women concerned, but, he thought that they were not, entirely blameless. “I have been addressed in a temperate way by your counsel,” Judge Woinarski said to the two accused. “I am satisfied that the trial disclosed tho amplest evidence of conspiracy between you, and showed very disgraceful conduct on the part of each of .you. You, Silver, appeared to the world as the apparent owner of a matrimonial bureau in Elizabeth street-, a dubious sort of business n't tho best. You pretended you were ready, for a fee, to arrange introductions for foolish women who went there to seek husbands. As a fact, the bureau was a business that the two of you were carrying on in collusion. You, Silver, at the time and for a long time before, had been living with Ashton as man and wife. Yet you. go through this farce of a pretended business in which you were prepared to introduce foolish women seeking a husband, puffing him up to be an honorable, splendid, high-prin-cipled man, and going all you could to inflame their desire. ‘‘At the same time, you, Ashton, played the part, of a suitor. as though you were honorable. All the time the only purpose you had was to rob these unfortunate women. The result of your operations was that one woman handed you £9O, thinking you wore pleased with her and ready to marry her, and the other woman handed youo £3OO of her hard-earned money, which you in your greed were ready to take from her. I regard you as a rascal, a slimy, crafty, cunning imposter and liar. It is hard to restrain one’s feelings of indignation with a man like you, who does this sort of thing to poor foolish, credulous women. “The jury reemmended you, Silver, strongly to ' mercy on the ground that it thought that the relationship between you and your fellow prisoner showed that there was some dominance ever you and that he coerced you. I think the jury, was influenced by the fact that you appeared throughout the trial as though yon were a very sink woman. - At the previous trial, which had to be postponed, you collapsed. I was anxious to know what your true physical condition was. Tho doctor at the hospital at the gaol says that lie has had you under close observation 'since your admittance, and that he has carefully examined you. His opinion is that you are not suffering from any organic or physical defect, hut that you can develop hysteria more or less at will, and that, you try to make the most of it, Your health is not likely to suffer any incarceration,., but on the contrary the orderly life will probably benefit you. In the circumstances I- propose to take into consideration tho recommendation of the jury. I think you. were under tho influence of that man standing alongside you, if you can call him a man.” Silver was sentenced to imprisonment for one year with light labor, and Ashton to imprisonment for four years with hard labor.