MAGISTERIAL.

Patea Mail, Volume X, Issue 1314, 27 February 1885, Page 2

MAGISTERIAL.

PATEA—WEDNESDAY. CHARGE OP FORGERY BROUGHT AGAINST A. GaVEY. The following is the evidence taken in this case : James Dunlop, sworn, said : I am a settler residing at Woodville. I know prisoner, who has been working for Mr Thomas Foreman at Woodville. The prisoner and Foreman slept at my house for several months. My house is a ..four-roomed house, and I used one of the front rooms as a bedroom for myself. The other front room was empty. Prisoner slept in one of the back rooms adjoining the kitchen. My bedroom door was always unlocked and prisoner had access to the room. I have an account at the Bank of New Zealand at Patea, I had a cheque book, and kept it in a pocket book which was kept in my coat which hung in my bedroom. The first number of cheque in the book is 25,276 and the last is 25,299. Prisoner left my house for Wanganui on the 23rd January. I gave him a cheque for £2 to take him to Wanganui. I lent him this money. I wrote the amount in words. Prisoner returned, I believe, on the 26 th January from Wanganui. Prisoner slept at my house on the night he returned. I believe he went to Manutahi on the following day, the 27th, and returned to Woodville that night. Prisoner remained at my house off and on until Saturday, the 31st January. He. then went- away- .without telling me he was going prisoner left his swag behind, I received a letter from prisoner on the 4th 1 February-; I got the letter through the post"; letter produced and marked A." is the foile I received. The letter is dated January Ist, which 1 presume is a mistake of prisoners. Prisoner went by the name of Alfred Gavey. when he,was , vyith , me,- and the letter is sighed Alfred Gavey ; I was in the Bank of New Zealand at Patea on Saturday the 14th February, I went in to see how my account stood, I discovered that my balance was £4 ss, smaller then it ought to have been. The clerk looked over ray cheques and showed me the last cheque that was issued in my name which was for £4 ss. The cheque was made payable to Alfred Robb ; Ido not know a person of that name in the district; the cheque produced marked A was the one shown to me in the bank! The cheque is not in my hand writing ; I am quite positive that 'the signature ,on the cheque is not mine. The signature resembles mine in some respects. I do not know of any other person of my name in the district. I believe the hand writing in the letter marked A is the same as written in the cheque marked B. I looked at my cheque book at the bank when the forged cheque was produced to me, and I handed the book to the clerk, and be discovered that a cheque had been torn from the back of the book which was the last cheque in my cheque book; the block was torn out with it. The number of the cheque-torn out would agree with that produced, namely 25,300. By the Court: I have seen accused’s handwriting a good many times. I have never given anyone a blank cheque out of my book. There was no one else lodging at the house besides the prisoner from January 23 to January 31.. Prisoner owed, me thirty shillings when he left my house. Evidence was brought to trace the cashing of the cheque and its ultimate arrival at the Bank of New Zealand.

Constable Sparke gave evidence of having traced the action to the prisoner, and the prisoner ‘to Wanganui, and subsequently having him arrested and bringing him from -Aramoho in charge. Mr > Christie-, bank' ißgent, rugate evidence as to Mr Dunlop disputing a * cheque, and having looked up the disputed cheque, compared the signature and found it, did not.quite agree,..with the signature’ in 'the bank* signature book, though similar, and considered the signature on the cheque in court, marked B, a forgery. -r Sergeant Bissett gave evidence as to prisoner’s arrest in Wanganui, and the court committed prisoner to take his trial at the next silting of the Supreme Court in New Plymouth. .=■ ; The Court then adjourned.