RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5307, 14 February 1879, Page 2

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT.

Thursday, February 13. , .. (Before J. A. Smith, Esq., J.P., and E. Lyndon, Esq., J.P.) LUNACY. John Connor was brought up, charged with this offence, but was discharged. 'misappropriation op cheque. Robert Vinsen was charged by George Edward Robert M'Alpine with having, on. • or about the 16th of October, unlawfully negotiated and converted to his own use a cheque for the sum of £24, given to him by the plaintiff for the purpose of paying a promissory note drawn by Edward Turpin. . , . ; Inspector Scully appeared; for the pro r secution; Mr Laecelles defended the prisoner. George M 'Alpine, bootmaker, deposed : lam a bootmaker, residing at Napier. I know the prisoner. On or about the 16th of October, 1878, I gave the prisoner a cheque for £24, to retire a bill in favor of Mr Turpin, from the Union Bank of Australia. I told him at the time for what purpose I gave it to him. The bill was for £25. Mr Vinsen owed me £1, and the £24 made up the amount. The bill produced .(marked A) is the bill I allude ■; to. The receipt produced (marked B) is the receipt for the £24 cheque and other money. I then left Mr Vinsen and went home. The next day I stopped payment of the cheque so that I " might be present when the bill was retired and get possession of it and tear it up. I think it was on Monday the 21st of October that Mr Vinsen called on me. "' I told him I had stopped payment of the -*\ cheque until the Tuesday after, as I had other bills to meet, and I wanted to pay them first before the one in question; On my telling him that I had stopped payment of the cheque he got very angry and said that he would take me before the Court. As soon as he was gone I went up to his partner Mr Forster. I afterwards went to see Mr "Vinsen. It was on the same day. I funricl'hiin in' his office. I asked him to go to the bank to get the bill retired. He then told me J that he had paid the cheque for, #2.4 ■ ,

which I had given him to retire the £25 bill, to Bennett and Brooking. He said he was very sorry, but that he was compelled to pay the cheque away, and he j would do all he could to collect his debts in and take the bill up. I repeatedly called on him on the matter. He said he .oould not get any money in. I told him that if the bank preyed for the dishonored bill, I should have to take prooeedings. Since then the bank gave notice of the dishonored bill, and I retired it by paying £25 into the bank, on or about the 18th of January. I then laid an information against the accused. Mr Bennett held the cheque whioh Vinsen had given him for a few days longer, by my wish, and without presenting it. i afterwards got the cheque from Mr Bennett and gave him two £12 cheques for it. Since Vinsen has been in Napier he told me he wished to compromise the matter by paying the £24. I said I should be glad to do so if the Court would allow of its being done. By Mr Lascelles : I did go to the bank with Mr Vinsen to ask him to take a cheque for the bill. The manager Said he could not take the cheque in payment of the bills until the following Tuesday, when the cheque became due. The cheque for £24 has not been paid. I received it back from Mr Bennett and gave two £12 cheques instead. Prisoner had nothing; whatever to do with my substituting two other cheques for the £24. I had plenty of money to meet the cheque at the bank. The reason I asked Bennett to hold the cheque for a few days was because I had other bills coming due ; it was simply as a matter of convenience. I did state in the note to prisoner (pro- • duced) that the reason why I had stopped the payment of the cheque was because the bank would not cash Swan's bill. I wrote out the cheque for £24 in ray own house. I gave it to Vinsen in his office, before I went with him .to the bank. He -•promised me in his office that he would retire the bill in favor of Mr Vurpin. The bank manager told me the bills were not discounteqYthat he would hold them as security against Vinsen's overdraft. The bill, he said, was lying over for collection, but when it became due he should press for it. I did not say that if it cost me as much more I should go on with the case. I did not want to injure the prisoner. Edwin James Turpin deposed : I am a clerk, residing in Napier. I know the .prisoner. Some time in October, 1878, ( about the middle of the month, there ■Vwere some business transactions between myself and M'Alpine, in which Mr Vinsen was connected. I know there was a balance due by myself and others to Vinsen and Foster, of £75 ; and, by agreement we paid it in Swan's promissory note for £50, and my own for £25. I gave my promissory note to Mr M'Alpine, to be given by him to Messrs Vinsen and Foster. The promissory note produced (marked A) is the one I gave to M'Alpine to give to Vinsen and Foster, as agreed upon. Some few days after we had given the bills, I heard from M'Alpine that the bills were not discounted. . On one occasion, when we were talking about the bills not being discounted, Mr Vinsen was present.' After this I met M'Alpine in the presence of the prisoner and his partner,'; Foster, and I asked the prisoner, ' ' Vinsen, " Where is the promissory., note that M'Alpine gave you the cheque for." I asked him this question several times. He told us it was in the bank, and he would retire it as soon ,as he had the money. I think it was a day.' or two before this that I heard he had passed the cheque to Bennett and Brooking, and prisoner admitted he had done so, J saying at the same time that he was very sorry lie had done so. I saw the prisoner several times after his bankruptcy, and I asked him for the promissory note. He invariably told me that Jiis bankruptcy had cleared him of all his 'liabilities. I afterwards received a notice the bank, in the usual form, of the .J^jill being dishonored. lat once went to the bank and saw the manager, who told me thiijb if I did not at once pay it he would "press for it. The promissory note was taken up by M'Alpine and handed over to me, and I gave it to Sergeant O'Malley. It. is the one produced, marked A. By Mr Lascelles : It was thoroughly . understood that the £75 was to be paid in promissory notes. The money and cheques were mustered up to oblige Mr Vinsen. I do not know how long after Vinsen passing the cheque to Bennett that the interview I have mentioned took place. I have heard Mr Vinsen offer to settle the matter more than once, by paying the £24. David William Bennett deposed : Between the 25th of October and the sth of November I received a cheque from Mr Vinsen. Foster was'present. The cheque was for £24, and waß signed by Mr M'Alpine. It was payable to some one ; I don't remember who. This cheque was given to me as payment for a sum of £50, lent by the firm of Bennett and Brooking to Vinsen and Foster. I presented the cheque at the bank, and found that payment had been stopped. I then saw Mr k M'Alpine, and he gave me the half at the k time, and the other half about a week ) afterwards. I gave the cheque to Mr Turpin or Mr M'Alpine, I do not remember whioh. I returned it on receiving the last instalment. Mr M'Alpine paid it. I received the full amount of the £24 cheque. By Mr Lascelles : At the time I received the cheque I did not know, nor had I heard from M'Alpine for what purpose the cheque was given to Mr Vinsen. Duncan Guy deposed: I know the prisoner. He and his partner Foster filed a deed of arrangement with their creditors about the 18th of November, 1878. After filing the deed the prisoner and his partner filed an affidavit verifying a statement of their liabilities and assets. (Statement produced marked D.) Amongst the assets there is no item of a promissory note for £25, either in the company account or otherwise. I was not aware of any item of the kind being in existence. Mr H. Williams was trußtee. The deed has been declared to be duly executed, and all property that appears in their list of assets would belong to the trustee under the terms of the deed. This was the case for the prosecution. Mr Lascelles for the defence called John James Torr, accountant in the Union Bank of Australia, who deposed : I remember the' prisoner and others coming into the bank about the 12th of November last. They brought two bills —one for £50, and the other for £25. They were put in for discount, but were afterwards left for collection. On the 16th M'Alpine and Vinsen called and brought two cheques— one for £50 and the other for £25. The £25 cheque was on the Bank of New Zealand. The £50 cheque was paid at once. The £25 cheque was tendered in payment for Turpin's promissory note for the same 'amount. I objected to take it as it was post dated. 1 advised them to keep it until the day it became due, and then present it and retire the bill. Vinsen took the cheque away. The manager of the bank was, I think, at Poverty Bay at that time. This took place in the office. I saw them go out of the bank, There was nothing more said about the bill than what I have stated. The £25 bill was not discounted. By Inspector Scully : The bill has since been taken up by Mr .Turpin or Mi A M'Alpine. The firm was considerably indebted to the bank at the tin; ■ the bills were presented. The overdraft was increased afterwards. The bill would nol have been handed over to Mr Vinseu al any time unless he had tendered the money. The bills were not discounted. Charles Bastian deposed : I was present at a conversation that took place at Mi M'Aipine's house yesterday. Mr M'Alpir said something about spending anothe; •' £25 to bring the case forward — to bi'in; Vinsen forward. I alao heard him sa^ that he thought it was. more stupidity

than criminal intent, that he was annoyed n>out it, and would spend another £25 tc bring the case forward. The prisoner, haying been cautioned in the usual form, said that he reserved his defence. He was then committed for trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court. .Bail was allowed ; the prisoner in £100, and two sureties in £50 each. OBTAINING MONEY BY FALSE PBETENCES. John Frederic Dear was charged with obtaining from W. A. Beecroft the sum of £5 by means of a valueless cheque. Inspector Scully prosecuted, and Mr Lee appeared for the prisoner. Margaret Beecroft deposed : On the 6th of the present month the prisoner came into the bar of the Railway Hotel at Hastings. He aßked me for a blank cheque. I foW him I had not got one, but he procured one from Mr Gilpin, who was present at the time. The prisoner wrote out the cheque in the room at the back of the bar. I saw him writing it. The Cheque was for £5. He asked me to cash.it. He said that he wanted the money to pay for the paddocking of some sheep. which he had bought from Mr Routledge. There had been' a ram fair held that day at Hastings. I cashed it for the prisoner. The cheque produced is the one. After he had signed the. cheque he altered the signature by adding "John F." to the previous signature of f 'J. Dear." I gave the cheque to Mr Stevens to take to the Bank of New Zealand. It was returned marked "No account." I gave the cheque to Constable Irvine. > By Mr Lee : I cashed the cheque for the prisonar because he had given me to understand he was well to do at Waipawa. Ho had been backwards and forwards stopping at the hotel for some days. I lent the prisoner the money on the strength of his wanting it for the sheep he had purchased at the sale. William Routledge deposed: I do. not know the prisoner. I held a sale of sheep at the ram fair last Thursday. ' I did not sell any sheep to the prisoner on that day or at any other time. . By Mr Lee : Some of the sheep were removed the same night. No delivery takes place while the sale is going on. Walter Herbert Arrow deposed' : lam bill clerk at the Bank of New Zealand, but I was at the' ledger on the Bth instant in consequence of the ledger- keeper being away. Ido not know the prisoner. The cheque produced was presented on that day. I looked through the ledger and could find no account to the name of John F. J. Dear. I returned the cheque, ■ endorsing it "No account." Constable Irvine deposed : Last Saturday Mr Beescroft sent to the police station, and when I went over to him he gave me the cheque produced, marked A. I followed the prisoner and arrested him at the Victoria Hotel in bed. I charged him with obtaining money on false pretences from Mrs Beecroft. On his way to the lock-up he said he would make it all right, and then I cautioned him. I searched him at the lock-up. I found upon him a cheque torn up that was drawn in favor of Mrs Gollop. It bore the same signature as the one I had received from Mrs Beecroft. The prisoner having been cautioned, said : I received a letter from my sister, . stating that when I received it she would send money addressed from Sarah Ann Bates to John Frederick Dear, to the Bank of New Zealand, Napier. The prisoner was then remanded until the following day. • The rest of the business was postponed, and the Court was adjourned until the following (this) morning, at 11 olclock.