ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL.
At thD Police Court yesterday, Alexander King was charged, on remand, with setting lire to two buy-sucks belonging to William Bailey, at Templeton. and valued at £8. William Bailey, fanner. Templeton. said that he owned two stacks of hay, half a mile below the railway station, and about three chains apart. AJi.oge.ther they were valued ait £3. They were safe at eleven o'clock Sunday morning, bat about half-past live on Monday evening, having received a mes?snge from some boys, he drove down lo the paddock where the stacks -were, and found one of them burned to thi ground, and -he other burning. The accused was about four chains off from them, chasing some sheep. There* were several other men, some distaree. -off. coming towards the stacks. On catching sight of witness the accused went over to within nine or ten yards of toe burning stacks and lay down flat on the ground. A man named' William condon, who had accompanied witness to the scene, asted the accused what he was doing there, and he said: *T did not burn them.*' Witness asked the accused to g<t into their aap, and lie did so, after some expostulaiuon, but as the trap was going through the "ate he clutched witness's aim as ho was driving, and jumped out. They got him in a'ain, and handed him over to tho police. The man seemed quite sober, but not altogether right mentally. Re-examined —The other men in __'the paddock only entered it at the same "time as witnessJames Bailey, a grain and produce merchant, carrying on business in Christchurch, stated that while driving towards the Templeton Station from Christchurch at four o'clock in the afternoon of Monday last, he saw one of William Bailer's stacks on fire. The other was not burn-in->r. The accused was standing close to the one which was on tire, and witness got out of his gig and asked h'm what he was doing, and whether he had set the stack alight. He replied that- he had. To gel him awnv Jrom the paddock, witness said th-it I'lh'v were his .-tacts, and that he would give him in charge for setting fire to one of them. He replied: "Well, you can only get mc two or -three months if you do.*' 'Witness then turned him oft" the paddock, and meeting Ins nephew a few minutgs alter, told him to tell his father (William" Bailey? that the stack was binning. On his wav hick to town witness passed the paddec'k at. a quarter past live, and found one stack nearly buTr.ed down and the other safe. He did not see the accused there. It seemed to h:m that the accuse* -a l a* either slightly wrong in the heart, or na_ aad a drink or two. Joseph Rowe, a labourer, living about eight chains from the two stack*, stated tha. he parsed them at a quarter past rive on Monday. One was blazing, and" the other alight, and the accused was about three chains aiwav from them, rounding up K*7et»p, ari<_ trvimr to drive them towards tho blaze. When he failed to do so he went to the stack which was not burning, and, after striking three or four matches, which were blown out by the wind, succeeded in setting it on fire. Then he walked round the stacSks, waving his arms in the air, as though he was warmin o- himself. Witness sent his son and another little hoy for William Bailey, and continued to watch the accused until he arrived. After setting fire to the stack the accused recommenced rounding up the sheep. He did not seem right in his head. Isaac Harding, a Templeton farmer, paissed the place at about a quarter past rive, and found only one stack burning. He met the last witness and other neighbours there, and walked about with them, but they did not see the accused do anything except round up tihe sheep. A quarter of an hour later, he noticed that the second stack was also on fire. The accused had worked for him for three weeks, and was quite sober all the time, but appeared to be mentally derangedIn r'-ply to "'• question, witness said that he was drinking at the Templeton Hotel with accused until after dark on Monday. Witness thought it was about livs o'clock when he left. The hotel, it was stated, is a mile from tin stacks. Constable Thomson, stationed at Christchurch said that he was watehhouse-keep-er at'-the. station on Monday evening, when "Mr P.ailcv and Mr Rowe came in with the accused. He at once informed the Sub-Inspector, and in the meantime detained the accused. Mr Bailey said. •'This is the man who has been burning my stacks at Templeton." The accused said that lis had been digging all day on the Mondr.y. and having a dr'.nk tvey hour. In* the evening he had seen tha stack on tire, and went over, like anyone else, to warm himself. He had seen some brys running away irom the Macks. The accused, witness continued, was detained on a charge of lunacy. He appeared to have been drinking! recently, and smelt of liqurr. Insp-'ctor (Jillies and Nub-Inspec-tor Black visited hiim, with witness, later on in the evening, and he told them th-j sam? story. In the morning tiie man appeared quite rational, and th,; present charge was substituted for that of lunacy. After' hearing the usual caution, the accused said that he wished to make a statement. He deposed that on Monday iie ha<l several drinks with Mr Hireling at the Templeton Hotel, and was with him there until after dark, wha.'h must hive been about six o'elo.'k. He was accordingly .n the hotel at the time the first stack was noticed to be burning. The paddock was on his wi v h-'-m?, and passing it he saw two or three boys, who laughed and ran away on catching sight of him. He stayed about half an hour in the paddock, and was going over to the hotel, vhe*3 three men in a buggy told him they would drive him ih«re. on the understanding that he would "sh.nuf" drinks for a'l hands. Afterwards be found himself at the Police Station. He had been heavily drinking, both on Monday and the. day before. Cross-examined : He h,-id no recollection of seeing the second witness at all, but remembered that ""hen he first went to the piddnok "lie saw the sheep going towards the tire, aud he tried to drive them back, lest they should be burnt. He went for another drink, and on coming back found the. other stack on fire. He had not set tire to this- stack himself, ;md thcuirh he had a. p'pe and tobacco at the time, he had no matches. The Bench derided that the evidence was suflicit-nt to establish a prima facie case, and committed the accused fur trial at the next sessions of the Supreme Court.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11340, 1 August 1902, Page 3
Word Count
1,165ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11340, 1 August 1902, Page 3
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