POLICE COURT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 4463, 4 October 1883, Page 2

POLICE COURT.

Thursday, October 4.— Before C. E. Rawson, Esq., R.M. LARCENY OF A CHEQUE. Alexander Boswell surrendered to his bail on a charge of having, on the 30th September, 1880, stolen a cheque for £41, the property of the Lighter Company. Mr. Pardy conducted the case, and Mr. Hntchinson appeared, with Mr. Richmond, to defend the prisoner. Michael McGonnell deposed : I am the Manager of the Lighter Company, New Plymouth. On the 30th September, 1880, I was a partner in the firm of A. Boswell and Coy., Lightermen. That firm consisted of ten members as partners. The accused was Manager in 1880. We kept a bank account at the National Bank of New Zealand in the names of Alexander Boswell and Michael McGonnell, and all cheques on that fund had to be signed by both of us and by no one else. We also kept books in the office of our transactions, amongst them being a cash book and a ledger, and other books known as beach books and tally books. All moneys received on behalf of the Company should appear in the cash book, and all payments by the Company should also appear there. These books were kept at the office of the Company. The cheque books were in Mr. Bos well's charge, and were kept in a drawer in the office, he having the key as manager. In addition | to the lighterage moneys we had about .£2OO a-year from the Government for the carriage -of the mails. We had a bonded warehouse, from which we derived an income from rents of goods in bond. We paid £100 a-year out of the mail money as j rent, and £35 to the Customs for this bonded store. The balance of the mail money was to remain in the Bank as a reserve. This was an arrangement made by the Company when we first started 13 or 14 years ago. Independent of the rents of bonded store and subsidy from mails, we had another fund, called the working fund, which consisted of all money derived from goods and passengers landed by the boats. Out of this money we paid all working expenses, and a portion of this money which was divided among the members of the Company was deducted from each member, and was placed in the Bank to the reserve fund. All fines that were imposed were also deposited in the reserve fund. There was only one banking account, and what I call the reserve fund was included in the ordinary account. Boswell and I signed all cheques. I was in the habit of attaching my name to blank cheques and leaving them in the office. I frequently signed 6 o.- 7 cheques at a time, just whenever Boswell asked me to sign them. These cheques were to be used solely for the purpose of paying accounts in connection with the firm. I never consented to allow Boswell to use these cheques for his own private use, or any other purpose outside the Company. I had such confidence in Mr. Boswe'l at the time that I never looked at the blocks of the cheques. I was generally called up in a hurry to sign the cheques, and there was not much time to see the blocks. The cheque produced bears my signature. It was a blank cheque when I signed it. The block of the cheque states, " Paid Boswell for wreck." I never knew up to June last that this cheque had been used for that purpose. The Company did not owe Boswell any money on account of a wreck or for any other thing, and Boswell had no right to use that cheque for such a purpose. The drawer where the cheque book was kept was always locked, and I had no chance of seeing the blocks of the cheque book until June last, when it was forced open. We had to break the drawer open because Mr, Boswell would not give up the key. I had access to the cash book before the drawer was broken open, but I never saw any entry of the cheque in the cash book. When I found out about the cheque I went to Mr. Samuel, the Company's solicitor, and acted on his advice. I remember being present at a meeting of the Company when Mr. Boswell and his solicitor and Mr. Samuel was present. There was a conversation about this cheque, but I would not like to swear to what was said, as I do not recollect it clearly. Something was said of the wreck of the Rangatira in connection with the cheque. The firm of A. Boswell & Cs. had never anything to do with the wreck of the Rangatira. I never authorised Boswell to spend any of the Company's money in connection with that wreck. I and others had something to do with the wreck. Seven of the members of the firm had to do with it in working at it, but three of the firm had nothing to do with it. Others outside the firm, viz., John Fraser, Thomas Williams, and Samuel Loveridge were connected with it, making ten of us altogether who worked nt the wreck. An arrangement was made by Boswell with these men to save the wreck, and we were to get half the gross proceeds for landing the goods. We landed the goods and we got £83 10s between the ten of us for our labour. Bos well paid us the money, and he gave us a memorandum at the time he paid us. The memo, produced is the same. The sum of £53 6s. was paid by Mr. Boswell for wages out of the £83 gross proceeds of wreck, and he gavo us £26 15s. 6d., which was divided amongst the nine of us, Mr. Boswell having kept back his share. This transaction had nothing to do with the firm of Boswell & Co. Three of our copartners who had nothing to dp with tho wreck got no share of this money. When James Neale left our firm he wanted to claim part of the money received from the wreck. He did not get any of it, as Boswell said it was not the Company's affair. Boswell had no right to pay the money received from the wreck into the account of the firm and then draw it out again. The five papers (produced) were found in the drawer of the office when it was broken open. The bank book (produced) is the bank book of the firm, in which the firm is debited with a cheque of £41 on September 30th, 1880. On the same day a similar sum (£4l) was placed to the credit of Mr. Boswell's private account. I have searched in tho office for the ledger ol 1880, but cannot find it, nor can I find other books of the same period [Left sitting.]