J'enclose for Your Lordships information copy of a report drawn up by Mr. E. I. Ackroyd and Mr. Nicolle who, at my request were good enough to make an enquiry into the matter of the Post office defalcations to which I have above alluded.
SUPREME COURT, 23rd July.
CRIMINAL SESSIONS.
BEFORE HIS HONOUR MR. FIELDING CLARKE, ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE.
THE DEFALCATIONS AT THE POST OFFICE. Zelinda Barradas, clerk in the Post Office, was charged with stealing certain moneys, the property of her Majesty.
Prisoner pleaded not guilty.
The Acting Attorney-General (Hon. B. J. Ackroyd), instructed by the Crown Solicitor (Mr. A. B. Johnson) prosecuted; Mr. J. J. Francis, Q.C., instructed by Messrs. Caldwell and Wilkinson, defended.
The Jurors were:- Messrs. W. Dauby, H. Crawford, G. Raynal, Thos. Arnold, G. de Champeaux, F. Dodwell and D. McCulloch.
The Attorney-General said the charge against the prisoner was that being employed in the public service of this Colony he stole certain sums of money entrusted to him. The facts of the case were as follows:- The prisoner was Superintendent of the Money Order Office of the Post Office and as such his duties were to receive all moneys paid in for money orders issued in Hongkong for the United Kingdom, the Colonies and other places, and all moneys received for the issue of postal notes and all moneys received from Shanghai and the coast ports for money orders or postal notes issued there. The prisoner kept two books, one called the Imperial cash book, which for all transactions connected with money orders with the United Kingdom. In that cash book would appear on one side all money orders issued and the sums received, and on the other side the sums paid on orders here and the moneys paid into Treasury. The other book was the local cash book and was intended for all other transactions with India, the Colonies and other countries to which post office orders extended. No book was kept for the money orders from Shanghai, but there was a book kept for postal notes. The postal note book was a very simple book. On the one side was entered the value of the postal notes issued by the prisoner, on the other side were entered the payments he should have made, and a balance was struck from time to time. The moneys received on account of the Imperial cash book were kept by the prisoner and were to be paid into the Treasury once a week. The moneys received for the Local cash book were kept separate and these accounts were balanced every three months. The money for postal notes was supposed to be paid into the Bank once a month. It was the prisoner's duty to prepare every week for the weekly mail, a letter of advice to the Crown Agents informing them of the amount of money which would have to be paid to the London Post Office for money orders and postal notes issued during the course of the week. At the end of every six months these letters of advice were supposed to be settled up. In order to meet them it was the prisoner's duty to pay once a week an amount into the Treasury corresponding with the letter of advice sent, and to effect this payment he would fill in a form stating what was the amount paid in. This form was receipted by the manager of the Bank. When the money was paid in the receipt was returned to the prisoner. It was then his duty to make out another form for the Treasury, on which it was stated what money had been paid in for money orders, postal notes, or both, and this form having been signed by the Postmaster would be sent together with the Bank receipt to the Treasury. The Treasury would return a receipt for this document which was handed to the prisoner, who kept it until it was examined by the auditor. The book in which the money orders were kept was numbered consecutively and the postal note book was initialled by the prisoner whenever he received notes and it was thought that these consecutive numbers on the counterfoils of the money orders and the receipt given by the prisoner, would be a sufficient check and would enable the Audit Office to trace all the money received, but from some omission or fault on the part of somebody the postal note book was never shown to the auditor or asked for by him. The money received for postal notes was thus never checked by the audit examination, so that after a little time the prisoner had full control over all sums received for postal notes. He made two or three payments in 1888 on this account but from November, 1888, till the time he left the Colony he made no further payments on account of postal notes. He was supposed to pay in the money for postal notes every month and to balance the accounts every three months. He balanced the accounts in July, 1889, and he acknowledged then having a balance in hand of $786.93. Then between July and the 25th September he had to account for a sum of $3,659.93. On the other side of the account he had credited himself with having paid in three sums, on the 14th August 1889, $1,123.87; on the 10th September, $1,068.28; on the 5th October $648.39; leaving a balance $818.89. These were the three sums which the prisoner was charged on the first three counts of the indictment with having stolen. The evidence of the cashier of the Bank would be called and he would tell them that no such amounts had been paid in to the account of the Postmaster-General. They had an account of the sums paid in on those dates and they had prisoner's memorandum in which he stated that the sums paid in were for money orders and they had, moreover, the collector's account which was prepared at the end of every month and submitted to the Postmaster-General and gave an account of the same paid in during August, September, and October and he would prove from the money order book which the prisoner kept that these sums which he represented as sums paid in were for money orders alone and not for postal notes. There was a fourth count on the charge, that on the 28th February, 1888, the prisoner had stolen a sum of $1,777.19. On that date the prisoner entered on a slip that sum as paid for postal notes and the receipt was returned to him in the usual way signed by the Treasury, but the words "postal notes" were then scratched out, and on the receipt a little lower down were some figures in the prisoner's handwriting which he should prove referred to certain payments for which he credited himself in the Money Order book. This receipt was thus made to do duty twice, first for money paid in for postal notes, and afterwards, when the receipt was given for postal notes and credit given in the book for that, he made an entry in the money order book and took credit as having paid the money in for money orders. If these facts were proved the jury would have little difficulty in coming to the conclusion that prisoner had stolen the sums with which he was charged in the information.
Arthur Kennedy Travers said- I am Acting Postmaster-General. I have been in the Post office since 1883. The prisoner was employed in the Post office as Superintendent of the Money Order Department. His duties were to issue money orders, pay money orders and sell postal notes. He had to keep the Local money order book and the Imperial order book and postal note book. In the Imperial book he entered money orders dealing with the United Kingdom. In the local book he would make entries relating to money orders other than those dealing with the United Kingdom. On the debit side of the Imperial book would appear the orders issued and on the other side the orders received, which would be paid. With regard to money orders for the United Kingdom, we advise the Crown Agents once a week and the equivalent of what we advise is paid into the Bank to the Colonial Government Bank. With regard to postal notes we advise the Crown Agents monthly and the money is paid into the Bank monthly. A memorandum is drawn up by the prisoner and sent into the Bank. The Bank acknowledge it. A certificate is then sent to the Treasury with this acknowledgment attached and the Treasury send back a receipt for the Bank receipt. The prisoner draws up this certificate. The treasury receipt is sometimes handed to me and sometimes sent direct to the Money Order Office. If it comes to me I send it to the Money Order Office. The prisoner drew up a collector's account at the end of every month. This included all sums paid into the Bank during the month. It ought...
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