MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LX, Issue 143691, 12 January 1912, Page 7

MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

TO-DAY’S SITING. FORGING AND UTTERING. In the Magistrate’s Court to-day, before Justices J. S. S. Medley and F. C. J. Bellringer, James A, M’Lood, late of Tikoraugi, was charged with having forged a cheque on April 3, 1911, at New Plymouth, purporting to bo drawn by Robert Rolfe on the Bank of New Zealand, Waitara, for the sum of £S, thereby causing William Fenwick M’Allum, private hotelkeeper, of New Plymouth, to deal with the same as if genuine. Detective-Sergeant Boddam outlined the case and called. W. F. M’Allum, who deposed that he was proprietor of tho Coffee Palace. | New Plymouth. He remembered April 3, 1911. Ho saw accused about 7 or 8 o’clock on that day, and accused asked him what the tariff was. He told him it was us per day. Accused then inquired whether he would make a reduction for a week or a fortnight and he told him tho tariff was 2Re per week, ami he then asked him how much it would be for ten days. Ho told him £2, and accused then said that he could take it out of this, passing him a cheque for £B. Tho cheque produced was the one offered hy accused. He told him ho could not cash it for him, hut would send it collection. Ho said something about wanting to get somo things, and asked if a couple of £1 notes would do. Accused said that would do, but he would like a few shillings in bio pockets, and he made it £3 and gave him tho money. He had not seen accused again until this morning ' in court. He paid the cheque into his account next clay in the usual way, through the National Bank. Ho went up to Auckland next day, and was away for some days, and payment had not yet been satisfied. Ho knew Mr. Rolfe, of ' Tikoraugi, and had eaen Mr. Rolfe’s signature once previously on a cheque which he had cashed for him about a : fortnight before. The signatures were . very much alike. Edward Rolfe deposed that he was a , settler residing in tho Waikato, but ] in March, 1911, had lived at Tikoraugi. , He knew accused, who had been in his j employ, and he had paid him his wages j hy cheque. Ho had an account at the , Bank of New Zealand at Waitara. The signature on the cheque produced was 1 not his. He signed nis name in the , same way, but the handwriting was j, different. The cheque produced was j never in his possession. Ho had not f given accused authority to use his sig- c nature. .

Accused asked witness if. during the time he was in his employ, he had not collected the milk cheques at the factory, and always paid the money in satisfactorily ? Did witness have' any complaint to make against him ? Witness said that he had no complaints to make against him so far as his work was concerned ; he had been satisfactory as a worker. Accused then said that he .had no further questions to ask at present, bnt would subsequently make a statement to their Worships. E. B. Stewart deposed that ho was a plumber residing at Waitara. In March last ho was living with his mother, who kept a boarding-house at Waitara. Accused was living there at the time. He had an account at the Bank of New Zealand at Waitara, and he had a cheque-book in that bank. Ho occupied a .room close to accused, and usually kept his chequebook in his pocket, but during the time accused was there sometimes left the book in his bedroom, with the door unlocked. ' The cheque-book produced was the same one. During the latter part of March accused left the board-ing-house, and he had not seen him again till this morning in the court. He examined his cheqne-book in consequence of something said to him by the police, and ho found that three blank cheques had been torn out at the end of the book. The cheque produced was one of those torn out of his cheque-book. He had never given accused any authority to take cheques out of his book, nor had he at any time given him a blank cheque. This ended the case for the prosecution. Accused then made this statement: “The way the case is I will plead guilty to the lot. 1 worked for Mr. Rolfe, and took all the money for him from the factory where I delivered the milk, but never robbed him of anything. But as the case stands, I will plead guilty to all. and I hope your Worships will deal with the case. lam very sorry for it all.” Accused then formally pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court at Auckland for sentence.