DRAKE'S DRUNK.

NZ Truth, Issue 133, 17 August 1907, Page 6

DRAKE'S DRUNK.

Goram Goes Up. The country bloke who comes down for a spree pretty flush oi; cash, and who gets robbed, tells a very confused yarn when he is placed m the witness box. Being half squiffy, or wholly, so, he doesn't know much about the whole business, or even of a portion of. it. He has a hazy idea of wine and women and plenty of it, but little else. Consequently no matter what sort of a coherent yarn he tells the police, ho usually gets into a woeful mess under cross-examination, This was the case with Anthony Thomas Drake, who cooks on country stations He lost £17 odd from Mrs Knight's boarding house— a very free and easy show m St. Asaph street, Christchurch, and one John Goram, a youthful Dunedinite, with a "record" was pinched for it- At the Supreme Court this week, Drake said that he slept with a man named Smith, and missed his cash next morning when Goram had come into liis room for a match. A scarf pin, owned by Drake, was found m Goram 's coat lapel by Selina Parker with whom he had slept the night before m the boarding-house ; so the conclusion arrived at was that where the pin was the money was too. The prosecutor said m tlie boxthat he absolutely didn't know whether he had stayed at Mrs Knight's one night or two.- At any rate,

the night toe was there, he went to roost between seven and eight.Later on he had to qualify this because he admitted to Lawyer Leathani, who appeared for the defence, that he had taken a woman named Amelia Cook to Fuller's, consequently he must have arrived home much later. It wasn't true that he didn't go to Fuller's );■ -he didn't take the woman ALONG THE RIVER BANK to Hagley Park. The first time that he met this woman was some time back on the belt. He was unaware that she was a woman of ill-fame, and had been convicted of keeping a brothel m Christchurch. He had no immoral intercourse with Cook on the night m question at all, but he shouted shandy for her. Asked where the woman slept that night, the witness said, m a most emphatic manner that he couldn't say. Judge Chapman wanted to know if Mrs Cook's husband went along to Fuller's with them, a reply being received m the negative. The old bloke evidently wasn't wanted. However, Drake stated that he never gave the woman any money atall. There were a number of questions put about drink and Drake admitted that he and Goram had procured drinks of various potencies. It seemed to be a nice little orgie. However, the gonce disappeared. Two people named Garrett, man and wife, who were living m the board-inpj-hou'se at the time, swore that they had seen pound notes m Goram's hand on the morning of the robbery, and as he had been a few months m gaol and hadn't earned raonev. .it was obvious that it wasn't his own. That was the police view. Selina Parker admitted to the Court that she slept with Goram m the room of another married couple. She said that she found the lost scarf pin m Goram's coat. Tecs. Kennedy and Connell searched everybody who had been drinking m association with Drake, but nothing was found. They were ALL TAINTED WITH CRIMINALITY, not bearing good reputations. Mrs Knight, who runs the show, with Silas Knight, was put into the box by the defence, and she testified that Drake- was muddled when he arrived and afterwards, when he returned from Fuller's with Mrs Cook, who was pretty sosselled. too. The woman used to work for Mrs Knight, but was sacked for being groggy. People were walking about early m the morning m stocking feet, and on going upstairs witness saw Drake going into Goram's room m his underpants. How Selina Parker accounted for the pin being found m the possession of Goram was that Drake had gone into his room and sat on the bed on which he and the girl were sleepin- started to undress, and must have been placed m the coat by mistake by Drake when doing so. The prisoner denied the charge on oath absolutely, but the jury gave him no hope, and the Judge sent him up as high as Baldwin. There were a large number of previous convictions against Goram, despite his youth, and as most of these were for theft, the Judge mentioned the Habitual Offenders Act. He said that the man was a born thief, 'but had just escaped this time, mainly because some of his early offences weren't serious. He then gave his nibs three years hard. The prisoner's mother is a very respectable person and lives at Dunedin.