ERRATIC FINANCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19760, 10 April 1926, Page 8

ERRATIC FINANCE.

PASSING VALUELESS CHEQUES. DUNEDIN MAN IN TROUBLE. (From Our Own Correspondent.; CHRISTCHURCH, April 9. Charged among other offences with forging a cheque for £2O and cashing it at the tot.ilisator at the Motukarara races on March 5, Edmund Marriott formerly a hairdresser in Dunedin, and at the time of his arrest living at 144 Main road. Redcliffs, appeared in the Magistrate’s Court this morning before Messrs P. L. Davies and R. T. Tosswill, justices of the peaceAccused was represented by Mr W, .1. Stacey, and Chief Detective T. Gibson prosecuted. Marriott wns first charged with obtaining from Robert Coleman, of Papanui, a pair of boi>ts and 10s in cash, of a total value of £2. bv means of a valueless cheque for that amount drawn on the National Bank of New Zealand, Christchurch. Me pleaded not guilty, and elected to be dealt with summarily. Accused was convicted on the evidence of Coleman and committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.

The next charge was that on March 5 he forced a cheque for £2O drawn on the same bank and purporting to be signed by A. Lawrence. Questioned in the box by Chief Detective Gibson, accused said he had an account in the Dunedin branch of the National Bank showing a credit of between £l4 and £2O. Tie had made out the cheque on the Christchureh branchy of the bank instead ef the Dunedin brnneb by an oversight. Chief Deteet've Gibson Produced a telegram sent by the accused from Napier to a man in Christchurch, saying: “Serious t-euble here. Expect climax to-day.” “What did you mea •by climax?” asked the Chief Detective. Accused said he did not know exactly, as he had sent the telegram off in a hurry. “I put it to you that you were fc -ing arrest in connection with the cheques you passed at Napier amounting to about £100,” said the Chief Detective. Accused denied that he was fearing arrest in Napier. Asked why he had passed the cheques there he said that he had been in expectation of obtaining money from friends in Christchurch. To Mr Stacey: He had come to Christchurch because a man named Davis was going to finance him to the extent of £IOO to enable him to keep his business in Dunedin going. Joseph Wallace, land agent, said that he was secretary of the Banks Peninsula Racing Club. At the race meeting on March 5 accused had asked him to initial a cheque for £2O so that he could cash it at the

totalisator. Witness had said he would not do so unless the cheque were endorsed by some person whom he knew. Aroused had gone away and later returned with the cheque signed “A. Lawrence.” The cheque was cashed in the totalisator and later returned marked “no account.’ Alfred John Lawrence, license© of the Terminus Hotel, denied signing the cheque. He knew no other hotelkeeper of that name in Christchurch.

Accused\pleaded not guilty, and was committed for Trial at the Supreme Court. He was then charged with obtaining two shirts and £8 18s in cash from T. Armstrong and Company by means of a valueless cheque for £lO, drawn on the National Bank of New Zealand at Dunedin, and with obtaining from E. Reece (Ltd.) an afternoon tea set and £7 5s in cash by means of a valueless cheque for £lO 0s 6d, drawn on the same bank, and with obtaining from P. Hanlon (Napier) the sum of £5 0s 6d by means of a valueless cheque for that amount, also drawn on the Dunedin bank. On the application of the police a remand was granted until April 16, bail being refused.