GRAND JURY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18634, 19 February 1935, Page 5

GRAND JURY

CONGRATULATED by judge iLEGAL POINT DISCOVERED (Per Press Association.) NEW' PLYMOUTH, last night. The congratulations of Mr. Justice Blair on their discovery of a nice legal point, duviiig their deliberations were received by the grand jury at the .Supreme 'Court. The’grand jury had been considering whether"there was a case for trial against. R, Beiihdcli, \V. J. Pyrrolt, Albert Edward Lewis, and M. H. Cosbrook, whn were, arraigned on 4fi charges, including forging and uttering of relief workers' time sheets and coupons. The grand jury had returned to the court to ask a question of Ifis Honor. “We would like to ask what is tlie meaning of forgery,” said the foreman. The point was that the time sheets had been signed bv each of the. men in his own name. Was it not talse pretences rather than forgery,_ and in that ease, should they not disregard the forgery charge and concentrate their deliberations on the alternative charges? “I anticipated some question would he raised whether or not the giving of an incorrect time sheet, seeing that it is signed by the. men themselves, is really forgery,” said His Honor. “I must congratulate you,” said. His Honor, “on finding this, nice legal point. A better point for the Grown to have made would have been a. count of false pretences, f had meant to deal with the question m summing up, hut it appears that I turned over two pages at once in mv notes and overlooked it.”