CRIMINAL SESSIONS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20323, 2 August 1929, Page 17

CRIMINAL SESSIONS.

CHARGE OF BLACKMAIL.

MONEY ASKED FOR LETTERS. VOICE ON THE TELEPHONE. ' RAILWAYMAN FOUND GUILTY. On a charge of blackmail, or attempting to extort money by menaces, Harry Cnopcr Douglas, aged 57, railway employee (Mr. Noble) was found guilty in the Supreme Court yesterday and was remanded t'or sentence until next Wednesday. The charges were that on July 17 he demanded £7 from a man by menaces, and on July 20 demanded £2 10s from the same man by menaces. The complainant, who was the fust witness, described telephone conversations which he had had with an unknown mart. The man said that he had some letters written by witness' wife to a man in town, and also some photographs of this man leaving witness' houso and some further photographs. Ho added that he had obtained tho letters at some cost in money, and he thought, that witness would not like to seo them and the photographs published in tho papers. His firm had in hand divorce proceedings against {he. man in tho photographs, but it had sufficient evidence without the letters. The speaker over the telephone refused

to his name. He said that tho letters were signed in the pet name of 1 witness' wife. Witness had three telephone conversations with the same man, all amounting to much the same thing. The man said that it would cost £7 to get the letters, as his firm h:ul to employ outside means to get them. On one occasion the man said that the letters had been written four months ago. and on another ho said nine months. Witness said that he would not believe the letters were his wife's until he had seen them. Prompted at Telephone. Tho man at the telephone appeared to be prompted by someone alongside him. Witness tried without result to get the man to make an appointment. He did agree to meet Witness on the Grafton Bridge by night and hand over the letters for £7, but he did not turn up. ' Witness had not the slightest suspicion that anything of the nature had been done by his yii fe, to whom he told all that had occurred. His wife immediately got. the aid of the police. Later the unknown man offered to hand over the papers for £2 10s it witness would send for them. Witness arranged for an employee of his to meet the man at the Palmerston Buildings. Witness had

once been introduced to t.lie accused, whose brother-in-law lie knew. fn reply to Mr. Noble, witness said that he had not the slightest helie: in

the insinuations made over the telephone. He could tell that it was a pack of lies. The man verified nothing and contradicted himself. He did not believe that there were such letters, but the whole thing was very unpleasant. An employee of the complainant said that, acting under directions, he went to the doorway of the Palmerston Buildings carrying a piece of white paper. After he had waited for five minutes, the accused came up and said. "What do you want?" Witness replied, "Someone is to give me some letters for my ememployer." Witness told accused that he had nothing to give him. Accused said that he would ring up the complainant. and returned five minutes later saying that his "bosses" were very hard and 'hat he could not Ret the papers Tie offered to mislay the papers and give them to the complainant for nothing at the first opportunity. Oaugiit By Detective.

Detective-Sergeant Doyle described a Ti.sit which /he pain to the Palmerston Buildings on July 20, when he watched licensed and the last witness in conversation When lie approached accused, accused said that he was a friend of complainant's family and wished to pet the letters and hand them over to he / complainant. The man who had the letters was known to the accused only as "Jock." Litter, accused made a statement. describing this man, but witness had been unable to find any trace ot him. Accused said, "I have oeen a fool to have been mixed "P '» Ulis business." . , , Mr Noble maintained that it could not be said that accused had threatened or menaced the complainant. The man himself said that the insinuations did not perturb him for a moment, they believed accused's story that he was trying to do the man a good turn, there was nothing much wrong about it. Accused had not threatened to do any-

Mr. Justice, Herdman said this was fortunately a very unusual case. Jt was not exactly blackmail, but it was very much like it. Blackmail was one of ♦be most cowardly and contemptible of offences. Tho Crown had to prove that accused had menaced the complainant, that, he had demanded money from him and that he had had the intention o .stealing. If the jury found that all these ingredients were in the case ley would find the accused guilty. It had been said that the complainant did not believe the story, but the jury was entitled to believe that he was very much disturbed, as' any man would be in the circumstances. The jury could infer tho intention to steal from the wlO e of the circumstances of the case.