SUPREME COURT.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLII, Issue 1741, 17 February 1921, Page 5

SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSIONS. The Palmerston North Supreme Court , criminal sittings were continued before His Honour Sir John Salmond at the Courthouse yesterday. FALSE PRETENCES. Alexander Alfred Jesse Burling was charged that on January 3, 1921, at Palmerston North, by means of a certain false pretence, a document purporting to be an order on Mrs Burling, of Masterton, for £25, he obtained from Alfred E. Pond, of Palmerston North, a cheque for £ls; and further that by means of a certain false pretence by representing that he was being financed by Robert Burling to'the extent of £4O, he obtained *eis from Alfred E. Pond. Accused, for whom Mr H. R. Cooper appeared, pleaded not guilty. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr F. H. Cooke), in outlinging the case for the prosecution said that Pond, who was the proprietor of the Occidental Stables, did not know accused until he was introduced to him on January 3 by accused's wife, who was staying with Mrs Pond. Burling and his wife had apparently only been married lor a short time and were practically stranded for ■money in Palmerston North. Burling arrived on the morning of January 3, and in the afternoon he and his wife went to Pond at the stables and told him they were in a hurry to catch a train. They tpld Pond that Robert Burling was financing accused to the extent of £4O. They said accused had beon to Masterton to get the money but that Mr Burling was away at the time at the Marton races and would be staying at the Grand Hotel, Palmerston North. They told Pond that Mr Robert Burling would be back at the Grand Hotel at seven o'clock. If Pond would give them £ls they would give him an order for which ho could get the money from Mr Burling. Pond knew Mr Robert Burling and had no hesitation in paying out on the order. Pond went to the Grand Hotel that night aftd found that Mr Burling was not staying at the Grand Hotel, nor had he booked there. Pond then rang up Mr Burling at Masterton and found that he had not been away from Masterton. Accused was arrested in Te Kuiti on January 18th, and on January 21st Pond received a telegraphic money-order for £ls, but he did not know from whom it came. The Burlings had told Pond they were going to work on,' shareß on a farm belonging to Robert Burling. Mrs Burling had written out the order and accused signed it. Evidence to this effect was given by Alfred E. Pond. Robert Burling deposed that he had never booked a room at the Grand Hotel, nor had he ever been on a racecourse.

Mr Cooper called Kathleen Burling, wife of accused, who deposed that she had been married' to accused a few days before the offence was alleged to have taken place, and they had come to Palmerston North from Masterton. There was £25 she and her husband were expecting to get from a Mr Mcintosh, of Masterton, for whom her husband had been drawing. Her husband went back to Masterton to get the money, but came back without it. Her husband heard on the train that Mr Robert Burling was coming through to Palmerston. On her suggestion her husband rang up Masterton and asked Mr Burling to go to Mcintosh, who lived a few doors up the same street from him, and bring the money to Palmerston North. Mr Burling said he would bring it to the Grand Hotel, Palmerston North, and would be there at four' o'clock. She and her husband went to the hotel and accused asked for Mr Burling, who, they told him was not there. Her husband asked if there were any money there for him, but when he came out he told her the money was not there. Later she saw Pond, explained the position to him and asked him to lend them £ls, which he did, and witness gave him an order for £25, which she told him to collect from' Mr R. Burling. She did not tell Pond that Mr Robert Burling was going to finance them for £4O.

To Mr Cooke: She was quite sure no mention was made of £4O.

To Mr Cooper: The £ls sent to Pond was wired by witness.

Recalled by Mr Cooke, Robert Burling stated he had not had a ring from accused asking him to collect the money from Mcintosh. He did not know a man called Mcintosh. After a short retirement the jury returned a verdict of guilty with a strong recommendation for mercy on account of accused's youth and the fact that he was only newly married. His Honour said he did not propose to treat accused with severity. He would obtain a report from r.'te Probation Officer about him and would sentence him this morning. RECEIVING STOL'-N PROPERTY. Valentine Joseph Owen, for whom Mr H. R. Cooper appeared, was charged with the theft of 10 cases of turps and six cases of benzine, of a total value of £9O, the property of Watson Bros. Accused was further charged with having received the goods knowing them to have been dishonestly obtained. The case for the prosecution was to the effect that on June 25 there were 10 cases of turps and 14 cases of benzine in Watson Bros. store. Later the ten cases of turps were discovered to be missing and also six cases of benzine. Some weeks later accused went to a carrier and engaged him to carry eight and a-half cases of turps to Wanganui on his motor lorry. The turps were sold in Wanganui 'through the agency of a firm of auctioneers. When accused was questioned on the matter he made a statement that a man called McGregor had offered to sell him four or five cases of benzine, and accused had said he would buy it. Later some cases arrived at accused's place and he found, they were cases of turps and not benzine. Accused stated that he saw McGregor next day and McGregor told him to sell the turps or get rid of it. Accused had sold the turps in Wanganui and had paid McGregor the difference between the price paid for the benzine and what he got for the turps. In summing up, His Honour commented on the fact that no evidence had been produced of the theft of benzine, and directed the jury to treat the case merely as one of stealing or receiving the turps. They had to decide whether the turps sold in Wanganui was part of the same lot which had been stolen in Palmerston North. Relating to the charge of stealing, His Honour pointed out that there was no evidence of the actual stealing of the turps and said the

jury would not be justified in finding | accused guilty of stealing it, upon the j evidence before them. Regarding the , charge of receiving, His Honour com- ■ mented on the factl that accused had sent the benzine to Wanganui by ' lorry, for which he paid £B, wh,en it i could have been sent by train for £l, 3 and also upon the fact that the man \ McGregor had not been produced. It was a very common story in cases of this kind for the accused person to : say he had purchased goods from a person he did not know or who could \ not be found. The jury, after a retirement of over an hour, returned a verdict of guilty on the charge of receiving. Sentence was deferred.