A MISSING MAGNETO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17362, 8 January 1920, Page 5

A MISSING MAGNETO.

THEFT CHARGE AT MERCER. ENGINEDRIVER CONVICTED. A lengthy sitting of the Magistrate's Court was held at Mercer yesterday, before Mr. F. K. Hunt, M., to hear a charge of the -theft of a magneto valued at £20 preferred against Peter Dalziell, an enginedriver employed by the Railway Department. The magneto, which was said to have been taken from a launch owned by a Maori woman named Te Puea, had been sold by the accused. The,facts as disclosed by the evidence were that the launch had been used by the owner and her friends during the Christmas holidays just over a year ago, and that in January, 1919, the vessel was laid up for repairs at Mercer. It was stated that the magneto was taken from the launch on January 21, and some months later it was discovered in the possession of a man to whom it had been sold by the accused. The magneto was identified by several witnesses as the one that had been taken from Te Puea's launch by marks that had been accidentally made on it and repairs that it had undergone. Evidence was given by Detective J. dimming that the accused, on being interviewed by him, had stated that he had bought the magneto in September, 1918, from a friend named Hill, who had died in November, 1918. Witnesses were called by the accused to identify .the magneto claimed by Te Puea as one that he had possessed prior to the date of the alleged theft, but they were unable to definitely state that it was the magneto they had seen in the accused's possession prior to January, 1919. An expert witness called by the accused expressed the' opinion that the magneto claimed bv the complainant was not the one that 'he had previously known the accused to possess. The magistrate, delivering judgment, said he had allowed the case to be dealt with most exhaustively in orde- to give the accused, who had a lengthy service in the Railway Department, every opportunity to clear himself. The magneto, which had been identified beyond doubt as the property of Te Puea," had been traced to the accused's possession, and he had failed to establish that he had legally acquired it. The accused was convicted and fined £10 and costs. He was also ordered to make restitution'to the person who had purchased the magneto to the amount of £12 10s.