SPIELERS SPOILED.

NZ Truth, Issue 218, 28 August 1909, Page 5

SPIELERS SPOILED.

THE MAORI MUG AND THE HAiiSMfiN.

Three-Card Trick m a Train.

Crooks who Came from the Commonwealth.

The invasion of Godsownkuntry by Australian spielers since the passing of the Gaming Act makes work periodically for the police and the courts, but one would imagine that a less elderly fraud than the three-card trick would accompany the undesirables across. The Pharaoh's used to do the trick with tablets of stone, and Noah is reputed to have passed the monotonous .time away m the ark with something similar. When Patrick Dalton, James Arthur, and (it is alleged) "Snowy" Sincock took down Harry Uru on the Kaiapoi-Christchurch train on Hempiah Day they Imported a comparatively new element by appealing to gross human nature, and leading ,the victim to believe 'that he -might foe able 'to cheat the card manipulator. Dalton and Arthur were collared and. committed for trial afterwards, but "Snowy" got away. In the Supreme Court at Ohristchurch, later, Dalton and Arthur were charged with" conspiring to defraud Uru of £18, and were defended by Lawyer Tom Wilford, of Wellington. ' Henare Whakatau Utu, who lives at Kiccarton, said he was at Kaiapoi on the mOrning of May 24, and left the woollen centre by the 9 a.m. train for Christ,church, selecting a second-class smoker. Daitdn and Arthur entered the carriage after the train was m motion, m company with an individual afterwards discovered to be "Snowy" Sincock. Arthur sat him down opposite Uru, "Snowy" was seated one person from the Maori, and Dalton . was on the other side of the carriage. "Snowy" got a newspaper, placed it across bis knee, and produced three small cards. "THIS IS A GAME OF THREE CARDS," lie remarked, "and if you can spot the red card you can' win money." "Snowy" shuffled the cards, dropping wrist over wrist alowly, and Dalton came up and wagered £1. Uru followed the proceedings with interest and selected a card m his own mind, which proved 'to be the winning pasteboard. It looked so easy that Uru produced £1, but failed to pick the red, and was 20s the poorer. "Snowy** again shuffled, and Uxu wanted to : bet. Dalton also pressed forward, and "Snowy" Wouldn't take UrSi's money. ■"I'll take this man's," he said. Dalton now wagered £5, and won with a card .which Uru had followed with his eyes as the correct one. Dalton moved away, and "Snowy" reproached him with leaving after winning his money. Uru wagered £5 and lost, and Dalton also had bad luck. "Snowy*' got quite careless about here and was looking away and talking when Arthur picked up the ace of diamonds, put a small slit m the top edge of the card, showed it to Uru, and cautiously put it down again. Under the impression that he was backing \a cert. Uru planked down £5, and watching intently the torn card, finally selected it. What was his horror, however, to find that instead of the ace of diamonds, it was a club, and he lost. "Snowy" was conveniently looking ,away again, when Arthur, picked up. the 'ace of diamonds, and this ./time tore it very conspicuously at the .corner. Uru produced a cheque for £-7 and wanted to bet £5, -but "Snowy told him to wager the lot and go for '£14. The native didso; and glueing his eye to the card with the torn corner, finally picked it, only to find that it was a club, and he was penniless. "Snowy" again had his attention directed else- 1 .•where, and Arthur, picking up the ace of diamonds, tore it nearly right across. Strangely enough, this tear was diecov- ' ered by "Snowy," who refused to play further with torn cards. The train was nearing the railway station, and shoftly after the passengers alighted. Ever since • his loss tbe slow mind of the native had been revolving the matter, and wfien he met a policeman he mentioned it to him. The cheque was afterwards stopped at Jthe bank. Mr. Wilford: How old are you?— (A ■long pause) : Oh, about twenty-nine. Have you been out by yourself before •?' His Honor (sharply) : You needn't answer that question. It . is an' offensive question. Mr Wilford : Are you m the habit of being about by yourseli ? His Honor : Do not answer that question. Mr Wilford : I wish to ask, Were you about with anybody that morning. His Honor : In the manner yon put the question now it is m proner form, but m the manner you put it before you .were offensive. Mr Wilford was proceeding to ask if his Honor hadn't jumped to it conclusion when .the Judge said he wouldn't argue with counsel; He knew when Mr Wilford spoke that he meant to be offensive. Mr 'Wilford : Were you out with anybody else that morning •?— Oh, yes i; with Solomon, a Maori. So Solomon is a Maori ? — Yes. ' Were you m any hotel before you got into the train : '!y-*No. Did you have any . liquor before you got into the train that morning ? — No. Had you seen either Dalton or Arthur previously ? — I . don't think so. Did you make arrangements at any time. with either Dalton or. Arthur to try and cheat "Snowy" f-^Not as lar as I II know. \ Who suggested the torn card ?— -ArQiur Not you ? — No. When the card was torn It was shown •to you. was it not ? — Yes.Do you mean that it was shown to (you so that you could BET TO CHEAT "SNOWY" ?— I dare say. And yo'w- v/ere willing to cheaifiifli?— : It was Mm. If he didn't tear that card perhaps I wouldn't have gon»in f Was it your object to cheat him.?— l dare say. . . • If you won, would ?oti have taken the money I— (A pause) : 1 don't know. Did Arthur do any betting ■?— Not as far as 1 know. Did you think when the card was torn by Arthur that "Snowy" didn'V see Ift •—lt's impossible for me to say. Did you feel m your own mind that '•Snowy" didn't see the card T— -Yes, «t |the time. When you bet the yon bet on the liorn card, and no other cards wet© torn ? *— Yes. And you say that instead ol you cheatIng "Snowy" he cheated you with the .torn card I—l1 — I suppose so. When you turned up the marked card find found that it was black, did yon turn tip the other two cards to see what they jwere ?— No. ' Then as . far a* you know the red and jfcwo blacks constituted tbe pact »— l never looked. Was the man you saw betting, between the times you were betting, paid wrth your cheque ?— Not a- far as I know. Are you sure that tbe last bet made In the carriage was when you deposited your cheque?— Yes. On each occasion that you betted you believed that you coufd select the card, m the same way that you put £1 on the- : vcn c t»— n l though you find at the finish that yo-.n lior.se has been pulled ?— Yes. ' V pitted yoar cyexKtfil; against his manipulation' of the cards' ?— Yes. Leonard James Harrison, paper-seller on the tra ! ii, f-ni'd Dalton and Arthur i«r:loi<*c-f! to a party of five who wp.nt to naiuri'or.', on May 2i-.h and returned" the aim'" cay. They occupied a smoker atxt

the guard's van, and Dalton, Arthur and Sincock were indulging ih a tit of practice IN THE TIiRE&CARD LINE OF BUSINESS, Dalton doing jbhe betting. The three men mentioned afterwards moved up into the smoker near the engine, when the performance described by Uiu took place. This witness said the cards wore torn by Arthur on four occasions, every time Uru had a bet, and the cards were finally torn up by "Snowy." Wm. Stark, a Kaiapoi farmer with copious whiskers, saw some portion of the tragedy m the carriage. Everard Ktrkness Thornton, teller of the Bank of New Zealand, said that payment of the cheque was stopped early on May 25. Latex, Daltdn presented the cheque, and found he was a quarter of an hour late. He gave the name of P. Dalton, and was referred to the maker of . the cheque^ Mcquillan.' Sam Kraeteer, racecourse 'tec, said he had known both accused about a year and nine months, and during that time they were betting tbget&er as iriates. "Snowy" was associated with Arthur at an Oamaru race meeting. Dalton was usually licensed to bet and Arthur acted as his clerfc. . The depositions of 'Tec.- Cassells, who is away from the colony, and who arrested Arthur m Wellington, were put m. Arthur first denied knowledge of the transaction, then acknowledged Having been . associated with Dalton m Cfcfistchurch. ' Sincock, Arthur, and Dalton had come over from Australia together, the tec. deposed. 'TJRc. iG-ibson. arrested Dalcton on the steamet bound for Wellington, when the man denied defrauding anybody. "If anybody was defrauded it was me," lie said. 'Tec. Hammond took Dalton to the Lyttelton Police Station. He had a saloon ticket to Wellington ih tEe name of Bradshaw, a" pack of cards, . and a "two-up kip" ; also m ins bag there were two Rangjiora-Uhrietchufch railway tickets, and two betting licenses, one m the name of Jamieson. When Arthur arrived from Wellington, he said, "My . name is not J. Afthtir., but J. Arthur 'Jamieson." He had seen "Sh'dwy" and the two accused) together m Christjcnurch. There was 1 a warrant out for the arrest of "Snowy," who had departed to Australia. : The 'tec. produced the "kip." Mr Wilford : Do you call that a. "twpup . kip" ?— Yes ; it's a piece of tne '• end of a cigar case. Isn't ft a gardener's 1 implement for planting sweet peas t (taugnte*)—^l say it's a "twcHip kip." Tec. Hammond also gave evidence and completed ;the case, for the prosecution. His Honor (to Mr Wilfof d>) : Do you call any witnesses ?— I propose to address the jury. Do you call . witnesses ?^I propose to address toe jtiry. His Honor (with rising intonation) : Do you call witnesses 7— No, I propose to .address the jury. His Honor said, with severity, that it was not i*e proper way to answer a question. A simple , answer to tba't question should have been "2i0." Counsel : I've' never • been asked that before. His Honor : I ask the question of ' every■counsel who comes before me. Counsel : Your Honor • etiggested by 1 -the' question that I dkHi 1 * fiitejid to call/witnesses; , His Honor : I WILL, NOT AftGUE WITH YOU. We do n6t want your opinion on the subject. In the course of his address Mr Wilford contended! tfiat instead of charging - the two accused with conspiring to defraud Arthur and Uru should have been charged with conspiracy to fob the' man "Snowy," for IJru himself said that ihe had joined with Arthur to cheat "Snowy," and were m turn cheated by that individual; Counsel claimed that the threeHJard game was not a swindle, or, a game of chance, but a game m which the eye was matched against the manipulation of the , Band, ' although the odds certainly should be two to one instead of level money, as there were two black cards to' one red. Counsel summed up the matter by saying it was a case of the biter bitten. His Honor said it was a question of whether the 'three men' were m comfeation to defraud, and they had it m fact tfaact they were together. The essence of the combination was that the victim was led- on to bet by tne members of the combinaition. There were 1 usually two men, but m this case there were "three ; firstly, the manipulator .of the cards ; secondly, the dummy of decoy, who was always -quite a stronger to ttite other men ; and thirdly, the nian who, to use a colloquialism, "kidded" others on. If the ace of diamonds had been marked, as stated, then a club' was substituted for it by either Arthur or "Snowy," and, if the jury believed the witnesses, this was a deliberate swindle. His Honor pointed out that if the matter had been arranged beforehand it wouldn't be necessary for "Snowy" to see the marked card ; he would know by! experience that it wouhi be marked. The summing up closed with) the, significant remark, "If you ; think . it necessary, you can retire and consider your verdict." The jury- were absent five minutes only, and returned wfth a verdict of gailty. In reply " to the Registrar, Dalton said . he was twenty-eight, and Arthur placed his " age at twenty-nine. Dalton said he had spent tJrree months m the Lyttelton heaven awaiting trial, Arthur's period of suspense being five or six weeks m the same grim domicile. * In reply -to bis Honor, the Crown, Pro- . secator said the two then came osetirom ■ ■Australian two 1 years ago, and from inquiries mgede^ jt was found that their re^ cord was bad m the Commonwealth. His Honor asked Hhe could check that evidence. There ought to be some method of proving these matters. ' The Grown Prosecutor said lie had the photos and finger-prints of the men, also the certificate of the Superintendent of Police m Victoria. His Honor (examining the record) : These are very serious charges against Arthur, aid this is a simple case of swindling. He noted that Arthur was pnt down m the cbarga as thirty-sir. Arthur: I was . twenty-nine last February. His Honor said that against Dalton there was only one charge. Talaing into consideration the thtee months spent in'gaol by Dalton , his Honor sentenced that prisoner to nine rooritljs' imprisonment. Arthur's sentence was postponed untithe Judge had gone more fully into his record. Arthur was brought up for sentence at the close of the Criminal Sessions. - A bad Australian record was in 1 his Honor's hands, and the accuse^ complied that it had not been shown to him. Ifis Honor said that Arthur was said to be James Connors, whose description was read. Arthur remarked that a judge m Wanganui had held that the mere i record sent across was not sufficient evidence of past convictions. His Honor said that accused seemed to j know all about it. He was no.*- satisfic ' himself, and the ;iccuse.rl would set, the Ixn-f't o.' th? (lonlit, i.ut . his Honor nor- ! ed Ur*t be/2 re ietig tliis door woujct se !