Police Court.

Southland Times, Issue 9384, 25 November 1886, Page 2

Police Court.

• ♦ Wednesday, 24th November. (Before H. McCulloch, Esq, 8.M,) ALLEGED THEFT OF LETTERS. Frederick Hassel Dale, on remand, was charged with having, on the 13th October, feloniously embezzled one post letter addressed to Mrs Waugh, dressmaker, Earn street, Invercargill, and containing three LI notep. — Mr Maniaty appeared for the accused.— James CDriscoll, bootmaker, residing at Waikari, deposed that he had written and addressed a letter to Mrs Waugh, dressmaker, Earn street, Invercargill, on the Bth October last, and enclosed in it tbreo LI notes, a Duoedin city rates' receipt, and a rates' notice. He closed the gunimed envelope in the usual manner and laid it on the table intending to post it next morning. He got no reply to the letter and wrote on tbe 20th October demanding a reply to the firsf, but ha got no answer to either. He intended sending a telegram to SBk about the letters when Mrs Waugh arrived at his place. In consequence of what she told him he went to the Dunedin Postmaster and reported the loss of the letters. He had put two penny stamps on the enve lope of the first letter, The rates receipt, notice, and letter- produced were those he had sent to Mrs Waugh, but he could not swear to tbe particular euvelope as he had sent several letters to Mrs Wangh similarly addressed and stamped. By Mr Manisty: Ho diil not post the letter himself nor instruct anyone else to do co. To hia Worship : He lived three miles from town, and the day following that upon wbich he wrote the letter was very wet. That was on a Saturday, and on the Monday ho forgot to take the letter with him. — Uonora O'Driscoll, wife of the previous witness, remembered her husband writing the letter to Mrs Waugh, and saw him enclosing three LI notes. He closed tha letter and laid it on the table, when witness took charge of it. It was in her possession until the Monday morning, safely locked up, and she then gave it to her son to post at Half Way Bush on his way to school. The letter was addressed to Mrs Waugb, dressmaker, E irn streot, InvercargilJ. By Mr Manisty : Her sod, who posted the "letter, was ovor 12 years of age. She did not tell him to register ihe letter. — Florence O'Driscoll, son of the two previous witnesses, deposed that on tho llih October his mother gave him a letter addressed to Mrs Waugb. He posted the letter at the Half Way Bush pillar box. He waa present when his father ?vrote tho Jotter on the Bih October, and saw him enclose three LI notes in il. By Mr Maniety : Hia mother told him to post the letter, and to take particular care of it. He waa not told to register it. — Elizabeth Waugb, wife of John Waugb, carpenter, of Earn street, InvercargilJ, deposed that she carried on the business of dressmaker. Mr O'Driscoll received the rent of a property witness had in Danedin, and forwarded it to her. She received no letter from him during the month of October ; the letter and enclosures produced had not been delivered to her through the post. She waa living at the address on the envelope produced during the month of October. A By Mr Manisty : She had geaeraiiy received a letter onoa a month from O'DriscolJ, sometimes containing money. Liters were delivered at ker house by the accused. On no occasion had a letter sent to her by O'Driscoll been registered. — J. W Wilkin, chiof poßtsiaster at lavercargil l , deposed that tho accused had been employed in the postal department in Invercargill in the capacity of a letter-carrier. His duty was to deliver correspondence generally, and hia walk for some months past is what ia known as No. 2 walk, ia wbich Eirn street was included. The envelope produced had passed through the post, and had been sorted in the travelling post-office on the 15th October last, la due course the letter would be sorted into No. 2 walk, and would coma into the hands of D.ala to be delivered by him next moraiog, Ia cau&equeace of a cacaaiqd£eairoa received from tho Übief Postmaster, Dunedin, t^ade enquiries, about this

particular letter^ and dwjrigjtb other com : plaint* having beenJriade .-? as 'I to the no* v delivery of letters witnees spoke to the accused about the 25th or 26th Get. He thought he; mentioned the letter in question, birt he did not : thiak' lie. mentiowd •boat it, containing "money. ' Accused had been on leave and returned on the 11th inaL On further complaints witness Eeot word to Dale in Danedia to call at his (wttnees'a) office on returning. Witness: told him that during hia absence several other complaint* had been made about non-delivery, among which were- three letters containing money orders. Ho aleo mentioned Mra Waugh'a letter as one containing money. Dale told witness tbat he had some letters at house, and tbat he ■ had opened the letter and stolen three Ll notes contained in it. Witness then sent fdr*;ti^j|»ol|ce and gave him in charge. On the; same evening witness accompanied the police to Dale's house, where, he saw the police find, on searching, a number of letterp, this letter being among- them, he thpaght^ ' They were handed over by Dale, who said to his wife that he would have to go to gaol. -While in witness's office accused ■aid he was in financial difiSculties, and that the matter had co preyed on his mind that he scarcely knew what he was doing. He ■aid he bal been led iato habits of io temperance through; belonging *o so many societies. On being asked he denied having any letters in his pockets. This letter was endowed ." no attendance," as was ueuai when they could not be delivered. Dale's duty would have been to have brooght itback to the office and endorsed it, and taken it out with the n6xt delivery, and so on until a delivery was effected. By Mr Manisty : Dalo had been in the Invercargill Post Office since 10th rMay, 1879, excepting three months during which he was in the Danedin office. His salary was then about L9O per annum. At present it was Ll2O per annum, in addition to which he bad 15a a week for washing ont the offices. Witness bad always - been satisfied with his conduct, and bad' believed him to be a trustworthy maD. Atcused bad read and endorsed the regulations and Post Office Act, which were bonnd together. Accused admitted having taken the money out of this letter and spent it, but witness was not sure whether or not he used the word "stolen." Accused expressed his sorrow at having deceived witness, and showed no desire to hold anything back. Accused had told witness that drink was the cause of the act. —Detective Ede deposed tbat onjthe evening of the 11th inst he arrested the accused at the Post Office. He charged him with stealing a post letter containing three Ll notes on or about the 13th October, and he replied " I acknowledge I did it." Witness and the Chief Postmaster then accompanied him to his house. While on the way there he said he had some letters and papers which he would band over, and on entering the house he handed over four mail bags containing letters, papers, &c. Ho said tbat tbat was all, and tbat he did not think it was necefsary to search the bouse. Iv another room witness found another mail bag containing chiefly letters. Accused handed ■witness the envelope (produced) containing a letter, a receipt, and a notice. Accused said that it was the envelops which had contained the notes. Witness found 287 letters, 149 circulars, 134 newspapers, 192 book packets, and 34 post cards ; 22 of the letters were opened. —This closed the case for the prosecutioo, —Mr Manisty contended that there was no evidence to show tbat accused <yas a pest officer as his appointment bad not been proved. — Hia Worship said he thought the Court had a right to presume tbat bo was a post officer from the evidence of the Chief Postmaster, who stated that he had been employed as a post officer fer tho last ■even years. — In reply to the usual caution the accused said that he was guilty, and that ho was sorry for what he had done. Tho whole was the effect of drink He was in drink when he opened the letter, and he spent the money taken in drink. He intended replacing it and delivering the letter to Mrs Waugb, and for that purpose he had asked for, and been promised, the money to do so. That was all he bad to say. — Accused was committed to take bis trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court. The accused was next charged with having on or about the 6th October at Invercargill stolen and taken away a post letter directed to N. J. M. ReiD, watchmaker, Invercargill, and containing one gold Loket valued at L 7 10s.— Mr Mannisty appeared for the accused. — John Kemmitcb, engraver, deposed, that he was employed by the firm of Kamaaitch aad Nicholson, Dunedin, On tho morning of the sth October he received a gold locket through the po*t from Mr Rein for th 9 purpose of being engraved. On the afternoon of the tame day witness re-packed it in the same cardboard box and addressed it to Mr Rein. He gave it to Ernest Morrell to post. The locket produced was the same. On receiving a telegram from Mr Rein witness made inquiries at the Post Office. By Mf Manisty : Witness did not generally register articles going through the post. Oeuid not identify the box as being the same but the portion of the address produced, was in hia writing. Witness's firm had had no boxes like the one produced in stock. He did not open tho -locket. — Eraeat Morrell, engraver, stated - that about six weeks ago he received a parcel addressed to Mr N. J. Rain, watchmaker, InrereargiH, to post at the Dim^din Poet Office, and did so. He recognised the writing ou thepioco of paper produced as that of the last witness. — N. J. Rain, watchmakor, deposed that on the 4th Oatober he posted a parcel similar to the one produced to MeS3rs Kemmitch and Michol- ' son, engraver?, Dunedin. It contained the locket produced. He did not receivejt through the post again and in consequence of the delay he made enquiries. The selling price of the locket was L 7 103. The - glass in the locket was not broken wheu sold, nor was one of the glasses out as at present in this one,— J. W, Wilkin, Chief Postmaster, produced a letter from the Secretary of the Postal Department, Wellington, notifying accused's appointment. la October, Dale was ©ngagod in delivery on walk No. 2. In the ordinary course o£ hia duty Dale should not have got possession of the letter in questioD, as it was for delivery in the Dee street walk. Oq being asked witness made enquiries about it, but oonld find no trace of it. Accused ad mitted having taken the locket. By Mr Manisty : It would be possible for a packet .such as the one containing the locket to be put into the wrong division or place where the letters are put for the carriors. It was customary to stamp all packages which ~ came through the office. If one of the letters were to be put in the wrong tjlace •' it would be the carrier's duty to put it in the proper division. — Detective EJde stated while searching accused's house he handed him the locket produced, which he said was Mr Rain's.— ln reply to the Bench accued said he could not account for the locket coming into his possession. He found it in his pocket with a scrip of address, and it must have bden in the there for some days before be found it, as he had not worn the waistcoat it was in for some time previoup. The reason he did not bund it to > i"Mr • Rein, as he intended, was be- • xanse one of the glasses was broken. ' He thought he had broken it and intended " to replace it but neglected to do so until too late. He solemnly declared that be b'a^ ho intention to tak% it. —The accused ....... was committed to take his trial at the next sitting of tho SupremeJPourr. ; The accused was fur lltar charged with . baying on 1 pi 'about Lao 22nd October opened -one letter to Mrs - -W»ugbi diesjßmakerj.Barii street, layercar|iU,^Moißiir^TttwtfJf bfttoiufr, Ww*

kari, deposed that about the 20th October be wrote a letter and addressed it to Mrs Waugb. On" the following day he gave it to one James Bell to post for him. Mrs Waugh arrived - : ;An Dunodin some time afterwards, and in .t' consequence of what she said he. made inquiries at the chief Post Office there. -The writing <m the envelops produced was bis.— Jamea Bell, bootmaker, residing in Dunedin, stated that hie received a letter, from the last witness to post to someone in Invercargill bii: the 2 1st - Opt; It. was Btam ped and scaled and he 'pp^te^it^atißdiiedin'ipn'.the' same day.— Elizabeth ; Wiugh stated that sneihad never received the letter produced. ~J. W; Wilkin, Chief Postmaster, stated that if a letter waßjfbnnd open it would be closed and endorsed to that effect.' The letter produced bad apparently been closed and then re-opened. MrsJWaugh's address was in accused's round of delivery. —Detective Ed e stated that in searching accused's house he found this letter in one of the bags amongst a nnmber of. others. The envelope was open. — Accused was committed to take his trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court. Dale was next charged with having on or about 15th October wilfully and wrongfully detained one post letter addressed to Mis 9 Hdgg, Nith street. — Thomas W Walker, clerk, Invercargill, stated tbat he recognised the address on the envelope as his handwriting. He, after writing it, pnt it in the letter-box at the Post Office, Invercargill.— Catherine Hogg stated that she resided with her parents in Nith street, Invercargill. The address oa the envelope was her proper address. She never received the letter produced.— J. W. Wilkin stated that the accused would rec&ive this letter to deliver in the ordinary course of bia duties. — Detective Ede gave evidence an to finding the letter amongst a number of others at accused's house on the 11th inst. In reply to the Bench, accused said he was guilty of baviDg detained the lette", , bat not for the purpose of preventing its coming into the hands of the rightful owner, but he had wasted his time and senses in drinking until it became too late, and he became unfit to deliver his letters. He then took them home instead of to the office. He solemnly declared tbat he had no intention of keeping the letters. If ha bad he might have burnt the envelopes and letters, and thus destroyed all proof. Instead of tbat he had made a voluntary confession and handed over everything in his possession belonging to the Post Office. He said he had only to add tbat he was sincerely sorry for his present positioH. — His Worship said he had no doubt but tbat all that accused said would be considered in the higher Court. All he could do was to commit him to take his trial at the next | sitting of the Supreme Court. — Mr Manitty asked if bail would be allowed. — His Worship said he would consider the question.