"Touch and Ge"

NZ Truth, Issue 725, 10 May 1919, Page 5

"Touch and Ge"

A Shikkered Soldier and his Wad. - In Wellington Magistrate's Court on ■'' Monday morning, a nervous -looking 1 - : covey, yclept Walter Thomas Miles, I got what every accused person is entitled to, unless he be found guilty, to f wit, "the benefit of the doubt," but it a .was a close go. , . -.-<'. ,'■';!.". Accused .was charged ..with stealing the wad belonging to aj returned ariC '£' sozzled soldier boy, on /Saturday after- f : noon last. Inspector Marsack prose- •■■■■ cuted, and Mr. E. M. Beecliey did his > best for accused. Charles Frederick Wheeler said he , came home from Armageddon by .the '; lonic, and landed down from Auclc- : >: land on Anzac Day. On the following day he decided to, clothe his soul-oasd ■■'-. anew m "civvies," and persuaded his : mommer to give him £7 10s or, so.'-; By the time he had spent about four -. "quid," mostly on boots, and incidentally surrounded a lew "snifters," he .-," began to feel fuzzy m the belfry, .and v: decided to get off home. By the time he got m the vicinity of the Te Aro 'A railway station a nice comfy stack of, •■.;> timber was the temptation to indulge ; m 47 winks. But, 10, suddenly, hie '}.. little bit of shut-eye was rudely dis- -,■ turbed, and he woke with a jerk to rf find a nice kind man coolly cleaning : '% out his pockets,. He recognised the/:" "dipper" as accused Miles, whom he Tf r had known before the war. Miles, said ■■':. witness, "murmured, 'Wake up, old !' man, you'll be all right later on?." ,*; When complainant did pull himself 4i together, he found the ■-£ LARGE SUM OP 6%d . . ;" left of his portable wealth, and reok* ■ oned he had been cleaned out of tha ,\ balance by accused. / Accused's wife reckoned that two ,£ out of the three £1 notes found 0n, 4 her husband were given to him by. a •••;■;« pal to pay a two "quid" fine with. She *■» was sure of this for her old man used yg to hand the notes over every night . .^ for her to mind.""-' '. .'• v> ; ; Miles, m defence, said he 'had never ;«> met the soldier bloke m his life before ; s and had nothing to do with the ihlgh-; v; way robbery. >;■ The Inspector: This is an old game . J of yours, isn't it, Miles?— No. ,;g| Do you deny that you have been convicted of assault and robbery be- \.'m fore? — I admit that. :vi And yet you, a convicted thief, put -1 your word against an honest soldier's" ■ — I must tell the truth. . fi "The case is one of touch and go J with you," said his Worship to Miles, JjS "but seeing that the complainant was .^ hazy and had been drinking, I shall "m let 'you off.- Now, get out!" jB But before Miles skedaddles, his?:* Worship remembered that accused \ : : M had said that £2 of the money he had -i« m his possession was for a fine, "Z ; ; |fi think we will relieve you of that now," ";5S said his Worship, and the money wa»';a handed over. -"«