Police court life

George Wilson, described as a fishermen, was charged on remand at the Borough Police Court before Alderman Whittaker (in the chair), Alderman Pirie, and Mr RG Heys, with obtaining by false pretences 1s from Robert Greenbury, 1s from Ellen Elizabeth Crawford, 1s from David Burton, and 2s from William Henry Ellis. Defendant pleaded guilty. The Chief Constable said the modus operandi in each case was that the accused went to traders and ordered various goods. He got the goods to be sent to a certain boat which was supposed to be lying in the harbour, and which boat he represented himself to be the skipper of. He gave a good order, saying “You might let me have a shilling or two; I want to send a telegram away and I haven’t any change with me,” and the traders let him have the shilling. In the case of Greenbury defendant represented himself as the skipper of the drifter, The Lavina. He ordered goods to the sum of 19s 2d, saying they would be paid for on delivery, and asked them to let him have a shilling which would be repaid on the bill for the goods. In the case of Mrs Crawford defendant represented himself as being the skipper of a Grimsby trawler. He ordered goods and procured a shilling in exactly the same way. Continuing, the chief said this man was about the harbour all day trying to get a berth to work his way to Hull, which showed that he was not a skipper. In Mr Ellis’s case goods to the amount of £11 5s 9d were ordered, defendant representing himself as Captain Wilson, of the Lowestoft trawler, Albion, No. 285. He asked them to let him have 2s. In the case of Burton he obtained a shilling after giving an order for meat amounting to £1 3s 8d, saying he was the captain of the Lowestoft drifter Louis. The offences were committed on the same day. There were two other cases, one of which he ordered a considerable quantity of goods, but he failed in his attempt to “loan” money. There were 31 convictions against the defendant these covering the period between 1884 up to the present time, 14 of which were for false pretences. Defendant was 53 years of age. Defendant admitted all these convictions and said: I was drunk when I did it. The Bench committed him to prison for six months with hard labour. Defendant: I am all right when I get away from drink.