NEW ZEALANDER SENTENCED.

Otago Witness, Issue 3768, 1 June 1926, Page 56

NEW ZEALANDER SENTENCED.

PERSISTENT FALSE PRETENCES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, April 23. Alfred Daniel Walton, alias John Desmond, appeared at Lambeth Police Court yesterday on three charges of obtaining money by false pretences, and was sentenced to seven months hard labour. This man, it will be remembered, came up at Bow street on February 18 for obtaining £5 from Miss Crichton Inirie, proprietress of the Black Swan Tea Rooms. On that occasion evidence. was given that Miss Irarie was induced to lend Walton the money to pay for some cablegrams to New Zealand. Walton represented that he was the head of a New Zealand meat concern, and that he had lost his wallet containing £l9O. Walton’s brother, a man in business In New York, was in London at the time, and gave evidence that the prisoner had once had a serious illness, and might not be responsible lor his actions. An adjournment was allowed for a medical examination, but the medical officer reported that prisoner was quite sane. The magistrate then remanded Walton for two months on his own surety to enable him to get out of the country, and mention was made of his returning to New Zealand.

In the meantime. It appears. Walton began to attend the morning services of the Streatham. Hill Congregational Church, and in due course obtained money on false pretences from various members of the congregation His brother, before returning to New York, had engaged a solicitor to look after the case, and Walton could have had money from the solicitor at any time he chose to apply for It. Finally, the brother paid £lB 158 for a passage to Canada, and provided £23 for Walton's use 00 arriving there. lie also arranged that Walton should go to a permanent position in Canada. Walton had gone on board the ».«. Arabia at Southampton, and was on his way to Canada when he was arrested on a fresh charge.

Ho was brought before the magistrate (Mr Fry) at Bow street, two days ago. This was on remand from the original charge, and

also on one additional charge. Mr Fry said it seemed a pity that money should have been thrown into the sea, and that the man should have been brought back. He maintained that the conditions of the original remand precluded him from doing otherwise than dismissing the original charge, but he directed that the second case should be heard at Lambeth, where the warrant was issued. Walton, therefore, came before Mr Rootli at Lambeth yesterday. In the meantime, however, two additional charges were laid against him.

Detective Inspector Rose explained that after being remanded prisoner began attending the Streatham Hill Congregational Church, alleging that he was a New Zealand sheep taruier taking a year’s holiday, and that he had just lost his wife. He attended church services regularly and then, on March 28, he approached Mr Robert Grant, a member of the congregation. Walton said that he had been motoring near Winchester when he had a collision with a lorry. He was rendered unconscious, and when he came to he found that his wallet containing £193 was missing Since then he had been in hospital. With this story Walton obtained from Mr Grant the sum of £2. On April 8, and on April 10 he told other people an exactly similar story and obtained the sums of £2 and ’£l respectively. The detective then read out the long list of convictions against prisoner which had been made in New Zealand and in this country.

The solicitor appearing for accused said that he had money »11 the time which accused could have had. Although he was reported sane by the medical officer many people under the circumstances would consider him mad. The solioitor made an appeal to permit the accused to leave for Canada, where he had a permanent position to go to.

The Magistrate said that prisoner had carried on a career of false pretences for a considerable time with considerable advantage to himself in different localities, and with different people. He had been punished many times, but that had not prevented him from offending again directly lie got his release He had obtained a remand, and even during that remand he had commenced his negarious practices again “I can quite sympathise with the desire to get you out of the country,” sard Mr Rooth. “You are of no benefit or honour to this country, but I do not see why you should be dumped down in our very loyal dominions, where you would carry on the same practices which you have indulged in here. I, therefore, cannot accede to the request which has been made to let you go to Canada. I feel perfectly • certain that directly you got there you would carry on the same career of crime. My duty is to punish you and to keep you from offending for some time.*'

The Magistrate then sentenced prisoner to two months, four months, and one month’s imprisonment with hard labour on the three charges respectively, the sentences to run consecutively.