A STRANGE STORY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2376, 17 December 1908, Page 2

A STRANGE STORY.

OLD AGE PENSION AS SECURITY FOR LOAN. [Press Association.] WELLINGTON Dec. 16. A curious story was told by an old map to the trustees of the Benevolent Institution last week that he had 'left his old age pension with a firm of solicitors as security for a loan of £1 upon which he was paying os a month interest. The story was referred to at tho meeting of the trustees yesterday' afernoon. The chairman (Rev. W. A. Evans) explained that the Board had no interest in the matter, - except that the old mail was an applicant for .admission to the Ohi-ro Home, and <an old age pensioner. It was -necessary for the trustees to know where the pension was." The secretary (Mr. A. H. Truehridge) had made inquiries into tlie matter, and had reported: -Mr. Truehridge read the following report: “The applicant states that he made a mistake in -saying that ho had borrowed the money from in June. He did not understand all the chairman’s questions, and got niudde-ld over the months. He says, ‘-Of course I could not have had it in June, because I hadn’t come up -from -Christchurch then.’ -By reckoning back he says the first loan he got was in October. He got 15s, and agreed to pay back £l. He left his pension certificate in with the -lawyer. On the Ist November he went to the lawyer’s office to -get his certificate in order to draw his pension. The certificate was handed to him and a clerk from the lawyer’s office -accompanied him to tl\e pay office, and waited outside while -he went in .and got the money. On coming out he gave the clerk the £l, and -put the certificate in his pocket. In November he was out of funds and repaired to iMr. , who lent him 255, retaining the certificate. On Ist December the same procedure was followed as on- the previous occasion, a clerk accompanying him, to whom he paid 31s on coming out of the pay office. Since the payment of the 3is and the cost of a little food exhausted the £2 3s 8d of the pension, he had re•eourse to Mr. again early -in tho present month, borrowing £l, for which he agreed to pay 5s interest, his pension certificate being lodged as before with Mr. -, in whose hands it now is.” Mr. T-rue-bridge said he had been applied to -by -a clerk from the solicitors in question for permission to .attend the Board and make a statement. This was referred to the .Board and acquiesced in. The head of the firm of lawyers mentioned -attended, and gave .an absolute denial to the statement of the old .age pensioner. No money had l been lent to the old man on his pension, -but money in small sums had been lent to him by two of the solicitor’s clerks and a third party, who nvas -an outsider. The clerkshad made 7s by interest. It -wlas their own affair, and had nothing whatever to. do with tho firm, as all their clerks were advised to give up the -pension -at once, drawing only the 13s that was owing, -and not to chargo interest. The transaction had never -appeared in the firm’s -books-, and the firm knew nothing whatever about it. They did not know the man, -although ho might know the speaker iby sight. The clerks could explain it -all to the -Board, hut one of them was at .Wanganui attending tho boat race. The other was in attendance if the trustees -cared to interrogate him. This tho chairman ruled to be unnecessary, the matter being one as between the -Ohiro Home and the old (age pensioner.