CHARGE OF PERJURY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 265, 1 August 1908, Page 14

CHARGE OF PERJURY.

' EVIDENCE OF 'THE ACCUSED' .' (BT TELEGEAPII —PEESS ASSOCIATION.) Westport, July 31. In the perjury charge against Connelly accused- gave evidence. *Ho repeated his ' former' statements 1 - with: some' additions. Under' cross-examination, he said he had not told a lio yet in.this case. - Beforehe.came into court he told a good many lies about Bourke's death. He told them in a'hotel that he intended to take Bourke to lodgings. That was a lie. v .It was.'also, a lio when, he told Miss Bowring he had left Bourke opposite the theatre. When He told Murray he had fallen , over with' Bourko at the corner that was alio. l When he told the .sergeant he had left him opposite Hardly's shop that was another lie. When he . said he had taken Bourko up,the street as far as Hardly's shop' and given him oyer to two men, but only got his eye on,one fellow,.and that he could not recognise the other fellow as he had his back to. him—that was a lie. When he told Inspector Black and Detective M'llveney that he was the only man who had anything to do.with Bourke's death; that was a lie. .Mr. Bowling, clcrk of the court, was not telling 'the. truth,,: when, he said witness swore in the Magistrate's Court that Halinen's words to witness were: —"Mind you don't let out who killed the man, or who kicked the man—something ,like that." He did not remember saying - at Nelson these' same words. Mrs. Phillips and Mrs.Pearco were also inaccurate when they said .'only two men crossed the street to the shed. Mrs. Tom Pearco : and Lily Pearce were similarly not tellings the truth when they said witness'f.'was ■ in their.: kitchen .at . about -: 8:20' that night; i If .Murray swore that these men did not' comei into'', Qualter's he', was lying. Haakonson,V Halinen, and Anderson .wore lying when they said Halinen and Anderson were not in Qualter's. Tottenham and Fraser were lying when they 'stated witness said to theft, after' the', body was . taken to the' morgue, that the'wounds were caused by a knife. His Jonly. explanation .of his positive denial of .knowledge of Bourke was that he did not know the man's name. He' did not know whether- ho gave a false namo (King) when arrested -for mndow-broaking, • He might :have mado a mistake when Kb marked the spot .on the plan whore the prisoners met him.l l -He had given as a reason, for various lies that ho was afraid Halinen was going to take his life. > He did not complain to the gaoler, but he told the inspector. At that time the men, were .under: lock, and key.' He "was" at the police statioh;a : nd' never mentioned a word about these threiats until .he had. done his eight days_. He did not speak aboutj Bourke's death in : gaol. It was Halinen who spoke. Ho would not swear ho was five minutes away at the shed. It might have been five minutes, ten minutes, or a ' quarter of an hour.. He had said he could not write—only bis name. He did not write a letter, produced, and did not hum a letter . to his. mother. Questioned by His Worship as to the letter, produced, and the on the letter being shown to him, ho again said it was not his. Ho. compared. the signature. with the signature to his deposition/ Then he said ho wrote his namo but not the letter. Counsel's address opened this morning, but Mr. Haririan was overtaken by ■ illness, and the Court adjourned till the afternoon. The hearing has already lasted twelve days. The hearing concluded this afternoon, when Connelly was committed _ for trial to the Supreme Court at Hokitika. Bail | was refused. . :

A kind of almost cynical. common senso is tho predominant characteristic, of tho'raoo growing np in' Australia. Our lack of emotionalism may keep us back from great heroisms, but it will ccrfainly also keep us back from follies. —"Argus," Melbourno. As hiiowlrdgo . ribens ( with acquaintance, every Englishman will know France for what she is, alike "in intellectual arid in moral qualities pi'.rliaps tho most ferious and steadfast nation in. tlio world.—"Manchester Guardian."