“BIRDS OF PASSAGE"

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19371, 8 July 1937, Page 3

“BIRDS OF PASSAGE"

WOMAN ADMITS THEFTS

SUM OK ,a:j/| of. INVOLVED

COUNSEL’,S EXPLANATION

“The woman js half Maori and half Spanish, and has five children, four of them step-children. Site and her husband landed from Australia about, a month ago. They are birds of passage." stated Detective C. P. Belton. in the Police Court late yesterday afternoon in prosecuting three charges of theft against a young woman. Lucy Stevens, before Messrs. C. Blackburn and M. Doyle. J.P’s.

The woman, through her counsel, Mr. A. A. Whitehead, pleaded guilty to all three charges, admitting having stolen 5s in money, the property of Frank Gordon MaekJow, at Whakatane, 35s in money, the property of C. D. Brown, at Opotiki, and £l3 -Is, the property of Sydney T. Anderson, at Opotiki. On the count involving (ire larger sum, she elected to be dealt with summarily. Detective Belton stated that the woman, with her husband and children, were going round the shows in New Zealand, having only recently landed from Australia, to 'which country the husband belonged. On Tuesday morning, mi reaching Whnkatane, the accused entered a shop and offered to "read the proprietor’s head." Her offer was accepted, and she later asked for sortie silver, with which she performed some passes from hand to hand. After site had left the shop, having apparently returned the money, it was found that she had retained portion of it- Later at Opotiki, site had done the same thing with another shopkeeper, before visiting Anderson's premises. There she represented herself as a phrenologist, gave a “head-reading,'’ and was left, alone with some money, which she stole during the absence ol its owner, the amount taken being £l3 4s. Detective Belton stated that ho understood that the accused could make restitution. Accused’s Case Asking that the bench should not admit the accused to probation, but should convict her and order Iter to come up for sentence when called upon, Mr. Whitehead stated that the facts as rotated to him were not quite as stated by Detective Belton. The accused was not actually guilty, but was pleading guilty to avoid the trouble and inconvenience of contesting the charges. The bench would think that businessmen in Whakatane and Opotiki would hardly lend themselves to phrenology offhand. Ob? viously they would not lake it very seriously, and there must have been some fooling between litem and the woman. Counsel did not for a moment suggest anything improper, of course, but something in the way of badinage.

The accused, continued Mr. White-, head, was actually wearing a bangle which had been given to her by one of .t.he fnen from whom she was alleged to have stolen, which counsel thought was evidence that the offences had been less serious than they had been made out. He had the money available to make restitution of the amounts involved, on behalf of the accused, and suggested that she should not be burdened with the obligations of probation. "My client ancl her husband have been referred to as 'birds of passage.’ ”

said Mr. Whitehead. “We' prefer to describe them as travellers from town to town. If the accused is admitted to probation, it will necessitate tier constantly reporting at. police stations, at some inconvenience.”

• He added, in reply to a question from the bench, that accused and her husband would be going back to Australia in about three months, nfler the Poverty Bay Show.

The justices agreed to adopt the course proposed by Mr. Whitehead, convicting the accused and binding her over to come up for sentence if called on within six months. An order for the restitution of the amounts stolen was made.