KELBURN RAID

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 111, 10 May 1918, Page 4

KELBURN RAID

COURT CASE CONCLUDED

FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR THE

DEFENCE

POLICE METHODS CRITICISED.

MAGISTRATE RESERVES DECISION.

The Kelburn raid caise, in which so much public interest has been manifest-

Ed, was brought to a conclusion last evening, when Mr. 8. K. M'Carthy, S.M., intimated that he "would reserve his decision. Further evidence for the defence was heard after The Post had gone to | press in the afternoon. Jack Griffin, Mrs. Griffin's thirteen-year-old son, in reply to Mr. Jackson, said he had seen the lieutenants mentioned in the case in his mother's house often. The night GiUespie came to the house, he (witness) was there, but he could not remember if any of those present had anything to drink. Marian Elliott went to sleep in a chair, and fell off it, and Miss Olsen picked her up. When the man was found on the balcony, he (witness), with Miss Olsen and Mr. Gillespie went out to try and find him, but could not do so. The lad went on to say that perhaps those in the house would, at times, have a glass of drink, but he had not seen much drinking in the house at all. The visitors did not go into the bedrooms; they stayed in the dining-room. Inspector Marsack said he did not propose to cross-examine the boy. Patrick M'Carthy, a resident of Tomoana, said he had worked at the Tomoana Freezing Works for . about 37 years. Mrs. Griffin was his daughter, and he lwd always assisted her financially since her marriage. To Inspector Marsack : His earnings were £3 6s per week, and he had a house of his own. He sent his daughter about £6 per month in notes enclosed in an envelope. It was a tax on him to send the money, but he was able to afford it. THE CARE FOR MISS O T This closed the evidence to be called on behalf of Mrs. Griffin, and Mr. O'Leary called his client. Winifred Olsen said she was a typiste, and had been working since she was sixteen years old. She first worked for John Chambers and Son for 10 years, and then went to the Picture Supplies, Ltd., wMch she left in March of this year. . She wafe then getting, £2 10s per j week. Her mother was alive at pre- ; sent, and had had to divorce her father | when witness was 14" years old. The mother's second marriage to Mr. Shilling was worse than her first, ayi she (the mother) had not lived with him for about two years. She had not lived with her mother for about 12 months, as they could not afford to keep a home going, finding it cheaper, for the mother to live in a room and for ; witness to board. She had since lived with Mrs. Griffin at Clyde-quay and at Kelburn. In addition to her wage 3, she had an allotment of £2 2s per week from an officer. She had also sold her piano recently for £30 to a B-ir Harrison, of Ellice-street. It was entirely untrue that she had been guilty of any immorality in the house at Kelburn.

During the last few months she had been particularly friendly with Lieutena»t Mnllins. She had been engaged to the officer from whom she received the allotment. She told Mullins about this, but he wanted to marry her before he left TSTew Zealand before the raid. She had tried to have Mullins brought back to New Zealand so that he could clear her of the present charge. Mullino had written he? a letter (produced) the day he left New Zenland, in which he asked her to cancel "that allotment of. 's ; and that he (Mullins) would allot her 6s per day at the first base camp he reached. THE MOTOR-CAR INCIDENT. Continuing, witness said that she left w.ork in March, intending to go to Sydney. However, she went to Greytown, and subsequently to Christc'hurch, where she stayed with Mullins's sisters. After a visit to Featherston, she returned to Kelburn by motor-car, with Mullins. The car was driven by one of Mullins's sergeants, who owned it, and who was accompanied by his wife. On the night they returned, two bottles of beer were brought to the house by Mullins. The bottles were, bought on the way down from Featherston, and were not wrapped up. She may have carried the two bottles of,beer into the house. The luggage from the.car was carried in by herself and Mullins. Three marine officers,' whom she had not met before, were in the house when she and Mullins arrived. Further replying to Mr. O'Leary, witness agreed with the other witnesses that on the occasion of Mr. Gillespie's visit there was no impropriety. THE SYDNEY TRIP. To Inspector Marsack, witness gave the same reason as had Mrs. Griffin for the latter leaving ;the Clyde-quay house. She had never heard that +he poiice were watching that house. You were in the employ of Mr. N'ye, were you not?— Well, not Mr. Nye; I the Picture Supplies. You know that divorce proceedings are pending against Mr. Nye?—l heard that they are likely. Did he come to see you. at Cly<Jequay ?—No, never. Not in the day time ?—No, not at any time.

He has gone to Australia?—Yns. You have been seeking a- passoort to go to Austral?a?—Yes. Well, I put it to you, is it not for the purpose of joining Mr. Njr9?—No. I have never heard of him since he went away. I don't know where he :s.

Did your mother urge you fo leave the Kelburn house ?—She told me the police were watching the house. Did she ask you to leave the house because it was a house of bad ■haracter?—She did; but I-.did not leave, because I saw no wrong / there. Inspector Marsack went on to ask witness about her alleged familiarity with various officers, which she donkd

strongly. He also asked her concerning several \letters from soldiers which she admitted were found in her box r.n the night of the raid.

■Continuing, witness said that while at Kelburn, some months ago, she had told Mrs. Griffin that someone had told her that he had t lieard: that some detective was watching the house, and inferred, although ho did not actually say so, that it was her relatives in Westport who were behind it. Who told: you?y-Must I say? Yes. —Well, Lieptenant Russell. Did he mention. Tricklebank's name to you, or did you mention it to Mrs. Griffin?— No. Re-examined by Mr. O'Lesiry, witness said that she had been for some time in communication with a married lady friend of hers relative to her trip to Sydney. She was going to. stay with- this lady. This closed the evidence on behalf of Miss Olson. COMING jDOWN FB-OM KELBUBN. Inspector Marsack recalled Constable Tricklobank to give evidence in rebuttal of that given by Second-Lieutenant Carnahan concerning a statement of a rather filthy nature which Carnahan had alleged Tricklebank had made use of concerning t>w women at the Kelburn house.

Tricklebank stoutly denied having made the statement, and; also denied, that he had got off the Kelbutn tram on the way down on the night of the raid, as alleged by Carnahan. Mr.. Myers: According to you, the story of Carnahan is a wicked invention?— Yes, perjury. Why?—l know of no reason. Do you suggest th;jt a man holding, in civil life, an honourable position such as Carnahan does, would come here and concoct such a wicked lie?—l don't suggest; I am certain.

Now, I suggest that you made the statement in order to trap Carnahan into paying he had been at the house for im"moral purposes. Did you get off tho tram?— No. Did you get into another compartment?—No.

Questioned as to whether or no there was any conversation at all coming down in tho car, witness said there was none. He, Carnahan, Morrison, and Bonnington, a returned soldier, were in the car.

Was Morrison talking to Bonnington? —No.

Then Morrison has come here and lied?—He has.

No word spoken at all in the- car?— No.

COUNSEL AND CONSTABLE. ,'Mr. O'Leary; Is it not a fact that in sexual matters you are most coarse and vulgar in your expressions?— No. Well, Tricklebank, do you remember what you said to me should be done to Mrs. Griffin?— No. / Mr. O'Leary here wrote down astatenient which he said Tricklebank had made to him, and handed it to Tricklebank. "Do you remember that conversation?" he enquired of the witness. "No," wasHhe reply. "I remember the conversation, bat (pointing) not that word; I said 'shooting .was too good for her.' " Mr. O'Leary offered to go into the witness-box, if necessary, and substantiate what he had referred to, which was the subject of a statement made by Tricklebank to himself. ' The Magistrate intimated that he did not wish Mr. O'Leary to do so. Constable Drumgool corroborated the evidence of the previous witness as to his (Tricklebank's) not having got off the car on the\ way clown from Kelburn. Tin's closed the evidence for the defence, and counsel proceeded) to addi«ss the Court. POLICE METHODS CRITICISED. Mr. Myers, in opening, referred to the serious nature of the case and to the grave public interest involved in it. He held that the efforts of the police in the interests of the public and justice could only be useful if their work, and the methods they employed, commended themselves to the public, British men and women were not likely to tolerate any action, on the part of the police which would tend, as in this cn*e, towards the destruction of the fair name and fame of a woman of good character. The police raid on the Kelburn house was, he held, absolutely. unjustified in the interests of justice; if the police evidence itself were accepted as true, an information and summons would well have met the case, as the parties were all known to the police, who had been watching them. Not only was there a raid, but the reckless and unwarranted arrest of decent women. One woman, Mrs. Gunman, had been there with her husband, and in regard to the other decent women tomid there who had been let go, and also to Miss Pringle and Alma Elliott, there was absolutely no cvi-

' dence against them. Their arrest was nothing short of an outrage. Then too, these women were tafeen to the police station and subjected to the further indignity of a search, and information— which must have come from the police— had 1 been given to a certain newspaper of thb'peuplo found ii* the house, even those i who had been let go. His point was that i the police had no right to arrest these/ people, but even if they had that power it was only under the War Regulations of ! 1914. On the evening oi the raid nothing was said to have been wrong 1; it was purely a musical evening. It was admitted by the police that there was absolutely nothing against Mrs. Gunman, Mrs. Head, or Miss Psscoe, but yet these wotnon had been subjected to the indignity of arrest and search without, h& coTitended, either legal or moral justification. -It might be said that he was speaking strongly, but it was not alone his duty as counsel; it was his public duty to sgeak freely in simh a case. SEARCH WARRANT, CHALLENGED Counsel went on to refer to the search warrant, which ho incidentally remarked required the police to search the premises in the. daytime. The warrant required the police to take before a Justice, forthwith, all the people found in the house, and he contended that it was absolutely and. entirely without legal justification or warrant. Then, again, the warrant was issued to a constable, and this was a breach of the regulations, which required that it should be issued to a police officer of no less rank than a sergeant. The police, however, had to take the warrant, and, if it were a good one why did not the police arrest all the men who were found in. the .house, although he did not state they should have done so. If decent women against 'whom the. police, had no suspicion were going to be arrested why not, too, the men on the premises? Against, some of the women who had been arrested there was .not an atom of proof; not 'even a vestige of sus.picion; and, ;he contended^ the, arrest .of Mrs. Gunmau, Mrs. Head, and Miss Pascoe was nothing short of an outrage. His remarks, he again said, might bs thought to be strong,, but ho had a strong sense of.his public duty, and.felt more care must be 'taken before the

police take such action:as. to.. 1 result ; iu the destruction-for ever of a woman's, fair faime arid reputation. The police had indeed entered into this. case with a. recklessness for which they' should receive the strongest public condemnation. In regard to the- women, they had been treated by fhe police as worse than the most qommon and abandoned prostitutes in'the streets. The first time prostitutes were noticed in the streets they received a warning from the police, but in this case there had been no such warning. "RELISH AND ZEST." The police had, said Mr.l Myers, indeed entered into the case with a relish

and a zest— Inspector Marsack objected to such a .statement, remarking that the police had) their duty to perform, and it was on

many occasions a disagreeable duty. Mr. Myers assured the Inspector that he was not referring to him personally, but t<j the police engaged in the case. He went on to say that it was a great pity that Constable Tricklebank had ever been allowed to enter into the case, a-s, according to Lieutenant Cariiahan's evidence, Tricklebank was not at all a fit person to be in such a position. If there could be any doubt as to the state of Tricklebank's mind what Mr. O'Leary had said (or written) concerning him must surely settle that point. Counsel proceeded to review the^ evidence for, the prosecution, referring pointedly to the remarkable similarity of tlie notes made by the watching constables. It would, lie said, before concluding, be dangerous to punish a dog on such evidence as had been given. Ho referred to the very convincing medical evidence regarding the condition of his client, Marian Elliott. Both the other counsel had referred to the absence of any evidence that immorality, if any had bean proved, was going on for gain. Ho would, howevefj prefer not to taka that point, however sound it might be,

but he submitted that his defence was safe on the higher ground he had taken.

DECISION RESERVED

Mr. O'Leary made a stirring speech on behalf of his client, Miss Olsen, pointing out what he considered to be the weak points in the evidence for the prosecution, and the utter improbability of his client having acted in any such manner as suggested by the police. Mr. Jackson in turn addressed the Court on behalf of Mrs. Griffin, and his Worship intimated that he would take time to consider his decision.

Mr. C. W. Tanner watched the case on behalf of-the parents of Mrs. Griffin.