RICHARD SEES THE SIGHTS.

NZ Truth, Issue 1052, 21 January 1926, Page 7

RICHARD SEES THE SIGHTS .

A Backblocks Farmer and His Butter-fat Cheques are soorT Parted AN INNOCENT ABROAD AT WHATAWHATA (From "Truth's" , Taumaruriui ' Representa tive.) "A very fishy affair" was how the Hamilton Magistrate described an unusual case last week m which a King Country farmer, Richard Samuel Knight, was charged with the theft of a cheque for £1 which he had just previously tendered to the licensee of the Whatawhata Hotel, one

Henry Langlands

>• . i ■■■ • would appear that Knight, tiring of. the- lonely life on his . backblocks farm, decided to put m, a few days at Hamilton, where at least ihe could get a little of the atmosphere of city life and banlsh\ from his mind

for a time the vision of woolly--hog-gets and titree scrub. He had scracely arrived m Waikato's hub when he was accosted, according- to his own story, by a man who was sweeping the road at Frankton. . After a conversation on things m general, they had a drink at the :' hotel, and Slater asked him, according to Knight's story, if he /would like to meet "some nice - \ people," some ladies who would entertain him. - Slater added that one of them was "a nice young woman" who was a good singer. Knight, apparently, had no objection, feeling, as he did, rather strange and lonely m the butter-fat metropolis. ■:;■' Slater told Knight he had better get m a stock of whisky, but instead he purchased six bottles of beer. • Apparently, according to the time-table arranged by Slater, , one of the "nice little ladies" ;tb.d-, dled past a given spot at a given time— between one and two o'clock ,-.. that afternoon. ; -„" They followed: her to a house'; m Lake Road, 'where Slater introduced her as Mi-s. Hodge,, and then returned to his work, leaving them together. Mrs. Hodge knocked at the door, and Mrs. Sims, who' answered, invited them m to "have a bit of lunch." The meal finished, somebody «ug-

-1 gested a motor driver-who, it was ■ not quite clear. Mrs. ' Sims declared ' that , it was Knight, but. the latter : stated that the -proposition came- from one of the ladies. . 'However, before many minutes had passed, a car pulled up at the door, : and one of the ladies announced that the car. was waiting. : A run tOiWhataW'hata was suggested, again by one of the ladies — according to r Knight— although Te Aroha had also been suggested. However, Whatawhata was. a little nearer, an.d, according to . Mrs. Sims, tshe ! had to return m ,• time/ to get her husband's dinner : -..ready.;' :' :: . ": . ; ■. '■' : " There ■.• is an hotel at Whatawhata, and, apparently without any instructions, the taxi-driver, who was known to the ladies, drew his car up before the hotel door. V " A Fool And His Money" Henry Langlands, the licensee of the hotel, told the Court that ; , after the party had. been served with drinks, which Knight ordered, the taxi-driver wrote out - two cheques for £ 1 each! which ; Knight signed. The latter had previously asked witness, if he would accept a- cheque for a "fiver," but he refused to do so, Knight being a stranger. '• •. He accepted a £1 cheque, . however, and gave Knight eleven shillings change. • The party had no sooner left than Knight returned and complained that he had not received his ..change. Witness declared that this had been given him, but Knight insisted that it had not, and demanded to see the cheque. .' , On this being produced, Knight snatched it, and with the remark that "That is the end of that," put it m his pocket. . :

Knight remarked that he had known a case like that before at Wangahui, arid had beaten them, and that he ■ would beat him, too. ■■' i , Finally, witness, rather than. f. have any trouble on hia premises, ;, let him take the cheque away. '"'■'■'■ The Magistrate (Mr. Wyvern l ~ WHson) remarked that it was quite obvious to him what the /; game* was. ~ . • Constable Neill produced a sUte- ~ ment made to him by "■'• Knight, iii : which he said that Mrs. Hodge asked him to write out. a cheque, and HainsV worth took the book out of his hand' and' said he was good at writirigv Hainsworth wrote out two cheques for > £1 ■ each; and said: "That will go -a ; good way." ■•'. ; . , : " "I thought the £2 was to be spent on drink," added Knight, "as I did hot engage the car. We*. • had another round of drinks; and then we went outside, where Mrs. ; Hodge asked mo to write out « ': cheque for, ,a fiver, ,aird told me vVthat I could do what I {iked. }\ ;,.y; "I then went back to ■ the licensee ; and said: 'I think you have something :: to do with this,' 1 I asked him for the ; cheque back, . and when he handed it to me I put.it m my pocket and said: T will see that you get paid? :.-I-; deny ; that I >received any change;. : •'This fool and .his 'money were; ; taken' into the hotel, and the fool and.; his money were soon parted,'/ re'-l-'f. marked the Magistrate. .. : "The taxi-driver wrote out two- :. cheques, which defendant signed, while , not seeming to know what they were: ' for, and he thought they \were going: to get more for 'his cheques than they did. ■■■•■■•-; v- ; r ■'.>. .. :\ .:;•-■ VThey only, had two rounds of drinks, > and he therefore . thought he had * right to some of his money back." ■ , The Magistrate thought it wgjiid be unsafe to convict and dismissed tht case. • " ' ■■ ■ : -- - ;-■ \ ' ■ • v ;. .