THEFTS IN LONDON.

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18807, 1 December 1932, Page 12

THEFTS IN LONDON.

NEW ZEALAND OFFICIALS. IN HIGH COMMISSION’S OFFICE. (From a Correspondent.) LONDON, October 30. Two officials in London of the New Zealand Government appeared in the dock at Bow Street to answer charges ol' theft. It was revealed that millions of pounds had passed through the hands of one of the accused, who was sole representative of the New Zealand Government at- The Hague Reparations Conference, 1930, and financial adviser to the New Zealand delegation at Lausanne in 1932. i He was Ernest Toms, 44, finance officer, of Putney, and charged with him on two counts, concerning £3O and £54, was Arnold More, 40, audit clerk, of West Acton. Mr G. D. Roberts, prosecuting, told the Court that Toms had been the Ihiance officer in the department of i the High Commissioner for New Zea- | land, and liore was employed by the J Government to scrutinise and check j expenditure. Botli men were at the head of their departments. Their salary was formerly £7O a month, but had been reduced by economy cuts to £55 a ! month. ; Since 1926 or 1927 Toms had mis- : appropriated £1,850. His method was to draw his salary in advance and again when it became due. In Here's case ihe total defalcations amounted to £7OO. The magistrate. Sir Chartres Bit-on, asked how Toms,was able to draw the money in excess of his salary. Mr Roberts replied that the auditor who should have found it out was Here, and he was doing exactly the same thing. Signed For Every Penny. Air S. Afyers, appearing for Toms, stated that there was no attempt at forgery or concealment. Toms had signed for every penny he received, and it was recorded in his books. He did not wait to be discovered, but went to the High Commissioner's representative and told him everything. For Here it was alleged that his trouble was that he had an extravagant wife who caused him to get into debt. County Court judgments had been made against him, but they were destroyed and did not come to his notice. Lore declared that there was no collusion between Toms and himself, as had been suggested. lie became afraid to look at his own irregularities in the books, and as he did not do that he did not know that Toms was also obtaining money in that way. Toms was sentenced lo 12 months and More lo nine months, both in the second division.