KYEBURN MURDER CHARGE

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 290, 7 September 1928, Page 13

KYEBURN MURDER CHARGE

LOWER COURT PROCEEDINGS NASEBY HEARING CONCLUDED CASE REMANDED TO DUNEDIN Dominion Special Service. Naseby, September 6. The depositions ot fifteen witnesses occupied the magistrate (Mr. 11. J. Dixon, S.M.), in the Naseby Court for the second day of the preliminary hearing of the charge against William John Hardie of murdering Joe Leung Shum at the Kyeburn diggings on July 17. The Courthouse was well filled, but it was apparent that the tedium of the proceedings was robbing the case of its glamour for the idle curious. The accused to-day showed obvious signs of weariness and strain that must attend an ordeal of the kind through which he is passing. Counsel for the prosecution continued throughout the day to present the Bench with exhibits, which became so numerous that all the letters of the alphabet were exhausted, necessitating the use of double designations, such as AA and 88.

After sitting all day the court rose at about 5 p.m. and adjourned to Dunedin.

Constable’s Evidence. *

Constable L. Fox, of Naseby, said he knew accused,- who had been in (lie district for as long as witness had been stationed in Naseby. Accused was on probation and reported frequently to witness. On July 17 he saw accused at the courthouse at about 6 p.m. It was then dark; he was leaving the court when he saw a figure passing the gate, and hailing it he found it to be Hardie. Witness thought accused must want to report, so he asked him for his papers and took him into the lighted court office, where Hardie made a request that he should be transferred to Dunedin, where he could live with his aunt, who would find him a job. Witness suggested that he would be better off in the country, but accused complained that he was making no headway. Witness agreed to effect the transfer, and he told accused to call for his papers and a letter to Mr. Garbntt the next morning. This accused agreed to do. Witness noticed that accused seemed to be in very poor health, and he wanted Hardie to allow him to fetch a doctor as he was in no fit state to travel to Dunedin. Accused was very pale and was trembling all over, but he insisted that he would be all right when he got to his aunt’s place. Witness felt accused’s pulse and noticed again that he was trembling from head to foot and was very hot. Again he remonstrated with Hardie about going to Dunedin, but accused was determined to go. After leaving the court accused told witness that he was borrowing Allan Cain’s horse to ride to the camp to bring his belongings in so that he could catch the train for Dunedin the next morning. Questioned about his cold, accused said he had caught a chill while sitting up all night with his mother when she had-died a week before. He said that he had been ill ever since, and had lnyi nothing to eat since the previous Sunday; nor had he been out of his hut for that period. Before parting from accused witness advised him to lie up for a while and after Ins cold was better witness would give him a few day’s work. Witness next saw Hardie on the following morning at about 9.15, just as he was leaving for Shum’s hut with Dr. Eudy. Accused, who was riding Allan Cain’s horse, then said he had changed his mind about wanting to be transferred to Dunedin, whereupon witness told accused to write and forward his address so that witness could advise him what to do. Accused appeared to be much better in health, though he was still hoarse. On the night of July 17 accused "was clad in a dark overcoat, a white scarf and a striped shirt ; he had neither collar nor tie. Witness spoke of having collected various articles from the hut which were among the exhibits in Court. With the Public Trust agent he searched the hut and found no gold, only some blowings. With Detective Farquharson he examined footprints on the tracks to Mount Buster on July 20, which they followed for half a mile. They were the marks of heavy boots, and had obviously been made quite recently. Dealings in Gold.

Allan Cain, sbeepfarmer and carrier, said his acquaintance with accused began in May. On the evening of July 17 at about 6.20 p.m. he met accused at his house and learnt from him that lie was leaving for Dunedin the next morning. Witness invited Hardie in for tea, and as he seemed exhausted and shaky gave him a stiff whisky. Accused spoke of having seen Constable Fox and asked witness to take him to Ranfurly in the morning. While at witness’s house Hardie produced some photographs which witness said were very like those among the court exhibits. Accused also had some loose gold in a tobacco tin. Witness remarked that it was a nice bit of gold and asked him how long it took him to get it. Hardie hud to be asked twice before he replied: “The best part of five weeks’ hard slogging,” and he said he got the gold out there. Witness lent accused bis horse to go out to the hut, and just before Hardie left he borrowed ss. for brandy for his cold and an oilskin coat.. Just as they were leaving for the station the following morning Hardie put his hand in his pocket and exclaimed: “I’ve left my miner’s right at the hut.” Witness said, “You have Buckley’s chance of getting it before the train goes.” He then offered to use his own right to dispose of Hardie’s gold, and on arrival at Ranfurlv witness took accused’s tin of gold to the Bank of New South Wales and opened it up before the manager (Mr. F B Bell). It was the same gold witness had seen the night before. The manager blew the gold in witness s presence and gave him the blowings. He weighed the gold and authorised the clerk to pay witness about £B. This sum witness gave to Hardie, who (hep offered to pay for the rent of the hut, but witness refused to take anything until he was well again. Accused returned the blowings to witness, who later handed them over to Constable Fox. At breakfast that morning accused said he had seen Constable Fox and Dr. Eudy going over the Welcome Inn Hill, and be asked witness what he thought they were after. Witness did not know. About Gold. x j, Frank Butler Bell, manager of the Bank of New South Wales at Ranfurly, "are evidence which substantiated the statement made by a previous witness, Allan Cain, in respect to the sale of accused’s gold. lie said the weight of gold he paid for on July 17 was 2 ounces 2 dwts. 18 grains, and gave particulars of another sale on July 10 ot dwt. -0 grains of gold. He recognised the exhibits in court. Witness produced the bank’s gold book as a record of the transaction. . • Moses Brown, of Kyeburn diggings, a miner of 48 years’ experience, said he had often been engaged as an expert in gold matters. He had gone to Bhum s claim on July 23 at the request of Detective Farquharson. and with two other men he had washed up there, taking about five davs to do so. Witness identified exhibits Q, R. and 3 as gold taken by him

from Shum’s claim. Exhibit X was produced, aud identified by ' v . l , t “® s l ab ß bl “nJ ings from the gold Q,, R,.and S In his opinion it was a 1 cry short time since the last wash-up on Churn s, and gave technical reasons toi h"s statement. He had seen gold from hundreds ot mines, in Nev. Zealand, but had never seen similar metal to that got from Shum s claim- ihls ‘’■old was- darker than any he had ever “een before. Crucibles taken from Shum s hut were shown to witness, who said two had obviously been used for the purpose of amalgamating gold. asl £** to compare samples of the gold sold for accused, and that taken from bhums claim, witness said they were the same. He would not care to swear that.they had come from the same claim, but in his own mind he was convinced that the samples were identical. He could not swear to- that because he had not seen the gold sold for accused w hen it came from the boxes. The Deep Creek gold vith > which he was familiar was different from Hardie’s gold (exhibit P), differing in fineness and colour. A comparison of the respective blowings showed maiked variations. Other Experts’ Evidence. Isaac John Parfit said he had spent about 35 years’ mining in the. Spec: Valley, Little Kyeburn, and Deep Creek areas, and was well acquainted with the types of gold yielded there EdM f (Hardie’s gold) was of a class that witness had never seen Produced m Spec Valiev or Deep Creek. He had seen the same fineness before, but never the same colour. This gold was darker than the Spec Valley or Deep Creek gold Charles Thomas Hore said he had handed samples of blowings and gold from his claims to the constable. He also assisted in the wash-up on a. working at Deep Creek, where Detective larquharson and Constable Pox were at work. He blew the gold, and left samples of gold aud blowings with the police. At this stage the Crown Prosecutor said he had two more witnesses—Detective Farquharson and Constable 1 otts but much of their evidence depended upon exhibits that were now m Dunedin. The Court decided to adjourn till September 21, and accused was remanded to appear at Dunedin on that date.