TUTT'S TROUBLES.

NZ Truth, Issue 105, 22 June 1907, Page 5

TUTT'S TROUBLES.

CONVICTION OF A DUNEDIN COOE

Theft from under a Pillow.

Is Tutt Suffering for Anothet's Guilt?

Riqhard Walter Edward Hatcher Tutt is the long name of a correspondingly long chap who spent three days of last week m the Dunedin Magistrate's Court. The charge was that he had lifted £4 10s from under ' the pillow af Albert William 't'roudi his room mate, on the morning of the llth. The prisoner was a respectable-looking chap, wearing glasses, and ' he had. been for many years employed on the boats, latterly as chief cook on the Mourii. He had just left- that steamer when she was paid off, and was staying at Miss Eliza Pye's boarding-house m Stuart Street; along with others of his kidney until he could get a boat back to Sydney, where his wife was virtuously, wasting aWay for want of; I husbandly love. ; The Union Company had furnished him with a pass for return trip not out of any inherent generosity (for that is not a fault of? this grasping concern), but because the law has a say' m such matters. It would be a bad day that sailors and stewards were left to the tender mercips of the" shipping companies. Well, Herbert, chief of the detective department gave the yam he had heard from the steward Proud. The men had travelled together, and ,on occasion Albert William had lent the prisoner mon- : <-v. because the latter was almost on the bone of his back. Sometimes, too, ptour passer" Jo tenfps, they had r >la.yed cards after the mode ' of gamblers. On the Tuesday night (they had been paid off on the previous Saturday) Albert wrapped up the three soys and a half-soy m a pound note, shoying the boodle under the corner of. his pillow. He had

i SOME SPARE CASH; but only siller, and he .left that m the pocket of his trousers. Next morn, he rose and went out before his bedmate Tutt had stirred his lengthy shanks, and he forgot, he said, to i remember that money.. He met Tutt during the morning, and they waltzed round together. Then they returned to headquarters with an appetite. Before partaking Of the midday refreshment provided, Proud, only then remembering that gold, mounted to his room to recover it. Of course it was gone, and he commenced to raise cain with much exertion. Tutt was the first to be accused; and he, like an honest man, denied having sneaked the paltry parcel, and : even went the length of helDinp; the accused to hunt Wifth and low for his precious bundle. The offended Proud told his tale m a straightforward manner, and Peter Youne, who looks after the stewards for the U.S.S. Coy., put m a spokej and he didn't do Richard Walter Edward anything but goOd. P.A.Y said he knew the cook chap since 1894, A.D., and had not a syllable no% a gurgle to.- emit against .him., That beini- so, the^-.iaan.-jiu»s.ts--vl)e.-:a.:-in i o^el, of all rfchatvis Rood and pure, honest and above-board. Alter irrelevant evidence by one of Albert William's stewaiding cobbers , Flemin-^'by name , the' boarding-house mistress, Miss Eliza Pye, lifted up het yoice^ 'yea; her small shriek, -m a sworn statement of not many bars' length. She said; among other thing's , that the bedroom had not beqn fixed up before lunch was served, and also^ took the' precaution to assert that her niecp, whom nobody had spoken about, was never allowed to enter bedrooms unless accompanied by

A RESTRAINING INFLUENCE m the shape of her little aimty, Liza. Evidence 'of arrest, and nothing more clever, was delivered by, Chawles, Lilley, acting-dec, until recently 'of Wellington, and nothing more being laid bare accused addressed the court on his own behalf. No doubt he refrained from consulting any of the legal lights of the city because lie felt like a strong man to run a race, not to be beaten -by anything or anybody. Never had it been his custom to allow people to know whether he had money or not, because (and he was wise) one was very often called upon to' lend money. He then showed how he had landed m Dunedin with £7 Odd m hand, and pointed to the sources whence this wealth had come. Next day, Saturday, "the prisoner brought to court 4wo witness with whom he said he had changed pound notes, but their . evidence was not wholly satisfactory. What hotelkeeper or £hop assistant could' remember precisely the coins received from each different customer for a week or even acouple of days back ! When His Worship. Mr. Widdowson, came to • put forth his decision, he said that' Proud appeared fa be a very decent fellow, and . there seemed to be no reason to doubt that he lost the money he spoke of. The prisoner had accused himself by affirming that he wanted to throw people off the scent as. to whether he had any gonce or not y so that they could not borrow from him. That also was his reason for permitting "Proud to shout drinks and defray other trifling:, expenses— simply because he needed every cent of his wages, remembering his faithful little wifey m Sydney. If he was a man of that breed, how came he to gamble and to give way to drink, parting with as mush as ,

2/- IN ONE MORNING alone over hotel counters. Fancy a man being rated by a Magistrate for doing m two bob m half a day, and among a crowd of chums (about four others). Giving, way to drink ? However, Widdy m his wisdom thought the coye t would be considered guilty if he were sent before a jury (pity he wasn't) and pronounced his judgment, the man would ,be convicted. Detective Herbert said the police knew nothing about the.prisoner except a few yarns, the substance of which had never been aired m any court. However, he did not hesitate to mention them, although m doing this he departed from the manly rule he usually adopts. It was far from fair to talk about incidents of some ten years ago, but the unfortunate Tutt gave a feasible and ready answer to every chaise made against him, and as far as the court could judge from

What passed, viewing botK sides, there was absolutely nothing as yet x against .the man..-,. In this case there, was no evidence^ to show conclus-; ively that he had taken the money,and he accounted for pretty well every shilling which had passed through Ms hands or come into Ms Docket during the past month. ; Was it not possible that a hundred dif-> ferent people could have entered the bedroom during the course of tEe morning, and dished those quidlets without anyone else \ being a party,' to the deed. Anyhow, the Magis-< trate convicted, and besides ordering the accused to refund the - monpv stolen, fined him £5 or a month'sibard. As the cook stated ruefully! that he had never seen the inside of a gaol before; the • Magistrate gavei him the option so that , he would have the chance to keep but of quod: and get out of the colony, and then Tutt asked if he might appeal a.gainst the decision, and the Bench replied, "No." That looks all square, but those *who know the wonderful law of this country are aware that if the fine had been increased to £5 Is Richard would have been able to appeal. Yet the Magistrate declined to add even a shilling. Rjchard Walter, etc., may have collared those quidlets or he may not, and after summing up the. evidence "Truth" would not .like '■to have his condemnation on its conscience, ;