Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 07 September 1883
Miners’ Permanent Relief Fund
The Alleged Frauds
The hearing was resumed of the charges which had been preferred against Robert Adams, checkweighman at the Denaby Main Colliery, of embezzling the moneys and falsifying the accounts of the West Riding of Yorkshire Miners’ Permanent Relief Fund.
Mr. Clegg, of Barnsley, prosecuted, and Mr. F. Parker Rhodes defended.
The information had been laid by Mr. Joseph Wilkinson, the treasurer of the fund, the headquarters of which are at Barnsley.
Mr. Clegg said the society was formed for the purpose of providing a fund out of which to pay certain moneys to members who received accidents. The society was practically conducted through local agencies, which were established at large collieries. The contributions were collected by the cashier at the colliery, and by him handed over to the local agent of the society. The local agent received notice of accidents in his district, and it was his duty to pay those who were suffering from any accident at the rate of 1s. for each working day they were unable to work, and to enter the payments in his cash book. He had to account to the society for all his receipts and payments.
The defendant Robert Adams was the local agent connected with the Denaby Main branch. He was appointed to that position on January 1st of the present year. His accounts were duly balanced up to the 31st of March, but when his balance sheet for the quarter ending 30th was presented, circumstances connected with it caused the society to make inquiries. The result was that the society had decided to bring before their Worships three out of several cases which they had found against the defendant.
He was charged with entering in his books that he had paid Peter Birks 12s., whereas he only paid 6s. The 12s. was represented to have been paid in two sums of 6s. One on the 30th May was correct, but the second one represented to have been paid on June 7th was incorrect.
The second case was that of William Henry Wright, who received 6s. for an accident, but was represented to have received 10s.
The third case was that of Thomas Morgan, whom the defendant’s books stated to have been paid 8s. on June 5th, but in reality only 6s. was received. It would thus be seen that defendant was charged with embezzling 12s., in three sums of 6s., 4s., and 2s. respectively. The society asked that the defendant should be dealt with summarily, and they brought the case as much as anything as an example to other agents in the district. According to the rules of the society the defendant was bound to pay the money to those who were injured at their own homes.
Several witnesses were called on behalf of the prosecution, and the Bench intimated that the case of William Henry Wright was the only one which had been made out.
Mr. Rhodes said the mistake in that case was one of carelessness, and not of fraud. What purported to be the cash book was made up at the end of each week, and the doctor’s certificate for Wright to resume work was dated April 14th. The accident happened on Wednesday, April 4th, and Wright resumed work a week afterwards, but the certificate was not obtained until the following Saturday.
The Chairman said the books had been very badly kept. Certainly it was a very suspicious case, but it was very possible that the man might be wanting a great deal more money than the sum in question. They were not satisfied with the way in which the accounts had been kept, and they dismissed both cases.