HAWERA YOUTHS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 6 November 1924, Page 5

HAWERA YOUTHS

TOUR IN A FORD. THEFTS FROM FARMS. POLICE COURT SEQUEL. A broom and a tin of ointment' were among the articles stolen-. by two Hawera youths, whose escapades in a Ford landed them in the dock in the Hawera Magistrate Court to-day, when the peregrinations of the. young men among farms in South Taranaki were related to Mr. J. S. Barton, S.M., before whom they were charged with no fewer than 21 different offences, to which they pleaded guilty. Ihe names. of the two ’■ accused' were Leo and' Frank Whiting, and the goods ■stolen and named in the charges were the property of the following: David Bridge (valued at £5), Walter Lynden (£6), Harry Belcher (£4 15s), William' Park (£4 15s), Joseph Dombroski (£4), Daniel Hcnnissey (£4), John, Bickford (£3), \ ictor Barr (£3), George Tipler (£3), John Barkla (£2 ss), Albert West (£2), \orimui Shaw (£1 10s), Albert Armstrong (£1 5 S 9d), John Deegan (U 1 , os), Richard Tremain (£1 2s 6d), William Howarth (£1), William Rothciy (11s), Daniel Nairn (10s), Leonard Stratton (10s), John Kirk (7s) Henry Crutch (3s). Constable Townsend said that eleven or the charges involved goods tinder the value of £2/ and we’re, therefore, brought under the Justices of the 1 eace Act, and the remaining ten charges involved amounts of over £2, and they therefore came under the* Crimes Act. ' Mr. O’Dea, for the two accused, pleaded guilty and agreed to the charges being all dealt with under the one heading of theft of divers goods on divers dates. Constable Townsend said that Leo was 2o years of age and'Frank 22. Both young men were sharemilking on? a farm owned by Mr. Robertson* and situated about four miles out of H'awera. The young fellows had a Ford motor car, and on August 17 last theyi started their raids. They .went to Vi nakamara, where they visited farms and stole whatever they could ; Jay ■ their hands qn, and then went<to Kaponga, where they raided five farms during the night. The plait: thev followed was to visit the miljring-sheds-on the various farms and take, whatever they found. ' They even went so lar as to take a broom and a tin of ointment. On October .15 anotlierr raid was made, and seven.places, were visited .at Aiiroa. THvo’ days, later Oiey_ visited one farm at Ketemarae Road, and on the night of the. T9tli they raided six farms on the R'awhiti•*oa Road, Eltham. * , i Constable Townsend'said it would be •onn, tli'p.t the two young men set out deliberately in their car to steal what•ver they could. . When - the, poli-"" visited the farm on which t.hev worked there was no trouble, and everything except the milk, cream .and calfskins, ('valued at £6 9s) had been recovered; U full confession had been given. The mother of the young fellows : was a widow, but the police looked upon the offences as serious. < The Magistrate intimated thht he would record a conviction, but he would announce the penalty later. Mr O’Dea, for the accused, said it was regrettable to think that two young residents of Hawera should appear in the court under such circumstances. The boys had., lived their ; fives, up to the present, in the Hawera district, and were now just commencingv manhood. Their father and a little brother had been drowned thirteen years ago, and- their mother had been left in poor circumstances with a faim i ily of nine or ten children to bring' up. Nothing had been previously known against the young fellows, and Mr O’Dea, who said he knew the two boys personally, said they were no worse than the average young, fellows, They had started this season to milk on shares for Mr Robertson, they to receive a third share and the employer to find everything. The.milk cans they had to work with, however, were very old ones, and the manager at the, factory was continually speaking to them. - about the condition the cans were in. The boys approached Mr Robertson and asked him to get new oiies, but Mr Robertson put them off. The result was Jhat they started out in their Ford to collect cans, but thinking later that they might as well be “hung for a sheep as a lamb,;’ they took other things as well. Their actions were extremely foolish and comprised the theft of most ridiculous things. For .instance the theft- of such things as a broom and a tin of ointment must only bo regarded as ridiculous. In fact, it made one think that either one of the boys was not right in the head. Edwin Arthur Booth said in evidence that. Leo had worked for him off and on for the past five years. He had found him a good worker, and had never had occasion to complain of his honesty. He would be willing to take Leo back into his employ. Evidence concerning the boys’ previous good conduct was also given by Win, A’Conrt. Edwin Meuli and lan McKenzie gave evidence to the effect that they liad both found Frank to be hardworking and honest. Constable Tocker gave evidence concerning the visit , of the police to accused’s farm on the Manawapou road. Accused admitted everything, and gave the police every assistance in recover-. ing the stolen property. Constable Townsend 6aid that accused had been born in Hawera, and bad been working in South Taranaki ever since they had left school. This was how they knew the localities' in which they operated so well. The Magistrate said that the thefts were in no sense crimes of impulse, and he would take time to think oyer the case before announcing the penalty.