CHARGES DISMISSED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20623, 23 July 1930, Page 17

CHARGES DISMISSED.

ALLEGATION AGAINST AGENT.

"DOUBT ABOUT THE CASE." REMAND ON FURTHER COUNTS. Fivo charges of fraudulently omitting to account for sums totalling £3O were preferred against William James Norton, aged 40, agent, in flio Police Court yesterday before Mr. F. K. Hunt,, S.M. Mr. Smyth, \Uio represented accused, entered pleas of not guilty to the five charges and elected that accused should be tried 'jy J" r y on two charges involving sums of £2l and £6. The police then proceeded with two charges of foiling to account to Eureka Maitag, Ltd., for sums of £l.

Florence Ellen Mason said that in December, 1927, she purchased a vacuum cleaner from the Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Company on u hire-purchase agreement and had paid monthly instalments. On Juno 13, 1929, sho paid accused, who was sales-manager of the firm, £l, for which she received a receipt. Early this year sho paid accused a further instalment of £1 and was also given a receipt. !?ho usually received an official receipt, posted from tho office, but on these two occasions she did not do so. Alice Walker, senior clerk in the Auckland office of the company from which Mrs. Mason bought the cleaner, said that when sho joined the Auckland branch, 15 months ago, accused was the local sales-manager. Each salesman had an interim receipt book and when they collected money they were supposed to give a receipt from the book. Tho duty of a salesman was to hand in the interim receipt book, with tho cash collected, to witness, who would issue an official receipt. There were no records in the books showing that the two amounts collected from Mrs. Mason had been paid into the office. Accused's interim receipt book had not been returned to the office.

Cross-examined by Chief-Detectivo Hammond, witness said accused had been financially embarrassed and she had lent him £35 at the end of April, 1929. Kathleen Dawson, typist at the office, said the £2 paid to accused by Mrs. Mason was never paid to her by accused. On two occasions she made advances of £1 to accused from cash in the office and he gave her "1.0.TJ.'5." One of these he redeemed. When he borrowed the first sum accused asked witness not to tell Miss Walker, but Miss Walker later found his unredeemed "1.0. U." in the cash-box.

Detective Jarrold, who arrested Norton in Wellington, said that when he informed accused that there was a warrant issued for his arrest accused said he was surprised to hear of it, as all the sums of money he had collected had been paid in to the firm. In a statement Norton said he hud collected many different amounts from .Mrs Mason, which he had paid into the office. "To convict a business man on a charge of theft is a very serious matter and there is some doubt about this case," said the magistrate, who dismissed the two charges. Accused was remanded to appear on Thursday on the two further charges of failing to account for £2l and £6, bail being renewed in the sum of £2O.