In answer to the Court the prisoner (who had no counsel) said he had nothing to say. His Honor said there were for geries in this case to the amount of £2000. Where had the money gone ?, Detective Kennedy said most of the money went in paying the interest on the bills and in horse-

racmg, His Honor said this was a singu lar case, one of the worst of the class he had had to deal with. The accused had pleaded guilty to eleven charges covering £330, but the evidence showed that the total amount of his forgeres came to some £2000. It seemed to have become a regular habit with him to commit forgeries, and it seemed that Mr Tobias and the others never suspected anything, and therefore never made any enquiries. His Honor looked on this as a very bad case. He would not pass upon prisoner the extreme .sentence allowed by the law, but he would pass ahdavy senteuce'as a warning to others. On each of the indict ments to which the, prisoner had pleaded guilty, he would be im prisoned •in Mt. Eden Gaol and kept to hard labour for a period^ of five years, the sentences to be concurrent,

Bush Fires in Aus tralia.
[By Electric Telegraph.]

FEARFUL DAMAGE.
