CHRISTCHURCH CHRONICLES

NZ Truth, Issue 749, 25 October 1919, Page 6

CHRISTCHURCH CHRONICLES

(From "Truth's" Chri«tchurch Rep.)

BOTHER 'BOUT A BIKE.

Last April, Douglas Lawrence, a % Post Office messenger, left his bicycle m a right-of-way, returning some little time afterwards to find that the machine had disappeared. He never saw it again until August 6, when, to his, delight, he espied his long-lost machine reposing peacefully m the same lane. He left a guard over his recovered treasure, and hied himself to ,the nearest constable, to whom he imparted the glad tidings. Inquiries elicited the information that the supposed owner of the bike was one Albert Whitaker, who, at that precise moment was regaling himself with the hospitality offered by the landlord of an adjacent pubbery. As a result of all this to-do, Whitaker was charged, the other morning, with the theft of the bike, valued by its owner at £12 10s. " He had Lawyer Cassldy m his corner to present his version of the exchange. The complainant, the police constable and another witness all said that the accused said, when asked where he got the bike, that he had bought it at a railway sale, conducted by McKenzie and Willis, last January. In his evidence, he denied having made this statement. His explanation of the business was that he had lost, m all, four or five bicycles. On April. 26 he rode to the railway station on a machine recently purchased from the firm of auctioneers mentioned. While he was buying a ticket, his machine was taken away, and the one which Lawrence claimed was left 1 m its place. After waitingfor a couple of hours, and finding that his bike had apparently gone for good, he reckoned that Lawrence's machine had been substituted for his, and accordingly, he collared it. His own bike, he said, was a much better one than the one left m - its place. The yarn told by the witnesses for th.c prosecution was all bosh; he was confident that he never said anything of the kind. He did not report the loss of his own bike to the police, as, m the light of previous experience of police expedition m • the catching of bicycle thieves, he considered such a course would be only waste of time. The Magistrate reckoned that Whitaker"s explanation was satisfactory, and dismissed the information.