LONG CASE BEGUN

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 815, 12 May 1910, Page 9

LONG CASE BEGUN

THE RUTLAND HOTEL FIRE. PROSECUTION OPENij. Tho criminal sessions of the Supremi Court were continued before liis Honoui the Chief Justice (Sir Eobcrt Stout) yes terday morning. Hearing of the charges arising out oi tho fire in the Rutland Hotel Buildings Wanganui, on January 22 last, occupioc tho Court all day. Mr. Myers prose cuted, and Mr. T. >M. Wilford appearet for the accused—Joseph Paul Davis ani Martin Haines, two well-dressed younf men, who were charged on a number oi counts. Theso wero:— (1) Wilfully set fire to tho building, part of which was occupied by Davis's jewellery and fancy goods shop. (2) Conspired together to defraud tho Yorkshire Insurance Company and the New Zealand Insurance Com•of £500 each. (3) Wilfully set fire to the building, in which Davis hud a partial interest. 3 Davis, by himself, was charged witl having (a) counselled and procurot Haines to set lire to the building, ant (b) assisted Haines to escape, well know ing that ho had committed tho crime oi arson. His Honour declined to allow tho jnrj I to go to Wauganui to view the premises Mr. Wilford having expressed the opin ion that this might lie necessary later His Honour said tlmt the jury woult obtain sufficient information from tin plans. The building had probably beer altered in appcaranco sinco tho lire. Matters for Explanation. Mr. Myers stated that (for.' reason! which lie mentioned) it was a reasonable suggestion that the firo had been pre arranged. On the night' of tho fire Haines was seen in tho immediate vicin ity of the hotel buildings, but Davii was in Nelson. Why was ho away? II was a perfectly natural question to ask and an easy oiio to answer. The stocl of tho shop was' of the cheaper kind, bul at the time of taking out one insurant* policy the shop contained valuable Rotherham , and Waltham watches. Or the. night of the fire, Haines havinf been left in charge of the shop, was, ac cording to his statement, worlcing at tin books.. He was (according to liis owi statement) at tho books right up till mid night, but it would bo shown that tin books were, not on the premises at all It had been a terrific.explosion, and i] Haines was speaking tho truth in sny ing that lie was actually at tho build ing when it occurred, how had ho' es caped so lightly? The explosion niighl have been caused by, gelignite, by coa gas (extremely improbable), or by i hydro-carbon such as naphtha, benzine or petrol Only a few gallons of hen Bino sprinkled over the stock would have been sufficient to cause tho explosion and benzine or petrol was ensily .ob tamed,. without suspicion, being raised m these days of motor-cars and cycles According to evidence given by Haines no was about to _ leave the shop, ant was lighting his pipe when an explosior occurred,, caused by the rai/tch, and ren dercd him unconscious. At the time, tin shop contained from ,£ISOO to .£I7OO wortt of jewellery, including 50 watches, end worth from upwards. Haines sau that he did not remove tho books oi any of the stock from the shop. Davis in evidence, had said that prior to 1903 Ho was in business in Wellington foi ten years. Ho gave, the value of the stock, at the time; of the fire, as .£2600 and tho insurances were <£1000. He said that ho was away for a holiday doivi: the West Coast of tho : South Island, bul no mention was made, remarked counsel about stock he had with him. Hi reckoned that ho had lost .£I4OO bv the •?u m A (i c ?" ld barely pay his creditors ivilh the insurance, money. The prosetuition would show that Davis had dishonoured bills, and that ho had been iressod by. his creditors. In January. he had sold goods at uuction, receiving 5:250 which, he said, he had paid to his creditor. It would be shown that he took to Nelson stock to tho value of £350, iNo trace of the valuable watches could .1 f ,°," nd ,. m the deMs after the firo At the time of, the fire, about ,£SO( worth of stock was away from the shop. ~ attic of the Arcadia Private Hotel, Wanganui, at which house tho twe accused lived, a gasfitter found portmanteaux full of goods, and books of thr business. Davis admitted to tho police that tho goods belonged to the business but said that: he had had them with him on the West Coast. Haines ir explaining tho finding of the books, sain that two sets of books wero kept and used week about. However, tho daybook found in the attic contained a salt entry of the day of tho fire, when, according to Haines, the other set of book> were being used by him. Thoiiflht it was an Earthquake. Formal ovidence was given by George Alexander Smytlie, Public Trust Offico accountant (regarding the ownership oi the building). Battle (architect), and Charles Frederick Taylor (clerk in the Wanganui Magistrate's Court). William Poad, porter at tho hotel, described, tho setae at the time of the explosion. - _ I'l-ederick Charles Faber, licensee, of the Rutlund Hotel, stated that he heard what he believed to be three loud reports, and a. sheet of flame came lit afterwards.* He considered that ah earthquake had taken place. Several rooms i ii. keen burnt right out, and others were damaged by. water, tilt loss for furniture amounting lo over .£IOOO, To Mr; Wilford faber said' that lit had received over .£IOOO from the inmtranco company, and had issued a wrii against Davis for .£2OOO or .£3OOO. Lv ur J* 0 ? 1 ?. Lewis, Wanganui agoni ? t in V™""? Insurance Company stated that, at the time the additional insurance was given, Davis said that. hi< stock was worth ,£2400 to .£2650. Tilt company had not paid the insurance on the stock. The actual salvage from the shop after thefiro would bo covered bj about ,£.,0. When asked where tilt Rotherham and Weiltham watches were Davis replied that ho could not accouni for then- disappearance. He also saic that tho books had been burned* Josopli Wesney, manager of.the Wanga nui office of the New Zealand Insurance Company, said that, after tho fire, he hat remarked to Dayis that lie would bt moro satisfied if some traces of the valuable watches could bo found Georgo Herbert Lomas describeei siftinc operations among tho ashes. Ruby Plem ing, shop assistant, said that, when she left the shop. at- 8.45 o'clock on the nigh of tho fire, the stock did not appear t have been interfered with. Edward Doyle, clo.'k, identified books product as those which he had kept at Davis'' shop, . ' What the Adjuster Found. , William R. Beauchamp-Platts, insurance adjuster, said that, after examining tho premises, 10 came to tho conclusion that tho hro had not been sufficient to cause total damage to the stock alleged to have been in the shop. He had been convinced also that tho books, if present would not have been destroyed, because: looso' papers wero found intact at tht spot where the books were alleged to liavt been left. Light jewellery had escaped, anil it seemed improbable that inort bulky and more valuable} goods would bt destroyed, especially as less damage had been sustained.in that port of tho shot whore they were alleged to lie. Davif gave tho purchases made since he opened business m Wanganui at ,£2600, bul witness ascertained the amount to bt ■£IC7I 15s. Ho gave his average profit al 100 per cent. Davis intimated that lit proposed to claim the full amount of the insurance, stated that he had no gooels elsewhere, and that his books had beer destroyed in tho fire. Mr. Myers remarked that there were still a large number of witnesses to lit called, and the Court adjourned at ; p.m. until 10.15 o'clock this morning. THE FULL PENALTY. Robert Anderson, who had been found guilty on Tuesday of having committee! s serious offence, was 'sentenced to live years' imprisonment', with hard labour the maximum penalty allowed in suci . a case.