Dealings with a Cheque.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXXI, Issue 71, 12 October 1920, Page 5

Dealings with a Cheque.

WHO IS THE GUILTY PARTY? A CHARGE DISMISSED. At the Police Court this morning, before Messrs J. McCluggage and S. B. Hunter, J.P.’g, Ralph S. Death was charged with having on September 23rd, 'stolen a chequ© for £4, and with haring forged the narn© of 0. R, Abbott ja'connection therewith. Sergeant Dale conducted the prosecution, and Mr Coleman appeared for accused. , In outlining the case, the Sergeant said accused had made a statement which, made the case interesting and j deserving of very careful consideration by the Be ch. After getting the *gtat ment the police made further inquiries. Witnesses absolutely denied that they were in th© stable at all, or that anything contained in the statement was correct. The police had nothing to do but bring th© prisoner to Stratford. If accused was found to be ript guilty th© police must do their b sf to get the right man into the l>qx. It might turn out that there was no caS© against accused, bufc accused had ben brought to Stratford' so that justi © might be don© to him, and to everybody, .Charles Richard Abbott, farmer. Swansea Rood, gav© evidence that, on September 22nd, he received a cheque for £4 from Messrs Spence, Rutherford, Macalistcr and Coleman.. At no lim© whatever did witness endorse the ch que. The endorsement now on it was not in witness’ handwriting. On receiving the chequ© he put it in his waistcoat pocket. He, received it after 3. o’cl.ck, and the banks were closed. Witness was in company with W, Leslie for a time, and then went home. H© had net, up to that time, taken the cheque out of his pocket. Witness lived alone. On getting home hi© hung *his vest up, and did not se© the cheque again. On th© following Saturday (the 26th) witness went to Bis vest and missed the cheque. It was too late to make enquiries at the bank. On the following Monday the bank .was closed holiday. On th© 28th witness went to th© bank and said he had lost a cheque, and was told that the cheque had gon© through. The teller showed witness the ch que which had been put in. Th© endorsement was, plot witness’ signature. " To Mr Coleman: Witness did not se© the cheque in the pocket before hanging the vest up. On the 22nd | witness was not at Davey’g stables. He wag not near the stables after he got the cheque. ■ Daniel :Patrick Sullivan, cashier at tHo National Bank,, said that the clique put in was presented to him at the bank. It was presented about a 'October, Si*d. When the chequ© was presented it was endorsed as it .now app ared. Accused presented the cheque, mid received the £4. Tb Mr Coleman; Witness could not be sure, but had an idea that the chsqp© was cashed in the morning. John, Curtis Allen, manager of the National Bank, said he had been in tipe banking business twenty years, and had considerable experience in handwriting. 1 ? Being shown the endorsement on • th© ' cheque, and a specimen or accused’s signature, witness gave it as his opinion that there was no similarity between them, Harold Yictcr Ruscoe, tailor by trade, at present occupied as a jockey, said h© rode horses for his fav ther. One hors© he rod© was named Rapid Fire, Witness remembered September 23rd, because th© Wanganui races were on. H© did not go to Davey’s Stables that day, but. might have been there on the 24th. If he had been at the stables he would hav© h"d Rapid Fire with him, H© could not say what’ time it might be, but it would probably be in th© morning. He spoke to Davey, but did. not see the prisoner. Witness was perfectly certain he had not seen prisoner at th§ stables 23i‘d or 24th, Nei-

iK'ron those days nor any other day a ' did Witness have any conversation with" prisoner regarding the hacking c f horses at the Wanganui races. At no tint© did witness give prisoner ten ' glfTlJihgs to put on a horse at the Wanganui races. Witness had no bets on any event at the Wanganui moet- ■ ing,.on September ‘23rd and 2oth. Witness. knew George Mitchell. ‘ Sergeant Dale-. What is he? Tv ifcness: They say he’s a bookie. SeVg anb Dale; What do you know him as ?

Witness: A .bookie. Mr McCluggago: Is he a Stratford man P, Sergeant Dale: Yes; he will be in. the bcx shortly. Continuing, witness said he had seen the cheque put in when Sergeant Dale showed him it in the Police Siation. Witness' had no bets with Mitchell regarding the Wanganui races. On th e 23rd and.24th witness was not in the office connected with Davey’s stables. Dale: Therefore you could not came cut of th> office with the cheque in y:ur hand. Witness: 'No. Sergeant Dale: If Death goes into the box and says ypu did who would be telling the truth? Witness; I am telling the truth, T haven’t been in Davey’s office for three years.

Continuing, witness said he knew nothing about the cheque or tha endorsement on it.

Sergeant Dale proceeded to read from the signed statement made by accused. Accused said that he had. been engaged as a stable hand at Davey’s stables. At about 10 a.m. on September 23rd a man whose name he did not know came into the stable. This man had with him a horse c ifTed Rapid Fire. After speaking about the Wanganui meeting this man gave accused 10s, and told him to back lEgmont Park, putting on the money with George Mitchell, a bookmaker. He also said he would like to back White Ranger, but had no money, only a cheque. Accused said he would cash the cheque. The man cam© out of the office with a chequ© in his hand. "Accused did not know how the chequ© was made out, but the endorsement of the name Abbott was on it at the time. Accused presumed it was alright, and handed the man £4. The man gaic}, accused wou d get th© money at the bank. Just then Mitchell came along, and the man gav© him 30s for three 10s bets. Accused did not see Mitchell make any notes. On September 23rd accused cashed th© cheque. He asked Kendall who th© man was, and he said his narn© was Ruscoe. Th© first thing accused knew of the troubl© wag when a constable aporoach d him at Matamata. Accused denied forging the signature of Abbott. Sergeant Dale: You say that that statement is untrue? Witness; Yes. To Mr Coleman : Witness lived near iho racecourse, and the horses wejjg kept there. He lived with Mr Keen, in an. upstairs room. On September 23rd witness was on McDonald’s farm on Nash Road, exercising the hcracn. Ho left ther© about 11 a.m.., and went back to the racecourse. He did not stop at on tlie way back. In th© afternoon he was at home with the horses, grooming them. Witness did not know accused—had never seeii him. ' ■ „ Eric Claude Kendall, jockey, employed by J. Thacker, said he had lefi »Stratford on September 21st, and returned on th© 27th. lie was not at Davey's stables on the 23rd. Witness could not remember prisoner even asking the owner oi Rapid Fire was. Sergeant Dale: Prisoner says he asked y°« on the 23rd. Witness: I was not-in Stratford on that date. Sergeant Dale; Might h© have asked y° u some other day? Witness: I don’t remember him doing so. When George Mitchell was called, Mr Macalistcr notified that he appeared to walch proceedings on behalf of the witness. He said that to establish the guilt or innoceuc© of prisoner the police had to have evidence which Mitchell could give. During th© past few' days the poke had interviewed Mitchell, and had treated him quite fairly, w'arning hm that he need not artiwei* ‘questions liable to incriminate himself. At those interviews Mitchell declined to answer the hut counsel had since advised him to give a true and full statement of what he kcew, provided the Bench was prepared to give a certificate to the effect that they be’ieved Mitchell had mad© a full and open statement. Georg© Mitchell, in the witness box, said he was kn wn as a bookmaker. Up to th© , Warganui races he had been a bookmaker. He knew accused by sight. On September 23rd about 11 a.m. Ruscoe and Death wer© talking just inside the si able. One of them called -witness. They wanted three 10g bets. Witness did not hear Ruscoo ask Death to return 10s to him. Witress was perfectly certain both men were there. There wag. nobody ©lse present at the time. Witness saw nothing or was anything said about a cheque. . He was on’y there a short time.

Sergeant Dale: Tliese things don’t take long. , Witness; I didn’t even write the bets down. I was afraid of getting interrupted. Sergeant Dale: You don’t do any writing these times. Concluding, witness, in reply to the Sergeant, asserted that the evidence he had given wag all he knew, and all true. The Dench intimated that they would give the certificate Mr Macalister ask'd for; Sergeant Dale said the indemnity would only apply to the facts brought out in the present proceedings. Mr Coleman asked that the accused bo dismissed "without being called upon to give evidence. There was no direct evidence against accused—only a set of circumstantial facts. The evidence' of Mitchell, given at some risk to himself, support d accused’s story. Iluscoe denied being in the stable, but Mitchell’s evidence showed he was.

Mr McCluggage said the Bench was satisfied that accused’s statement was correct. It was borne out by Mitchell, who had nothing to gain in giving the evidence ho did. The charge would be dismissed. The Bench thought accused had been fully truthful, and he left the Court without a stain on bis character. Sergeant Dale : Accused would never have been brought here if we had known all we know now.

Mr McCluggage said the Do" l; ,h desired to express the opinion ilmi the p dice had been absolutely fair in the matter.