The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-02-07 00:00:00

OFFICER.

John Jos,Th Challos, late relieving officer and
c ,fleet or for the Stoarbri +ge, Guardians at Cradley,
wi charg d with embezzling certain sums of money
to the amount if xi; Os 2d, the property of the
Guardians. Pris mer was further charged with
making a false Petry in his Gut-door relief book.
Mr. Hinds (Nlesrs. Wall and Hinds) was for to
prosectui-n, a el Mr. W. Waldron defended.
Mr. Hinds, in opening the case, said that if his
friend, 'Mr Waldron, adopted a certain course, the
Guardians asked and were anxious for the Bench
if tnoy th -ulht fit, to deal with the case summarily.
Mr. Charles was appointed collector and relieving
officer in 1881 and had held that office down till the
present time. It was the duty of the prisoner to
collect certaiu moneys from persons whose friends
were in Powick Asylum. Prismer had received the
in,•ney and given receipts, but bad not entered it
into his collecting book
Mr. Wall, clerk to the Guardians, said that since
prisoner's appoi.itment in 1881, he held the offices
of collector an.l relieving officer till last Friday.
Amongst other duties prisoner had to collect the
. money which was paid by the relatives of lunatics
,in ~sylums towards the cost of their maintenance .
there. Pris •ner was provided with. a receipt
cheque book and it was his duty to give a - receipt
- on a form taken out of that bo-,k. and to enter the
particulars on the counterfoil. It was prisoner's
duty to keep those counter foils and present them
to I lit; auditor at the usual half-yearly audit. It
was alco his duty to keep the collecter's account
bte.k in the form prescribed by the order. It was
also his duty to enter in that book the receipts on
their receipt It was his duty to pay the money
collected every month into the hands of the
treasurer, and to b dance his book monthly, and t •
submit that book to him (witness) as clerk. Wit-
ness produced prisoner's collector's book. That
boak was presented to witness at the end of the
last three months of last year. On tie 11th of
N,v. last there was no entry made regarding
Shilvock. There was no other entry on any date
in that month. There were subsequent entries of
p.tyments made by Sbilvock of £1 163 2d. Mr.
Shilvock appears to have paid £1 16s 2d one month
end 16s 2d another. On 22nd October there
was no entry of having received .23 from Benjamin
Greenfield. On the 26th November there was no
entry of payment by the same man, nor on any sub-
sequent date, of ,21 43.
By Mr. Waldron: In addition to these amounts
there were several small amounts which had ought
to have been pai to paupers of Is and is 6d. The
small amounts w;;:ch pri-on-r had pilfered as re -
lieving officer would be about £l5, ad altogether
them would not be more Lein £35. The Guardians
hat passed a resolution that morning stating that
hey wiAted Ole Bench to cleal with the case sum-
marily. Witness knew that prisoner's wife had
been ill sii!ee October. In one or two instances
C,imiles he paid more money than he ought to hate
dote. _ _

Shilvock, grocer, Spring Hill, Hales
owen, said tat his wife was an inmate of Powick
Asylum. He contributed towards her maintenance
thole. In respect to his wife he paid prisoner £1
16s 2d on the 11th of November last. l'he receipt
produced was the one he received from prisoner and
it was signed in his presence.
Benjamin Greenfield, cowkeeper. New Street.,
Cradley, said to had a daughter in Powick Asylum.
He contribired town •da the cost of her maintenance
there.

Hannah Greenfteld, wife of last witness, said slat
paid £3 to prisoner on the 22nd October. The re-
ceipt produced was the one prisoner gave her. It
was signed in her presence. She paid prisoner £1
44 on the 26th November last. and he signed the
receipt produced.
Serg2ant Chare sal 1 that on the 30ih ult, he
arrested prisoner on a warrant at Queenstown, Ire-
land. He read the warrant to him but be made no
reply.
Mr. Waldron said the prisoner would, under biz..
advice, plead guilty, and he thought a small pun-
i htnent would meet the justice of the case.
Pi isoner then pleaded guilty.
Colonel Fletcher said prisoner was to im-
prisonment for six months, but they were not going
to be so severe. He would be sent to prison for
2 months.