THE MEREDITH CASE.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 12 October 1926, Page 3

THE MEREDITH CASE.

Alleged Forgery.

CHARGE DISMISSED.

The case in which George Sunderland Meredith was charged that he did forge a document purporting to be an agreement between W. G. Morrow and G. S. Meredith and Co., with the intention Unit it should be acted upon as genuine was continued in the Magistrate's Court at Waiinate yesterday, before Mr K J). Mosley, S.M. Accused in evidence said he was a grain anti produce merchant and knew ,W. G. Morrow, with whom he had clone considerable business during the past JO years —up to £2OOO in one year, in October last year he had no idea of Morrow’s financial position, but thought ho was in a good position. Mo did not know he was under a bill of sale to any firm.- lie had reason for believing Morrow free of encumbrance, because his firm squared up Morrow’s account with Pyne, Gould Guinness in 1920-21, having paid that firm £I7OO.

The Court remonstrated with counsel in regard to his method of questioning the witness, stating that witness was cute enough and the Court did not want the witness’s answers prompted. Continuing, accused said that Morrow in regard to business matters was honest enough but careless. Morrow came into the firm’s office in October 2, 1925, between two and three o’clock. He called to get a small advance. He wanted about £ls. "Witness told him that ho would not lend the- £ls, but suggested that Morrow plant some potatoes. Morrow told accused lie had a portion of land left after planting his own potatoes, and it would take about 15 bags to plant it. Morrow reckoned it would bo a little over 1£ acres. They discussed the matter and Morrow agreed that £lO per aero would be. about a fair estimate for looking after the potatoes. He told Morrow to come back in the evening. Meredith and Co., were to supply the seed. Morrow came back betwen 5.30 and 5.45 and witness typed the agreement (produced) with a duplicate copy at the same time. He paid the cash over and took a receipt (.produced). The signatures on both the agreement and receipt were these of Morrow. Before the agreement was typed they arranged about the advance of £ls, tile seed and area to be planted with potatoes. Tho agreement was witnessed by Moir. When the typing of the agreement was finished Morrow said Moir was taking him home, and accused telephoned Mom's house. Moir came round to tho office shortly after, and he asked Moir to witness the signatures. He signed it there, and then witness gave Morrow £ls in cash. Tills he had got previously about 5 o’clock from the cashier. He knew Morrow wanted it in notes. The entry was charged up by the cashier (a young lady), and in the ordinary way would be entered up in tho cash book and then in the journal. He got £ls from the girl before she wont away at night. Ho saw tho £l-5 charged to himself in the journal a day or two later, and told Mr Hitchins to charge the £ls to Morrow’s account, which''was done. Morrow came in himse'f to get the seed potatoes. Meredith said he next 'v/ent to Morow’s place in April, when they were baling straw, and he had a look at the potatoes. Morrow was with him. In June they sent 200 second-hand sacks to Morrow’s. Penman made arrangomenhabout the digging of the potatoes. Witness did not go to Morrow’s farm when the potatoes were dug until about 4.30 p.m. on a Saturday (June 26th).. When he got to the farm, he saw that they had not finished digging tho potatoes. Morrow was driving tho digger, and Meredith’s motor lorry was there loading, and the pickers were still picking. The pickers were in the employ of Meredith’s firm. The pickers had been straw-pressing when they lind been engaged picking the potatoes. The table potatoes were all cleared up that night. One load was sent to Willowbr.dge station, and one load went to Waiinate. There were about 124 sacks in all. Went to Willowbridge, and saw the truck was loaded with those particular potatoes. He went back with the lorry to the paddock. They finished loading at Willowbridge at about 5.45, and were back in the paddock about, 6 p.m. Morrow was finished digging at that time and the pickers were just getting away. The iorry was then loadtil and then came to Waiinate. He could not say at exactly wliat time but thought that it would be somewhere about 8 p.m. They only carted away the table potatoes. The seed potatoes wore taken by Pyne, Gould, Guinness. He got a telephone message from Morrow on tho Sunday morning saying that Pyne, Gould’s men had been down to Morrow's and that Morrow wanted to see witness. Morrow said that Pyne, Gould's men had been down asking wliat had become of the potatoes. Morrow asked.him to meet him at the office in the afternoon of Llie Sunday. He arranged to meet him at 3 o’clock. Morrow came to get the copy of the agreement, which witness gave him. Morrow’s copy had been in the strong-room ijll the time. There were no papers signed that afternoon whatever. On the Monday Detective Walker came in early in the morning, and interviewed witness about the agremem. He showed Detective Walker the agreement, and thought lie gave him a copy of it. Witness showed his banker, Mr Powell, the agreement, somewhere about the end of March or tho first week in April. Mr Powell came in on business connected with the firm. Accused did not see any notice in the Mercantile Gazette about the bill of sale until after the trouble over the wheat.

Jn cross-examination, accused said Unit in; did not know that there was u bill of sale on Morrow’s property until after the wheat was sold. He did not remember telling Detective 'Walker before the wheat was sold that he knew there was a bill of sale. He did not remember saying to the detective that he knew iie could" not buy Morrow’s wheat, and that was why he bought it from Mrs Morrow. It was a fact that Morrow did call at his oflice on the Sunday afternoon, June 27th. He did not see Moir there. Morrow rang up witness on the Sunday morning. Did not see the sergeant of police the ’ previous evening. He saw Morrow several days after that, on the Monday and Tuesday. He could not say whether he asked Morrow what he told the police, but probably he did. Ho did not build his evidence along these lines. He had no communication with Moir whatsoever on the date the agreement was signed. In the evening he rang Moir up to say Morrow was ready. On the 27th he did not ring Moir up to get him to sign an agreement. The agreement was signed months before that. When Moir came to the office on the date the agreement was signed he asked him to witness the agreement, and Moir witnessed two copies. If Moir said he signed the agreements in 1926 he would bo absolutely wrong, and if Morrow said he signed them in 1926 ho would bo wrong also. Moir did not laugh when ho road the agreements and say he would not sign them because tho.v were wrongly dated. The plan at the bottom of the agrooment was drawn immediately the agreement was signed, At the same time lie paid Morrow £l6 in cash in £1 notes. That £l6 was paid to Morrow for planting and looking after the potatoes and for the rent of tho hind and digging the potatoes, His firm took other produce from Morrow (chaff, straw, hay, mangolds, wheat, carrots and potatoes), They paid for everything except tho wheat by advanics all Llie time. He could not say how much they but'woukl say it

j was about £4O or £SO. The value ol produce lake was about the same amount. His firm bought lrom Mrs Morrow, and some from Morrow. He purchased just tho wheat from Mrs Morrow. They did not deliver a debit note to Mrs -Morrow for £124. Mrs Morrow endorsed a cheque, hut he could not say what the cheque was for. He supposed it was for the wheat. The cheque produced in Court was ior the wheat. Mention was made that stop-payment of the cheque was on account of a, civil action still pending. They had a reason for stopping payment. The reason was they weren’t sure that they wou'd have to pay the proceeds to Pyne, Gould, Guinness. His firm sent 200 sacks to Alorrow’s tor their potatoes. These were not part of the 200 that they borrowed from Mor- : row. They did not borrow any sacks from Morrow. To Detective Walker, Meredith said: Morrow took the seed potatoes

from our store to his farm. He took them in a cart, i think he got two loads of 8 sacks each. J remember Walker interviewing me on the 28 June last. 1. believed they were my potatoes then. I didn’t show the agreement to any body else outside the office with the exception of Mr Dowell and Mr Middleton. MrPowell saw it early in tho year, because lie was in the bank and was looking at some of our securities. He remembered Powell stating that tlie plan on the bottom of the -agreement- fixed the locality, and there was no chance of Morrow slipping out in regard to the potatoes. To the S.M. : On the morning of Tuesday last you got Mrs Morrow to come to your office? —Yes.

Did you interview McGimpsey, on the morning of tho trial ?—t asked him if he was giving evidence. Did you have an interview with Moir?—No L saw Moir, but did not speak to him. How does it come that you paid Morrow £ls by cash? —He asked for it. He asked for the cash in the afternoon, but I did not give him any then. Remembered seeing Morrow in August, and before August. Nornian Powell, manager of tho Bank of New South Wales, "Waiinate, stated they were bankers for Meredith and Co. In regard to the agreement between Morrow and Meredith and Co., he had seen it before. He would say that he had see it a considerable time before the end of June 1920. Ho felt sure it was a long time past, but he could not say definite'y wlien. As soon as lie read the ease against Moir he saw that it said' the agreement was signed in June, but lie felt quite sure that lie had seen it long bet ore then. He ■ was in interviewig Meredith and discussing business matters, • and accused showed him the documents. Crossexamined : There was no particular reason for the document being shown to him. Ho did not note the date of the document. The sketch at the bottom took his notice. He remembered the word husbandlike, which seemed rather unusual. To Detective Walker: He did not remember the conversation previous to the document being shown to him, it probably being on banking business. Ho was interested in wluu potatoes Meredith had. Witness read the document but he could not tell he date. He could not swear to tile date. The document was signed when lie saw it. S. J. Hitchins, partner in the firm of Meredith and Co., said he attended to the books and office. Remembered a transaction between bis firm and Morrows in October last year. An agreement was made out in October. The cash was charged up to Morrow’s account, and the potatoes were credited. He was not in the office when the deal was made.

To Detective Walker. A debit was put through to Morrow for £ls on the 2nd October. Ho remembered that from looking at the entry. He was not present when Meredith got the money from the cashier. He could not definitely say how much business was done with Morrow during the last 12 months. “Do you keep an account for Mrs Morrow f” —There was an account for Mrs Morrow, but it had not been entered in the ledger. It was some days after the agreement was made out that, he first saw it. Meredith showed it to him. The ledger was produced and there were no entries in connection with Mrs Morrow The item of £ls was charged in the ledger to Morrow’s account on October' 2, and the potatoes were credited the same day. William Penman deposed that he started work for Meredith and Co. in April. Remembered going down to Morrow’s farm some time carl}’ in May. Took down 200 potato sacks. When he arrived at the farm, Morrow took delivery of the bags and put them in the shed. Told him to put the potatoes in them, that were grown by him for Meredith. Morrow said that he was growing the potatoes under contract. Morrow said that Meredith had supplied them with the seed. Got instructions from Meredith to go down and arrange with the digging of the potatoes about the end of June. Made arrangement to have his horses and digger there to dig the.potatoes on Saturday. Also made arangements with six men working on the straw-press to go on Saturday morning to pick up the potatoes. Forgot about tolling the men on Friday night to go to Morrows, and they went to Cooneys to press straw. Went first tiling on Saturday morning to Cooneys and told them to come back to Morrow’s farm. Arrived there about nine o’clock on Saturday. Morow was digging the potatoes. Remained there all day. The lorry came in about 4 o'clock, and took one load to Willowbridge station. The load would be roughly about 60 or 70 bags. The 1 firry returned to the paddock, and brought another load into Waimatc. Mr McGimpsey was working for .Morrow. Witness spoke to Morrow about the second hand bags, and about laving out the new bags. He said he used some of them for his potatoes. He dug potatoes from the top end of the paddock ; roughly three or four acres had been dug. Took the potatoes from the bottom cud of the paddock, and there were still some bagged at the top end of the paddock. They were not in new bags. The bags carted away were all new with Morrow’s name on them. Did not see any agreement other than verbally. Cross-examined witness said: The lorry came at 4 p.m. lor the first- load and at half past six for the second load. When asked if they had carted any other produce, witness replied that they only carted wheat. Asked by Detective Walker if he put one bag in a. motor car, witness replied that he did not put a full bag in the car.

His Worship in summing up, stated that Meredith was a highly trained and intelligent man from a business point of view. He was charged with a serious criminal offence. The only defence was a question of whether the document was false or not, that is, whether it was executed to deprive someone. One could not listen to two days’ evidence without coming to the conclusion that a"■ great part ol of the testimony was false. He had to estimate the opinion of 23 or 26 reasonable jurymen, whether there was enough evideneo to put him on liis trial. The evidence of Morrow was unsatisfactory; not that ho deliberately told untruths. He thought it was duo to his mentality. The polico witnesses had not come up to brief, oven Morrow himself. In this case the police had fai'ed to satisfy him that there was a prinia faoio case to go before a Grand Jury, and the charge* would be dismissed.