SUPREME COURT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 13 August 1924, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

CHARGES AGAINST C. L. WILSON. A SECOND TRIAL. The second trial of Cyril Louis Wilson, late managing director ot Wilson's Motor Supplies, Ltd., Eltham, on several charges of theft, fraudulent conversion, ancl false accounting arising cut ot his transactions with the company was commenced at ine Supreme Gouit, New j'iymouth, yesterday before his Honor the Chief justice (Sir Robert tstout). Mr C. n. Weston (Grown Prosecutor.) conducted the prosecution, and Mr L. M. Moss and Ml "• A. Matthews appeared tor the accused. Mr Vies ton's address to the jury and the evidence for the prosecution tollowed the lines of i that given in the previous trial, 'the liquidator of the, company (J. L. Weir) said that the company had lost about £7OOO. He attributed the loss in a large measure to tiie practice of ereditoiy purchasers of cars with too much oii their old machines, and to extravagant management.

Cross-examined by Mr Matthews, V eir said that even though the company might have owed \\ llson about £2OJ in wages, W ilson had no right to Lake the company’s promissory note or any other sum in settlement ot that debt. He would not agree that as fai as the company was concerned such action would amount to the same thing as drawing his salary, but lit admitted that if Wilson had refunded the amounts that might have been the last- that would have been heard oi it as far as witness as liquidator was concerned.

I rank Foss, public accountant, ol Wellington, said he was with AA’ilsom’s Motor Supplies, Ltd., from the date °f its incorporation, and had been with W ilson for about two months before. He was secretary and accountant, and ,had opened the books from a balance-sheet which he had prepared. He had opened Wilson’s drawing account and had written it up until September, 1921, when he left the company. Most of the entries were made under "Wilson’s instructions, but the others would be made on witness’ own initiative. "Wilson was familiar with his own account. Allinvoices went through "Wilson’s hands, before the j’ came to witness, and he and Wilson had discussed the. books generally at different times. Foss said he recollected Gifford purchasing a car from the company and the receipt of a promissory note. The note would he handed to the Bank of New Zealand for collection in the ordinary way, but later it would be lifted and endorsed to Sir Walter Carncross. He had marked it as having, been endorsed to Sir Walter Carncross dn part payment of an account the company owed him. What happened to the note after that witness did not know. He had had no idea that it had been discounted until he saw Weir in August last year, and consequently he knew of no suggestion of fraud at the time. 11 ha had known it had been discounted he would not have debited the note to Walter in the way he had. Some time before witness saw AYeir he mjt AVilson in Wellington at an hotel, where AYilson asked him to peruse some papers he had prepared with regard to his bankruptcy. "Witness had had a look at them, but when he saw a reference to a promissory note hating been discounted lie had not read any further. AVilson asked him to endorse the papers as to their accuracy, but witness had refused. Wilson then said: ‘Won know my future is at stake,” and he (Foss) had replied: “If you choose to discount a promissory note for your own .use that is vuu’r funeral, and you must stew in it."’.’ Discussing a. balance-sheet of September 30, 1921, Foss said he had prepared the sheet from the hooks, the value'of the stock being given him bv \A ilson. About six days before the balance-sheet was put before the auditor, Parrott, witness had discovered a mistake. He had drawn Wilson’s attention to it, but AVilson said lie had seen the bank manager about it, and that it would be as well to let it go. AAitness considered that in going to AVilson he had gone .far enough, ; and had then let .the matter rest. The mistake was one of £ISOO, the rectifying of which • would have, reduced ihe profit- shown in the balance-sheet from £2196 18s 6d to £696 18s 6d. This balance-sheet was put before the shareholders, but no reference was made to the mistake. Foss affirmed that AVilson knew of the mistake.

Cross-examined by Mr Moss, Foss said that he knew of the whole of the book transactions from October, 1920. to September of the following year. When the company had taken o\er ilsoir s business it had done so on a balance-sheet prepared by witness. It was not a properly-audited balancesheet. Apart iirom goodwill, Wilson had been credited with £5120 Is 2d by the company when it took over bis business. He thought Wilson had valued the stocks. At, Vant time Wilson’,s business was. regarded as being a prosperous one. Witness was appointed secretary when the company was formed, and he agreed that rs"an accountant lie was competent to h ndle ordinary commercial transactions. From memory lie could not say in wiiat manner the sum of £520, the be la ime of Wilson's vendor interest, was to lie paid. His Honor wanted to know what this had to do with the charge. The Ciov.n, he said, alleged that Wilson had taken a promissory note which lie had no right t|> take. Mr Moss said he would prove i hat so far from the liquidator’s statement that Wilson owed money to 1 he. company being true, Wilson’s account was in credit. His Honor said that undeir the agreement concerning the payment of the £520 Wilson could not at that time touch that money. Continuing in answer to Mr Moss, Foss read minutes of meetings concerning the payment of the.£2so, and said that the credit of £520 was put to W ilson’s account on Sontemner 30 1921. His Honor: Did Wilson know of the credit to him? Foss: 1 don't- know. Mr Moss_: But lie knew that the credit of £520 was due to him. Foss : Yes, I suppose so. Continuing, Foss said that if Wilson's salary was credited to him quarterly, on September 30, a few days after the promissory note was discounted, his account would have been credited with £520. Mr Moss: As a matter of fact the credit of salary was not nut through until December? Foss: Yes. Continuing, Foss said that he bad kept the books of the company. His refusal to sign the statement produced by Wilson in Wellington was not) due to the fact that he knew there were accountancy errors in the books. He had not known there were any mistakes. Mr Moss: I put it to you that no one was to touch the books unless you were there. Foss: Ob, not at all. When I was away there were books which the others could have access to.

AVhen was the £ISOO mistake in the books discovered ? His Honor: AVhat has this to do with it? Mr Moss: .1 am testing this witness' credibility. His Honor: Now I understand. Otherwise it is utterly irrelevant. Answering the question, Foss said /the mistake was discovered about six days before Panrott. the auditor, saw it. Mr Moss: Did you tell Parrott of the mistake? Foss: No. \ ou recognised the seriousness of the mistake?—Yes. And you did not tell Parrott -k—No, I couldn’t go beyond what the managing director had told me. Parrott gave a clean certificate to •that balance-sheet?—Yes. You were afterwards appointed auditor? —Yes. Witness added that during the time he was auditor he had had no necessity to give a certificate to a balancesheet. He knew that the error had been corrected in the books. The hearing was adjourned till ten o’clock this morning. . TAVO PRISONERS SENTENCED. Arthur Robert Graeff, who appeared for sentence on his plea of guilty to a charge of having made a false declaration concerning the age of his bride to the registrar of marriages, was fined £7, payment to be made at the rate of £1 per month. Stacey Earle Tapp, alias Stanley Earle Tapp, had nothing to say when he appeared for sentence on a charge of theft. His Honor said he was sorry to see a young man like the accused in the dock. He noted that this was Tapp’s third offence. He was not going to punish the accused in the ordinary way, but was going to see if a good citizen could be made out of him. To that end he would recommend that Tapp be sent to the Borstal Institution in Invercargill, where he would be sent to school, put to useful work, and would have a certain amount of enjoyment. Tapp would be under the eye. of the Prisons Board, who would have him released before his time was up if he thought lie would make a good citizen. His Honor thereupon imposed a. sentence of two years’ reformative treatment