POSTAL PACKETS OPENED.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXVI, Issue 7564, 7 May 1919, Page 7

POSTAL PACKETS OPENED.

" EEAIININE INQUISITIVENESS.''

Five prisoners came up for sentence before the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) at the Supreme Court at Wellington.

Mary Josephine Leo was charged with .opening pcvstal ?j;ickets at Apiti. While admitting the seriousness of the ordinary offence of this type, .Mr. G. WatI son, for the defence, -claimed that this case was not so bad in that the packet? had not been opened with any hope of gjiiii. Sir IJobert Stout: It appears that some people were courting and that this woman opened letters to see what was said between them. . . It was feminine inquisibiveness. Mr. Watson said the man whose letter had been opened had apparently been oii very familiar terms with the accused girl, but had changrd his affections and written letters to the second girl, lioping that they would be opened. Sir Robert Stout: He adopted a, very clever ruse, putting into his letter a l;t. tie salt,, which, when the letter was opened in the post office, dropped out, so that when the letter reached its destination the salt was missing, proving that the letter had been opened. Mr. Watson handed in a petition from the residents of Apiti, testfying to the excellent character of the accused. Sir Robert Stout said that had the offence beei; of the ordinary type there would have been no option but to send the accused to gaol. It was not necessary, ho thought, to place Leo on probation, and instead he would order her to come up for sentence whon called upon. She would not be so called upon if she paid £3 3/s towards the cost of the pfbseeution within pix months.