SUBTLE CRAFT USED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18173, 19 August 1922, Page 11

SUBTLE CRAFT USED.

. PERFORMANCE IN STREET. '.'■■' USE OF THE "HOMOGRAPH. 9 * DEFENDANT FINED £5. • Charges of having undertaken to tell ' fortunes and of using subtle craft to de--1 ceive and impose on His Majeaty'd subJ jecta -were preferred against Arthur Was- • tall, a middle-aged man, in the Police ■ Court yesterday before Mr. J. W. Poynton, S.M. The offences were alleged to have • occurred at Auckland on two separate . dates. The defendant pleaded not guilty. Chief-Detective Mcllveney said it was the defendant's custom on Friday cveni in«a to stand in a lane off Karangahapo ' Road, opposite East Street. Behind him J was a frame, or screen, about 6ft. by 4ft., which was divided into sections. With ' the aid of thi ß screen, or "homograph, the defendant gave character sketches. H« invited people to purchase information \ from him. which they would be very grate* ' ful for aftewards. The readings were supposed to portray the mental and spiritual 1 traits and to disclose the 12 types of man- ,' kind belonging to the higher or civilised races, otherwise known as the 12 tribes 1 of Israel, each of which corresponded to a month of the year. ■ The procedure was then explained by 1 the chief-detective. On payment of sixpence defendant asked the date of the subject's birthday. He then put a dtso ' through one of the 12 holes in the screen, and a person behind it handed a printed circular to the defendant. All people hav- ' in <--birthdays between the middle of one month to the middle of the next received the game advice. Defendant claimed that he derived information from spirit entities on another plan of identity The chief-detective submitted that the similaritv of the printed advice brought ac<msed within the meaning of the Crimes Act. Detective Robertson gave evidence that he had received circulars for various dates. The Magistrate: You should have gone to him on April 1. Likened to Socrates. Evidence was then given by the defendant, who said his circulars portrayed the outline of disposition and character. There were 12 different types of mankind, or really 12 different tribes of mankind. There were certain modifying influences on the types. The delineations were never offered for sale without the understanding the money would be returned if satisfaction was not secured. Children were not served, unless with the parent*' approval. The "homograph" was novel and instructive, and it had been helpful to many by its spiritualistic tendencies. New thought was always opposed, and when an opinion was contra to orthodoxy the consequences were dire indeed. To some people, the word spiritualism was like "a red rag to a bull," and he thought no exception would have been taken to his case in any other British dominion or in the Homeland. The legislation went •back to th© time" of witches and sorcery, and anachronism would be patent to all minds if he were found guilty, He had stood in the very cell at Athens, where Socrates had drunk his cup of hemlock, and the present case was somewhat on parallel lines to that of the ancient philosopher. Chief-Detective Mcllveney: Then you suggest that all criminals should be born in the same month? Defendant: Not at all; you are all at sea. The Magistrate: You are not enlightened enough to understand it. Magistrate Reads a Pamphlet. The magistrate read the pamphlet advice for the November-December period, in which his own birthday fell. The following is an extract:—"They are frank, progressive, rich in love and hope, and with an inexhaustible faith in their fel-low-men. They seldom err, except in their over-zealousnesg to put down men or institutions that they consider unjust or oppressive. At such times their indignation, while virtuous in its origin, is apt to acauire too much of a personal aversion. They become excellent financiers and for- ] tunate in any enterprise which involves the handling of money. To them marriage is a serious ana sacred state, and not one to be entered.into lightly. These people will become the salt of the earth if they will conquer their quick tempers, scolding habits, and tendency to sarcasm." (Laughter.) Mr. Poynton said the supra-mundane sources of information which were referred to in the circular were, unfortunately, not recognised by the law. However, the offence wag a harmless one, but he had to impose a penalty. It was a case of deceiving and it verged on fortune-telling. The fortune-telling charges were withdrawn and defendant was fined £5 and costs on the other charges.