THE GRAND HOTEL FIRE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 164, 24 July 1901, Page 5

THE GRAND HOTEL FIRE.

JESSIE MINNS BEFORE THE

COUKT,

THE EVIDENCE,

At the Police Court to-day Florence Jessica Newbegan Minns was charged, on remand, with that on May 31st she did murder Leonora, Era, and Mina Johnston, Frederick Avres, and Dora Wallace. Mr T. Hutchison, S.M., was the presiding magistrate. Mr J. A. Tole, Crown Prosecutor, appeared for the prosecution, and Mr J. C. Martin for the defence. The Court was crowded, while a good number of people waited outside to catcb a glimpse of the young woman who has made herself so celebrated.

Mr Tole in openingl said this case was one of lamentable notoriety, and the circumstances were no doubt known to His Worship, On May 31 the Grand Hotel was destroyed by fire, and three of the licensee's Mr Johnson's) children, a Miss Wallace, and a Mr Ayres, lost their lives. Mr Tole went on to sketch the circumstances connected with the coroner's inquest, where the accused girl at first declined to give evidence, but afterwards made a statement on oath. In the course of that evidence on oath she gave a detailed description of several men who accosted her in the 1 hotel before the fire, and stated that the men intimated their intention of destroying the hotel by fire, and bound her over to secrecy. Prior to the inquest she had told the licensee, Mr Johnston, about the men whom she alleged she had seen. When recalled at 'the inquest she told with much detail how the men were seen by her making1 preparations to set fire to the hotel. It was a strange thing that the spot which she had indicated as the place where she saw the men rubbing1 something on the floor, etc., was the very locality where the fire seemed to have started. Up to this point according to her own statement she seemed to have been clearly a party to the crime of murder. But when she was formally re-called by the Coroner she said, for the first time, that she read the whole thing in a book. Her mother said she was perfectly rational, knew what she was saying, and had no mental derangement at all. The girl said she got a book called "Fred, the Miner" from an employee in the hotel, and got her tale out of that, but he (Mr Tole) would call the man as a witness, and he would say that he had no such book in his possession. In conclusion Mr Tole submitted the case was one which ought to be sent on to the higher Court, for the consideration of a jury.. "FREiD THE MINER." The first witness called was Henry Jones, late night porter at the Grand Hotel. In answer to Mr Tole, he said that when he first saw the smoke of the fire it seemed as if it were coming from the pantry, from the back portion of the building. The accused girl was a pantry-maid in the hotel. He had lent her some books; he lent them to anyone in "the hotel. He had no such book as "Fred the Miner"; he had never heard of it before.

Cross-examined by Mr Maxfcin: Witness heard no disturbance in the hotel on the night of the fire; he saw no strangers about. On the previous night he did not see anyone in the hotel that he didn't know; nor on the night previous to that. Witness had been doing his usual work collecting the boots and so forth in "the hotel on those nights.

By Mr Tole: He usually came on for the night at about 10.30 o'clock. Tlhere might have been people in the pantry without his knowledge during1 part of the evening.

MR JOHNSTON'S EVIDENCE.

Alexander Johnston; the licensee of the Grand Hotel, was next called. Examined by Mr Tole, he said the diningroom was situated on the first floor in the new building. Tihere was no light in the dining-room to ihis knowledge after eight o'clock the night of the" fire. There was usually a light in the pantry. The fire, when witness first saw it, came from the direction of the dining-room. On acconnit of the rapidity of the fire he considered it could not have been caused accidentally. Mr Johnston wen>t on to repeat his statement at the inquest as to Jessie Minns telling (him after the fire that she had seen the three men in the hotel.

THE MYSTERIOUS MEN.

Josephine Wauters, lately chief cook at the Grand Hotel, deposed that on the nig-ht of May 30, about 10.30 o'clock, she heard noises in the house, to her great surprise. They had finished early in the dining-room, and there were only three 'boarders in the hotel. She heard noises as of people talking in the dining-room above her head; she thought they must have been men fighting more than anything else. They were moving about. She told Jessie Minns about it, and said: "It seens like fighting here." The girl did not answer at that time. Witness heard the noises again about half-past eleven, after Jessie came in from the bathroom. She said to Jessie: "My word, what is all the noise? It sounds like people fighting." Jessie said: "Never mind, let them fight; we are all right." Witness heard the men call out "Where are the keys?" three times. Witness thought that as Jessie was in the bathroom she would (have gone for the keys. Witness opened her door and she saw Jessie and four men; Jessie was running into the bathroom. Jessie then came and asked witness for the keys. She supposed they were ithe keys of the back yard nnd of the door leading into the passage from the back yard. Witness told her she had no keys.

Mr Tole: You are quite sure you. saw these three men; you didn't dream it?

Witness: Oh, no; how could I dream it? I might $aye dreamt it if I had been asleep, but I was awake at the time. I thought they might have been men who had. been getting something to eat from my larder, and wanted to get out. •

In answer to further questions witness said she could not now say who any of the men were but Jones; he was there, 'but the others she did not •know. She had said to Jessie that ghe thought one oi the men was Henry Clark. Jessie said: "Oh, yes." There were a tali man, a short man and a broad-shouldered man. She did not know who "they were.

The Court was then adjourned for lunch.

Mr Martin intimated during the progress of (the case that he would object to the accused's depositions being •banded in as evidence.

(Proceeding1.);