SUPREME COURT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 19 August 1924, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

HOBBS CASE ENDED. GUILTY ON~ALL COUNTS. WITH BECOMMENDATION TO MERCY. The trial was continued in the Supreme Court yesterday morning, before the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) and a jury of which Mr. R. Tippens was foreman, of George Samuel Hobbs, who was charged on ten counts . with irregularities arising out of his bankruptcy. Mr. C. H. Weston appeared for the Crown and the prisoner was represented by Mr. Rl. H. Quilliam.

When, the court resumed Mr. Quilliam said that none of the charges laid could have been brought against the accused but for his bankruptcy. In regard to the charge of failing to keep proper books of account, counsel said even the Crown had never found it necessary to 'ascertain the bankrupt’s true financial position, and the evidence of the experts was that practically all farmers failed to keep books, and there was nothing criminal in that, but if a man Went bankrupt then the failure to> keep ■ books became a crime under the New Zealand law. It was only on a second bankruptcy that the failure to keep hooks became a criminal offence. On application for discharge from bankruptcy the court naturally had the right to say that a man who did not keep books was not a fit person to go into business, but a. failure to > keep books did not constitute a crime except in the case of a second bankruptcy. Mr. Quilliam then dealt with the charge of making a. vexatious defence to the writ issued against him by the Bank of New Zealand, stating that the worst effect his action had ivas to delay proceedings. That delay, if effectual, would have had the result of giving Hobbs time in order to avoid bankruptcy, and if that had been occomplished it meant that ITobbs would have been able to pay bis creditors 20s in the £. Referring to the remaining charges relating to misstatements to the bank as to his indebtedness to other creditors, Mr. Quillam said ‘the tiansactions took place during the years of the boom, at a time when, as some of the witnesses had said, financial institutions were not pressinotheir debtors. It was fair to infer" Horn the evidence of some of the witnesses, that the bank must have known the indebtedness of Hobbs to Levin and Co., the non-disclosure of which was one of the alleged omissions vt l • A -Vi- tlie accused was charged. Mr. Quilliam concluded by saying that the charges were equivalent, to a charge of obtaining money - by false pretences, and he suggested that there was nothing m the evidence to warrant the charges being sustained summing-up his Honor dealt carefully with the charges in detail, eliminating the four counts which he considered did not come within, the • cope of the section of the Act under u lnch the charges were brought He said the evidence not only showed that ne did not keep proper books of accoimt, but that he kept no. books at a!l Regarding the defence to the wr,t .ssued by the bank against him de S fo^ n °L Si Vr th T fit !' ikin " of that defence by Mr. Justice Hosking, who entered judgment against him,’ was pi oof that it was a frivolous and vexatious defence. ] n dealing with the other charges, the Judge said the onus ]\ as upon the accused to prove that the misstatements and omissions for '' 1 , , 10 , , was r(W Ponsiblo were not ade ior the purpose of deceiving the bank as to his real position. If ] ie did thereby deceive the bank then his eonduc-t amounted to an offence under

The jury retired at 11.8, and after an hour * consideration returned a verdict of guilty on all counts with a strong recommendation to mercy s PT ft tf> his Hono I !‘’ Mr. Quilliam • aid Jriobb.s was an undischarged banknipt, and since the bankruptcy had of 6 a farm klnS continuousl y as manager

The Judge saul he would take time to consider the jury’s recommendation He recognised the ease, was not an ordinary one of fraud which sometimes came before the court. The prisoner was remanded until today for sentence.—Herald