ROBS A BLIND MAN.

Mataura Ensign, 18 July 1914, Page 5

ROBS A BLIND MAN.

BOY'S CRIMINAL INSTINCT. PEB UNITED PBKSS ASSOCIATION ' AUCKLAND, July 17. An unkempt, and rather undersized youngster of 15 years, who came before Mr F razor, S.M., this morning, admitted an offence which showed l ail abnormal criminal development of ail educated kind. Tho lad: had been acting as guide to r blind organ-grinder called Pete, and bad evolved' a system of fraud' by -which lie bad, since February, extracted from the old man in' sums ranging from £1 to £5, the amount of £2O. When the organ-grinder was at Chri.stchnrch, he was robbed of something like ,£6OO. He came on. to Auckland!, 'bringing the'lad with, him as guide, and the boy in Febrtiary delighted his ears with the story that he had got- on the track of the money, which wa.s recoverable. He said that- he had got liohf of tivo men, who had gone over to Sydney with the thief, and they had informed him that the .hief had died there of blood ]X)isoning but prior to his death had confessed the theft, and directed that restitution should be made. The boy said he was making inquiries with a view to recovering the money, and from time to time road the blind man letters to t-upport this story, and got from him money, which, he saitli was necessary for the search. He also to'/Jl Pete that he could obtain compensation from- the (Jovern-ln-oiit for the- accident that had caused his bliudiiesK, and he conducted proceedings to this end too, writing "fake" letters and drawing money said to be necessary for preliminaries. Pete at one stage got suspicious, because someone told- him a letter he had got was in the bay's handwriting, so tho boy afterwards got the letters typed. "I have one here," said' Chief Detective McMahon, producing the document, which read" as follows: "Send ' mo £l. Look out P. —Menssics, detective." I Detective McMahon explained that - the "1"' rfood for Pete, and Menzies ?|was the mythical detective who was < making inquiries about the blind man's ! lost money. The boy had gone to a r typist's office a"d had the letter typed r for sixpence. "But it is strange that anyom* in a typist's office should type a letter like - that- for a boy!" exclaimed the tungw- " t''ate- ? "We arc ini|iiiring about that," said , Detective McMahon. c Detective Hammond said he knew the t. stock from which the boy sprang, and X that the lad's brothers 'showed similar - tendencies. :! Remarking on the hig.hlv-dcve':>!X'd e criminal instinct of the lad, his Wo>- : i sh : |> committed the lm to the Burue ham Industrial School, and informed .- him that Mitji an offence as this, bv a - man, would mean a sentence of five 4 years in gaol.