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Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16558, 23 May 1914, Page 14

your duties faithfully this sort of thing would have been impossible. AVitness: That is so, sir. His Honor: And anyone who trie.! to perpetrate- these frauds with you as an innocent aid, would have run the risk of being tripped up any moment by you ? AVitness: That is so, sir. AN EXPERT AVITNESS.

Herbert John Crowther, who was an officer in the Customs from 1875 to 1911, and filled many important positions, said that he had volunteered to give evidence without knowing Rundle. He did so because he thought ho could do justice to Rundle. From tho Customs audit point of viow very little credence was placed on the comparison certificate stamp. Its use was considered to be prefunctory because tho stamp was always in tho one position, suggesting that a lot of entries had been stamped at tho samo time. AAHiere an invoice showed the right number of cases and weights witness thought that ho would not go deeply into it when it was presented by a clerk doing regular work in the shed. There was no virtue in the “ may go.” In a busy time a landing waiter could not do his work and tho stamping.. To Mr Wright: Tho witness said that officers trusted each other implicitly, and had no suspicion of each other. His Honor: But the whole system of checks is based on a suspicion of dishonesty, but they are carefully disregarded, and all are considered honest. And as a result several young men are now in gaol. The dogs have been left to guard the sheep from the wolves, but they have regarded the wolves as dogs, until now both tho dogs and wolves are in gaol. It is a dangerous doctrine. STOREMAN’S EVIDENCE.

James Archibald, storeman for the Globe Delivery Company, said that it was no£ his duty to pass entries, but he took 'goods away from the sheds passed by other firms, and he remembered the witness Cordery giving him the stamp to stamp tobacco. As a general rule the various agents stamped tho tobacco. Ho had seen the stamp on the counter outside the Customs office in tho shed, and he had found it on tho floor in the morning, after it had been lying there all night. Since his transfer to Lyttelton Hill had been in the shed many times, and usually before 8 a.m. For some months after Rundlc’s appointment ho was single-handed in the office, whero before there had been two men. AVitness had often sej>n Hill, Campbell and Wood gossiping at Campbell’s office, but ho never saw Rundle idling time with them.

Charles Throp, bond cooper, said that he had handled a lot of tobacco at tho shed, and when ho wanted to stamp it his practico had been to ask for the stamp and use it. Ho had at times found it outside the office.

Robert George Ecclesfield, landing waiter at Christchurch, said that one man could not do tho work in the in-ter-colonial office twelve years ago, and since thou the work had greatly increased. That officer dealt with intercolonial, A r ancouver, San Francisco, Calcutta, coastal coal and timber, and occasionally Montreal boats. Tlio junior could be taken away to Cshed to help. In his opinion Rundle was overworked. AVitness had- acted as landing surveyor in Christchurch, and Rundle had complained to him of overwork. This closed the evidence for the defence, and the Court then adjourned until 10 a.m. on tho following day.