A WOMAN'S WILES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10127, 9 May 1896, Page 2 (Supplement)

A WOMAN'S WILES.

Harry Sanderson, 21, dealer, and Martha Louisa Sanderson, 21, husband and wife, were indicted lately at the Old Bailey for obtaining goods of the value of £75 from John Nicholls, with intent to defraud. Mr. Hutton said thab prosecutor was a grocer, carrying on business in Stevensonstreet, Canning Town, where he made the acquaintance of the female prisoner, who represented herself as a single young woman. He took a fancy to her, and eventually they became engaged, and prosecutor bought her a £7 engagement ring. Shortly afterwards the female- prisoner represented to him that her stepfather, for whom she had been keeping house, was going away, and she expressed a desire to keep a shop, and asked him whether he would set her up in it. He assented, and a shop was subsequently taken and stocked by prosecutor. The male prisoner then came upon the scene, being introduced as "Mr. Brown," and the female prisoner asked prosecutor, " as she would be very lonely in the shop alone," whether he had any objection to " Mr. and Mrs. Brown" coming to reside in the same house. Prosecutor, still unsuspecting, agreed, but eventually on visiting the shop and {ailing to see " Mrs. Brown" he commented on the fact, when " Mr. Brown" became the female prisoner's stepfather, and as such he was accepted until prosecutor discovered ultimately that prisoners were man and wife. When prisoners were arrested tho female prisoner said, "He is the greatest mug 1 ever met; I would like to meet another like him. He ought to have known I was married."

The Recorder, in summing up the case, Said that while ib Was almost impossible to refrain from laughing at the simplicity and gullibility of tie prosecutor, yet simple and gullible people must be protected, The jury found prisoners guilty. Mr. Warburbon suggested that the whole thing began in a joke. The Recorder thought ib was an extremely practical one. Prisoners were sentence'', ■ to' sis months' imprisonment each,