CHARGE OF FORGERY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1959, 10 September 1891, Page 18

CHARGE OF FORGERY.

At the City Police Court on Saturday last, Jane Wallace, alias Margaret Dowie, was charged with having on the 29fch day of August forged, uttered, and disposed a certaia order for payment of money ; to wit, a cheque on the Colonial Bank of New Zealand for the sum of £6.— Mr M'Keay appeared for accused, who pleaded not guilty.— Chief Detective Henderson conducted the prosecution, and in opening the case said that accused was a domestic servant in the employ of Alexander Thomson, at Maungatua. On Saturday evening last accused called at the shop of Johnson and Carpenter, in Rattray street, and bought goods to the value of 30s. She produced a cheque for £6 on the Colonial Bank signed by Robert Charters, Mosgiel, and dated 29fch of August. It was drawn in favour of Jane Wallace, and that, she said, was her name. She was a friend of Mr Charters, and had been staying at his farm at Mosgiel. The cheque had been presented, and found worthless. It would be shown in the evidence that this cheque had beon abstracted from the cheque book of her employer, Mr Thomson. Sergeant M'Grath, accompanied by Mr Johnson, had proceeded to Thomson's farm, and Johnson had identified accused as the person who had purchased the goods and tendered the cheque. While making a search of accused's room they found several articles of apparel similar to those gold by Mr Johnson on Saturday. When accused got the cheque cashed at Mr Johnson's she said that she was going back to Mosgiel that night, but she did not go back that night, but was driven oat on the following day. — Charles James Johnson, carrying on business in Rattray street, remembered accused coming into his shop on the evening of the 30bh ult. She bought goodß to the value of 303. She paid for the goods by cheque on the Colonial Bank, at Dunedin, dated the 29th August, at Mosgiel. It was for £6, and bore the signature of Robert Charters. Accused endorsed the cheque with the name of Jane Wallace. She said that she was staying at Mr Charters'. Witness presented the cheque at the bank on Monday morning. It was returned to him marked "no account." Witness thereupon informed the police. He recognised accused as the person who gave the cheque to him. He had gone to the farm at Maungatua, j where she was staying. In making a search of her room with Detective M'Grath they found two bottles of ink on the dressing table— one was black and the other violet, which corresponded with the two inks used in filling in the cheque.— To Mr M«Keay : He was positive he was not mistaken in the identity of accused. He would not say that the stockings he found in j accused's room at Thomson's were those he had sold to her, but they were very much alike. Robert Charters, a farmer residing at the Taieri, Where he had been for the past 23 years, gave evidence that he had never seen accused in his life before. He kept his bank account at the National Bank, Mosgiel. The signature on the produced cheque was not his ; nor was there one letter in it like his handwriting. Accused had never stayed at his house. He believed that he was very well known throughout the district. There was no other farmer named Robert Charters in East Taieri.— Aubrey Franois Gualter, ledger-keeper in the Colonial Bank at Dunedin, deposed that the cheque produced was presented to him on Monday morning last. He returned it marked "No account." The signature on the cheque of Robert Charters, and the signature of accused on the property sheet (signed by accused when she was taken to the police station), had been, in his opinion, written by the same person.— By Mr M'Keay: If Robert Charters had had an account in the Colonial Bank he would not have initialled such a cheque on his own responsibility.— Alexander , Thomson deposed that he was a farmer, residing at Maungatua. Accused had been about 16 months in his service. Nobody had borrowed a cheque from him, but one had been abstracted j from his cheque-book, and the number on the produced cheque corresponded with the missing I number from his book. Witnesß knew Robert Charters. He had met accused near the railway station at Henley on last Saturday night about 6 o'clock. She said she was going to Dunedin. She came back on Sunday evening. By Mr M'Keay : He had known accused for some time, and had always found her a trustworthy and honest person.— Detective M'Grath deposed that he arrested accused at the farm of the last witness. Johnson was with him at the time and identified her. In searching the room they found two bottles of ink— one black and the other violet. He took accused into town and she signed the property sheet produced at the watch house. Jonnson gave a very good description of accused to him, both as regards her appearacne and wearing apparel.— This closed the case for the prosecution.— Mr M'Keay said that he could call a large number of witnesses to prove the unimpeachable character of accused, but that was not the time nor place to do so. He admitted that it appeared W bo a prim* facie case, ttad no evidence that

he could bring forward would be of any avail, so he would reserve his defence. He asked their Worships to admit accused to bail Accused was committed to take her trial at the next Supreme Court criminal sessions; bail being allowed in two sureties of £25 each or one of £50.