CRIME PUNISHED

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 25053, 17 November 1944, Page 7

CRIME PUNISHED

NEGLIGENT DRIVING

MOTORIST FINED £4O Several prisoners who were either convicted or pleaded guilty at the recent criminal sessions were sentenced by Mr Justice Fair yesterday. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr V. R. Meredith, represented the Crown. Circumstance? mitigating the gravity of the offence were pointed out by Mr A. H. Johnstone, K.C., on behalf of Anthony Ormsby, aged 53, who had been convicted of negligent driving so as to.cause the death of a retired schoolteacher on a New North Road crossing. Mr Johnstone said that Ormsby hud hitherto borne an irreproachable character and had testimonials from wellknown citizens. He served for three years with the Maori Battalion in the last war, and had since been a native welfare officer for ten years. He was now contracting for the supply of foodstuffs to two military camps. The jury had recommended mercy on account of the dangerous nature of the corner. Mr Johnstone asked that Ormsby be not sent to gaol and that his driving licence be not cancelled. His Honor said Ormsby had expressed no regret for his thoroughly improper and discreditable conduct in threatening the police sergeant in the execution of his duty. His long record of life as a good citizen weighed heavily in his favour. He would be fined £4O, to be paid within two months, and his licence would not be cancelled. Car Conversions When George Samuel Crowther, aged 17, appeared for sentence on two charges of unlawful car conversion, his counsel, Mr G. Skelton, said he was one of a number of persons concerned in these offences, and the Court might conclude that he played a comparatively minor part. Mr .Meredith said that figures recently prepared showed that this conversion of cars had been going on to a colossal extent. A gang of boys had openly admitted robbing and stealing from about 20 cars. In every case when a young man came up for sentence some special circumstances were pleaded, and he was represented as a ewe lamb that had been led astray. His Honor released Crowther on probation for five years under conditions as to his employment and behaviour, and ordered him to pay £5 costs within four weeks. Prison Sentence Sentence of two years' imprisonment with hard labour, to be followed by a year's reformative detention, was passed upon John Thomas Hurst, aged 24 (Mr W. W. King), who had been found guilty of attempted breaking and entering. * His Honor said prisoner seemed almost determined to live a life of idleness and dishonesty.

NEW TRIALS SOUGHT PETROL COUPON CASES Motions for leave to apply to the Appeal Court for a new trial for Donald Lamou, salesman, aged 31 (MiHenry), and Charles White, farmer, aged 32 (Mr Sullivan), were heard by Mr Justice Fair yesterday. Mr V. 11. Meredith appeared for the Crown. They were found guilty by a jury on October 28 on a charge of conspiring to utter forged petrol coupons at Whangarei. Counsel submitted that the jury's verdict was against the weight of evidence. After -hearing legal argument, His Honor said the motion on behalf of Lanion must be dismissed. It appeared to him that the jury was right in its verdict against Lamon. He had been found in possession of 121 cards of coupons, and the jury was entitled to infer that Lamon must have got them from someone else. The position in White's application for leave to appeal was rather different, said His Honor, and he would reserve his decision. AUCKLAND CHOIR FINAL CONCERT OF SEASON At its final concert of the season last night the Roval Auckland Choir, conducted by Mr Harry Woolley, performed a commendablv large number of new part-songs, giving proof of an outlook that is both healthy and progressive in spite of difficult times. The large audience in the Town Hall concert chamber heard a varied programme of part-songs, nearly all consistently well done. Music for a male choir is necessarily restricted in scope, but the programme might have been wider in its range, there being few, if any, items of real depth save some Bach and Handel arrangements. Mendelssohn's "Vintage Song" was sung cleanly and crisply, but the stirring "To Arms" of Maunder which followed revealed an uncertainty of intonation in several of the bass leads. The pleasing soft singing at which this choir excels was in evidence in Bishop's "Sleep, Gentle Lady," and "Lend an Ear, Lady Fair," (Abt). There was some fine part-singing in the very effective arrangement by Bantock of the old English song, "Down Among the Dead Men." An arrangement of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Disiring," produced 6ome good work by both* the choir and its accompanist, Mr Alan Pow, and was warmly received. Of the works performed for the first time, the arrangement by Fyffe of the song "How Jolly Are We Beggars," by Liveridge, was the most outstanding. It was an excellent piece of singing. Other new items were the "Song of the Pedlar" (Lee Williams) and "True Till Death" (Scott Gatty), the latter with Mr Ashley Macdojnnld as soloist. Miss Julie Werry, soprano, sang "The Harvest of Sorrow" and "Spring Waters," of Rachmaninoff. She has an adequate vocal technique and a powerful tone, not entirely free in its production. Her diction, however, was far from clear. Mr Owen Jensen, solo pianist, gave a fluent and fairly lucid rendering of pieces by Chopin and Brahms. Later he played with authority, confidence and obvious enjoyment a group of modern works.

COMMITTED FOR TRIAL Three charges of indecent assault on males were preferred against Albert Mason Archer, engineer, aged 32 (Mr Ooates), before' Messrs A. L. Gee and 11. G. May, J.P.'s, yesterday. After the evidence of three boys had been taken, accused pleaded not guilty and was committed to the Supremo Court for trial, bail being fixed at £2OO, with one surety of £2OO, A special condition was made that accused must report twice a week to the police.