BLACK CATS FOR LUCK

NZ Truth, Issue 1173, 24 May 1928, Page 8

BLACK CATS FOR LUCK

A Fishy Business

But Cafe Proprietor Fynes Cut Things Too Fine (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Christchurch Representative.)

This is the story of fried fish, a black cat and a portly gentleman named Fynes who cut it altogether too fine when he found himself a bankrupt surrounded by a maze of muddle and not a few angry creditors.

THE fried fish and the black cat, both strong attractions one to the

other, come into the affair merely as incidentals, but one thing is certain — -that when James Wright Fynes, of Christchurch, next enters the fried fish business, if ever he does, he will have nothing to do with black cats. As a symbol on the shingle, they are a wash-out. JNo luok goes with them. Fynes knows; ask him. i When Fynes landed In Christchurch i aa a etonemaßon, ao it was said when he faced his trial last week on two charges covering breaches of the I Bankruptcy Act, he buckled into hard graft and saved £200. With this little nest-egg he bought a business m Victoria Street. There he became proprietor of the Union Cafe, a fried fish shop-restaurant. Later he blossomed out as pro* prietor of the Black Cat Cafe m Gloucester Street. But as a business man Fynes has a tot to (earn. The advantages of keeping proper books of account, for example, and knowing when it is time to tot up and aec how the financial end stands. His affairs first began to harass the official assignee many months back, though A. W. Watters is as much m the dark to-day concerning the real state of the muddle as he was when he started.

At the time of his bankruptcy, Kynes estimated his deficit at £900 or so, but, accord- ____________

ing to the Crown,

£ i.600 would nearer the figure,

The bankruptcy i was described by I the Crown Prosecu-

tor as most unsatisfactory and the prosecution had been laid m order to serve as a lesson to others who were inclined to carry on their business m the way Fynes had done. The Act was meant ; to afford relief to people who found themselves m low water financially, ' but it was not intended to be treated as it had been m this case.

Failure to', keep proper books and incurring debts without having prospoets of paying were the charges to which Fynes pleaded not guilty.

Throughout the trial, Fynes, peering through pince-nez perched perilously on the tip of his nose, pencilled notes to his counsel, rummaged ceaselessly through piles of papers and generally took the greatest interest m the proceedings.

The "books" he had kept were a mass of loose sheets of paper, all sizes, clipped together m bundles; and these were what he asked the court to believe were the documents that showed his true financial position. The. official assignee admitted that ho had not waded through the pile, but had glanced through it. With a great deal of work, assuming that all the vouchers and receipts showing his expenditure were m the pile, it would be possible to get out a statement, but Watters confessed that he had not attempted such a gargantuan task. ... Fynes is nothing if not an optimist. At one stage, when he. was practically broke to the wide, he used Dennis Bros., fish merchants, as a "bank."

At this time his balance m the bank was a shilling or two, but he unburdened four cheques on Dennis Bros, m four days. These cheques were made out for £7/12/-, £8/4/-, £7/5/-, and £8/12/-.

What Pynes did was to call on the firm of Dennis Bros, and buy a quantity of fish to the value of something like £1.

He paid for it by cheque and pocketed the balance. He did this

with eaoh cheque

and aitogethor

obtained about £30 m oaah as change.

"What he did," said Lawyer Donnelly, "amounted to taking Dennis dow*n."

However, In spite of the hopeless tangle, Lawyer Batchelor battled hard to show the jury that the untidy heap of papers (produced) were right and proper books (as defined under the Act) to show the real financial position of a fish and chip business.

Fynes is also something of a dealer m payer. The formidable mass on the solicitors' table' was merely an item, for it was elicited that Fynes had a great deal more at horne — or had. Two sack-loads, iii fact; but, far from being receipts for money paid to his creditors, the sacks were packed to the brim almost with "duns" and demands foi- payment. Every effort hud been made to give Fynes a chance to clear up his position to the satisfaction of his creditors, but it was all of no avail. The mystery was

too much for Fynes

and his creditors received little change, either by way of cash or help m clearing up the mess. "He handed me m statements, but I could not rely on him at all," stated the official assignee.

"It was very noticeable that his bank-book showed payments to people whom I could not find and about whom bankrupt could not explain." The jury took an hour to make up its mind that Fynes was guilty and brought m their verdict accordingly. When he appeared for sentence, reference was made to the police report concerning him.

After referring: to the unsatisfactory nature' of the whole of Fynes' conduct during- bis bankruptcy and that. which contributed to it, Crown Prosecutor Donnelly said it appeared that during the past few years he had been sponging and living on women, robbing them of their money.

The judge, prior to passing sentence, emphasized the fact that the bankruptcy Was no ordinary one and Fynes had been found guilty on the clearest of evidence.

Lawyer Batchelor said what he could for the prisoner, suggesting that Fynes might be called up for sentence when called upon or, m the alternative, fined.

His Honor: "Have you seen the police report? If there is no answer to that, it would appear that this man has just been skimming on the very edge of the law and defrauding women."

Fynes was then sentenced, to six months' imprisonment.