ATTACK ON BANKER.

Wairarapa Age, 23 July 1936, Page 5

ATTACK ON BANKER.

BUSHMAN FOUND GUILTY IN AUCKLAND. DEFENCE OF AUTOMATISM FAILS. AUCKLAND, July 22. The contention that James Billing, a bushman, aged 39, who was arrested on the Point Chevalier bank premises, had no recollections of the happenings there was advanced by his counsel, Mr. J. J. Sullivan, in opening the case for the defence this morning. Billing was charged that with intent to facilitate the commission of the crime of theft he did by violent means attempt to render James Godfrey Worboys incapable of resistance. There were alternative charges of assault so as to cause actual bodily harm and of simple assault.

Counsel said he would prove that the accused was incapable of coming to a conclusion whether he was doing wrong or not. He was of a peculiar physical condition, having been shot in the head during the war, a portion of the bullet still remaining in his head. It would be shown that the bullet affected the accused when he took liquor and that he suffered lapses of memory.

The accused Billing, giving evidence, said he enlisted when 18 in 1916 and got a bullet wound at the side of his nose. Portion of the bullet was still there. He had had eight or nine teeth extracted on May 13. He detailed the drinking he had done that day and also on the next day when he visited four hotels. In the second he had three small bottles of beer and in the fourth he had several drinks and then several more. The next thing he remembered was being under arrest in a motor car. He could not contradict the evidence against him or give any explanation. In answer to his Honour, the accused said he was drawing £2 5s per week in sustenance.

Dr. W. H. Horton said he had seen Billing’s hospital records and X-ray plates. The plates showed a minute metal fragment behind the orbit and there was a chronic inuammatory condition of the nose. Alcohol had the effect of completely paralysing the memory for some hours afterwards. Isolated events would stand out against the background. “Your Honour, I am speaking from personal knowledge/ 1 said witness. He added that alcohol produced automatism. To Mr. Merewith, witness admitted that it would be rather a startling coincidence if the accused did automatically movements about the bank! showing plan and design and if he automatically got gloves and a lead pipe.

Mr. Meredith called in rebuttal the medical evidence of Dr. H. M. Buchanan, Superintendent of Avondale Mental Hospital. Witness said that in this case there seemed to have been a carefully prei-ared plan and a series of purposeful acts that was not consistent with automatism. He saw nothing in the case consistent with the theory that Billing was in a state of mental oblivion.

His Honour said that when a man went into a bank with a piece of lead piping and concealed himself in a convenient place to assault the manager and did assault him, the jury was entitled to infer that his purpose there was to rob the bank. They had to decide whether it was his intention to rob the bank and whether he knew what he was doing. After a retirement of an hour and 10 minutes the jury returned with a verdict of guilty on the first charge, with a strong recommendation to mercy. In remanding Billings for sentence his Honour said he would give effect to the recommendation as far as he could but a crime of that sort required serious consideration.—(P.A.)