LONG LIST OF CHARGES

Taranaki Daily News, 25 September 1930, Page 3

LONG LIST OF CHARGES

THEFT AND FRAUD ALLEGED NORMANBY CLERK ACCUSED. PRELIMINARY CASE UNFINISHED. i < —— A long list of theft and fraud charges ■was preferred against Donald Alexander Stewart, formerly clerk to the Normanby Town Board, in the Hawera Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Ten theft charges representing 328 IGs 7d and 24 charges of failing to enter items correctly in his cash-book occupied some time in the reading. Messrs. E. Dixon and G. A. Burgess were ou the bench. Thirty-three witnesses were called for the prosecution, but when the hearing was adjourned last evening the police case was incomplete. The prosecution was conducted by Detective Meiklejohn, and Mr. L. A. Taylor appeared for Stewart. (LENGTHY CHARGE LIST. Accused was charged that, being a clerk in the employment of the Normanby Town Board, he stole the undermentioned sums, which were in his possession as clerk: In April, 1927, £lB 18s 9d; about May 31, 1927, £39 18s 3d; about May 1, 1927, and other dates between May 1, 1927, and March 31, 1928, £99 6s lOd; during March, 1929, £43 Is 7d; about March 4, 1929, £lO Gs 3d; about April 1, 1929, and other dates between April 1, 1929, and March 31, 1930, £59 17s Id; during December. 1929, £2B 19s; about January 7, 1930, £5 18s 3d; about January 31, 1930, £6 5s f 7d; about May 31, 1930, 9s 2d. The fraud charges alleged that Stewart, with intent to defraud, omitted to make ,an entry of the receipt of the following Treasury subsidies and that these amounts had been paid to the credit of the Normanby Town Board’s banking account: About September 3, 1927, £492 IGs lOd; about May 31, 1927, and November 12, 1927, 15s and £1 respectively; about February 11, 1928, and August 16, 1928, £4O 15s 2d and £1 l&s respectively; about March 11, 1929, £43 0s 8d; about April 3 and 24, 1929, two sums of £5; about June 12, 1929, £3 13s 6d; about July 17, 1929, £705 14s 8d; about November 16, 1929, £39 18s Gd and 19s. . ‘ Other charges of failing to enter were: About June 11 and 17, 1929, £4O and £lO from H. Mulholland and T. A. Aylward, about September 28, 1929, £3O from ,T. A. Aylward; about March 4, 1929, £lO Gs 3d from E. P. Grant; about January 7, 1930, £5 18s 3d from L. Bell; January 31, 1930, £6 5s 7d from J. Young; May 31, 1930, 9s 2d from T. Lloyd, junior; about. June 10, 1930, £32 13s 2d from D. J. Hughes; about June 10, 1930, £8 Ils 8d from G. Galloway; about June 10, 1930, £3O la 4d from W. T. Hair. CASE FOR PROSECUTION. Detective Meiklejohn stated that Stewart had ben clerk of the Normanby Town Board since 1914. He had received £4O per annum until 1917 or 1918, when he received. £BO per annum. An audit of the board’s books had been made in March and April, 1927. On April 1, 1927, there was a shortage of £39 18s 3d. This was carried over and Stewart was advised to pay the sum into the board’s funds. There was no record of this having been done. He was also advised how to keep his books, including the entry of the number of the receipt opposite the name column. This was done for some time but eventually neglected. Stewart was charged with stealing a total of £328 16s 7d, consisting of ten charges of theft as a servant. There were also 24 charges of failing to enter in the board’s books the amounts received by him bn Treasury subsidies which had been, paid tho bank. Fourteen entries referred to Treasury subsidies and included those entered in the wrong place. They should have been entered in the name, total and bank column, but Stewart had only placed them in the bank column, which would act in his favour for a board meeting but would soon be discovered by ajffdit. An inspection of Stewart’s private account showed that during the period between the two audits he had banked in cash £297, which was approximately the amount short in the board’s account during this period. The shortage the first 12 months had been £llB 5s 7d and did not include the previous audit shortage. The shortage for the second year amounted to £49 9s 2d and for the third year to £lOl Os Id. The shortage for the three months from March 31 to the date of audit was £l4 7s Ud. On June 6, 1929, Mulholland had paid Stewart a hotel license fee of £4O and this was banked on June 18, but no entry was made. Aylward had paid £lO on June 18, 1929. Again this had been banked' but no entry made. On September 28, 1929, £3O had been paid by Aylward to Stewart for the remainder of ' the license fee. No entry was made of the receipt of this amount but it was banked on October 12, 1929. “He' is, of course,” proceeded the detective, “charged with failing to enter these amounts and it will be seen that by failing to do so his bank balance would be kept up. On June 10, 1930, Stewart w r as paid £8 Us fid by G. Galloway, £3O Is 4d by W. T. Hair and £32 13s 2d by D. J. Hughes for current rates. Galloway’s and Hughes’ cheques were banked in the town board account on June 12, 1930. Hair’s cheque was banked to Stewart’s account on’ the same date. His explanation is that in October, 1929, he received a cheque for £2O for rent for the Normanby Domain Board. He says he banked this £2O cheque to the town board’s account in error. He did not discover this until just before the audit and he drew a £2O cheque from his own account on June 11, 1930, and paid it into the domain account. He then paid Hair’s cheque into his. own account-. This left-a balance of £ll Is 4d in his own account. He has been, charged with failing to make au entry in connection with this amount. “These amounts were received by Stewart during the progress of the last, audit. He issued receipts for them out of an obsolete town board receipt book. This receipt book cannot be found. The Treasury advices which were known to be in the town hall after the audit could not be found when police inquiries were made. “On August 1, 1930, Detective Kearney interviewed Stewart. He was at that time aware of the shortages, having been notified by the auditor. He made a statement in which he put the shortage down to carelessness and muddling. He was again seen on August 22 by the detective about other matters, when he made a further statement. There has been a safe in the office at the town hall ■where Stewart should have transacted his business and kept the money, but instead he collected most of the money at his house and kept it there. A list (produced) shows amounts of shortages and overbanking for the months from the audit in 1927. This list does show to a certain extent carelessness on the part of Stewart.”

EVIDENCE OF PAYMENTS. Evidence ofXpayments of accounts to 'Stewart was given by Belinda Gane, Henry While Glen worth. Marian Helen Gillespie, George Horace Edwards, Joseph Coutts, Henry Daniel Hughes, John Burnard Dykes, John Forbes, David Motheral Henderson,* Lillian Maude Franklin, Thomas Lloyd, junr., John YVilliam Mills, Mary Lavinia Tippett, Rose Emily Antrobus, Thomas Lloyd, senior, Mary Hayes, Jacob Meuli, Annie Evans, Leonard Cecil Jackson, YVilliam Thomas Hair, Lavina Emily Grant, Lucy Y’oung, Joseph Alexander Archbold, Dudley Arthur Powell, John William Harding, Joseph Higham, Donald Robertson, Edna Bell, Charles Cleaver and Joseph Young. YVITNESSES CROSS-EXAMINED. / In cross-examination John Forbes stated that he had known Stewart for 40 years and had found him a straight and honourable man. Stewart had suffered from sunstroke for a long time and was a sick man otherwise. David Motheral Henderson, replying to Mr. Taylor, said he was aware many ratepayers paid their rates at Stewart’s house. As foreman witness was in charge of the outside workmen. On occasions he had discharged and engaged workmen and in order to clear up with the workmen between meetings of tho board Stewart had advanced them the necessary wages, if they were small amounts, recouping' himself when the board met. Witness was under the impression that Mrs. Stewart assisted her husband in his duties as clerk of the board. Rose Emily Antrobus stated that since her husband’s death she had communicated & lot with the Stewart family and that Stewart was her confidant. She had sought his advice. Mrs. Stewart had been in very bad health during the past three years and had been confined to her bed at different periods for as much as six' weeks at a time. Her husband would then have to do the cooking and washing and nurse his wife. He had also had to attend to the egg-lay-ing competition and the milking of two cows, with attention to pigs and poultry. Witness had always found him an honest man and had given him sums of money to hold for weeks. He had put them in the bank and given her a cheque in return. He possessed her entire confidence. /

Cross-examined by Mr. Taylor Thomas Lloyd, senr., said he had known Stewart for many years. He had never heard anything against his honesty or any other complaint made. Mary Hayes said she had known Stewart for 29 years and had found him a very fine man. Mr. Taylor: And a man you have gone to for advice? YVitness broke down before she could complete her evidence and Mr. Taylor did not press for an answer. Jacob Meuli said he had found Stew,art “all right.” William Thomas Hair said that -Stewart’s health had not been good recent- . / Lavina Emily Grant said she was a sister of Mrs. Stewart. She could tell the Court nothing about her sister’s state of health recently nor about Stewart’s.

To Mr. Taylor Joseph Alexander Archbold stated that he lived opposite the Stewarts. For the past four or five years the Stewarts had had slight indifferences in health, turn about. Stewart had the egg-laying competitions to attend to and, until two years ago, the horticultural society. Stewart’s moral character had been everything that could be wished for. To witness’ knowledge, during the last 23 years Stewart had not smoked, drank nor gambled. He had attended race meetings until four or five years ago as a taxi-driver. Stewart had been held in the highest esteem by pakeha and Maori alike. . . “He was a white man,*’ Donald Robertson told the Court. YVitnesk had visited the Stewarts’ once a week and usually one or the other was in bed with sickness. Mr. Taylor: Would you trust • Stewart? Witness: I would trust him with uncounted gold, the same man. BANK OFFICIALS’ EVIDENCE. Arthur Ferdinand Beck, ledger-keeper at the Bank of New Zealand, Hawera, stated that the Normanby Town Board had an account at the Hawera branch. He produced two pass books from November 23, 1921, to August 18, 1930. He had checked the entries in the pass book with those in the ledgers and had found them correct. The Normanby cemetery board also had an account at the bank and he had examined the figures in the pass book (produced) from March 31, 1927, to August 18, 1930. The entries were correct. When a Treasury subsidywas received-it was paid direct to the bank, which placed it to the credit of the Normanby Town Board. Particulars were-entered in the ledger and from time to time entered in the pass book, Stewart had also had an account at the bank' and the pass book from April 1, 1927, to August 18, 1930, was produced. The entries corresponded with the ledger. He had been through the Normanby Town Board’s banking ' slips for 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. They were correct as far as the bank was concerned. Robert Nicol Morpeth, accountant at the Bank- of Zealand, Hawera, ..produced an.authority from Stewart fertile police to inspect his private account. A copy of the account and receipts for demands (produced) were the ones he had given Detective Kearney, He pro?, duced a list of cash deposits by Stewart, in his private account amounting, to £297.

To Mr. Taylor: No doubt about any Normanby Town Board cheque has cropped up in the last four years. As far as tlie bank is aware every cheque drawn on the board has reached its right destination. As well as the £297 a sum in cheques was banked by Stewart. SHORTAGES REVEALED BY AUDIT.

Harry Latchford Marbrook, Government audit inspector, said that on April 2, 1927, he had completed an audit of the Normanby Town Board’s books. There was then a deficiency of £39 ISs 3d, being the cash unbanked at March 31, 1927. He could not say where the shortage came from. It was carried over and shown in the cash-book (produced) as cash in hand on April 1. That was the first time he had audited the books. The £39 ISs 3d had had to bebanked. The probabilities were that he had advised Stewart of the correct .way to keep the cash-book and account for money. He could remember Stewart making no promise to pay the amount of the shortage but with the entry in the cash-book it was presupposed that he would. When witness had returned, on June 23, 1930, to again audit the books he could find no trace of it having been banked. Stewart had said he thought the amount had been repaid in subsequent bankings. At the audit this year the shortage was £2BO 15s 3d and a further sum had been discovered subsequently. The total amount Stewart was alleged to have stolen was £328 10s ad. Witness then proceeded to compare the list of monthly shortages, previously produced by the police, with the cashbook. Continuing his evidence Marbrook stated that he had checked the receipts with the cash-book. Certain sums, for which receipts had been issued, were not entered in the cash-book. Certain Treusu.y receipts were not correctly entered in the cash-book. Witness did not think

accused understood the purpose of these entries. A circular had been sent to ratepayers and various “receijits’ had been received by the auditor. Briefly, the fault in the book-keeping had been that the -Treasury vouchers and other receipts had not been fully written up in his cash-bodk. Though shown in the banking column they, did not appear in the name and cash columns. Certain receipts from the ratepayers were not shown at all in the cash-book. The examination of the witness was proceeding at 6 p.m. when the hearing was adjourned until 9.30 a.in. to-day.