THE WAIROA MURDER CASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8585, 5 June 1891, Page 6

THE WAIROA MURDER CASE.

At the Supreme Court, yesterday, before Mr. Justice Conolly, Thomas ilfry, alias Floyd, with various other aliases, was indicted on the capital charge of wilful murder. Mr. Williamson, Crown Prosecutor, apS eared, for the prosecution, and Mr. W. J. [a,pier, instructed by Mr. H. Shortland, for 'thel defence. . The prisoner was placed in the dock at twelve o'clock, in accordance with the arrangement made on the previous day, and he entered it jauntily, looking around him with a drunken air. as if he rather enjoyed the display. He looked around the audience with a smile or leer occasionally, and repeatedly nudged the warder next him, and this attitude he assumed during the proceedings. , ~•".,: , , , Mr. Williamson said at this stage he had been informed that the plea to be raised for the defence was that of Insanity. Mr. Napier: No, pardon me, that is one of the pleas. * Mr. Williamson said that this being one of the pleas, it would be necessary to have the prisoner medically examined as to his sanity, and he would ask therefore that tho case might be adjourned until two o'clock, when they would have the advantage, not only of the testimony of those gentlemen who examined the prisoner, but also that of the full panel of jurors. Mr. Napier said he shoud prefer going on now. His Honor said that two days ago Mr. Napier had made : :an application, to the Court that Mr. Reston, gaolor, should not be present in the cell when the prisoner was being examined as, to his sanjty. That should have been sufficient notice for the Crown, and if Mr. Napier now objected he should not put back,the case. The charge was then read to the prisoner. It was that on the 23rd of March ; 1891, he did feloniously, wilfully, and of Ins malice s.torethonght, kill and murder one William Veitchj contrary to the peace of our Sovereign lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. Prisoner apparently took no notice. He did not plead, and by-direction of the Judge, the indictment was again read to him. He again ignored the plea, and Mr. Napier said that ho would, under the statute of George IV., consent to a plea, of not guilty being entered. The empanelling of a jury was then proceeded with, and Mr. Napier exercised his full right to_ challenge twelve. This exhausted the jury available, as one jury of twelve was locked up, and only eleven had been called and taken their seats. His Honor said they must now wait for the return of the other jury, which was locked up in the conspiracy*case, and should they disagree, or not come to a verdict, they could not be discharged till 11 o'clock. Of course, l.hey might come back, but in the meantime I.he eleven gentlemen who had taken .their, neats need not be detained, as the prisoner had not-yet been cotnmitted to them, and they would be permitted to go, but they must be in their places at two o'clock, to which hour he adjourned the Court. > The jurors challenged were discharged from further attendance, this being the last case.

During the adjournment the jurors engaged in the conspiracy case brought in their verdict, and were therefore available for the panel. One of their number was drawn, and the jury being complete, the case proceeded. THE CASE FOB TUE CROWN. , Mr. Hudson Williamson proceeded to open the case for the Crown, and after a few general remarks on the features of the case, said the duty cast on the Crown was to prove that Veitch had been killed, and that he was killed by the accused, and in order to do this he would produce a number of witnesses, whose evidence would all tend to the one conclusion. No one saw the blows struck which caused the death of Mr. William Veitch; but a number of circumstances would point conclusively to the fact that they were struck by the accused. ,Mrs.; Patterson, wno acted as, housekeeper for Mr. Veitch, would tell them that, on the night of the assault, Mr. Veitch and herself were in the house together and at eight: o'clock someone from the outside called the: deceased out of the house. He went out, and she followed him, and after proceeding some , distance she heard some conversation, and then heard a number of blows Struck, and, on; proceeding to where the sounds came from,, she found Mr. Veitch lying on the ground half stunned, and bleeding from wounds onthe Jiead. She assisted him to the house,,, and next day he was by Dr.' Bewes, who would prove that he died fronv; the injuries he received. The prisoner was a; -farm labourer, and'-had worked for the deceased,'and was to return to work-again for' him, so that he had an opportunity of.; knowing; the ; customs': of the inmates and■the-': surroundings. A'* man' named Alfred' Rumble would tell them that a short; time after the assault was committed he met the "accused on the road, some distance from Veitch's house. He had his hand in a sling, and on being asked about it he said he had been at the Travellers' Rest' Hotel, some distance off, and had been fight- > ing with a gumdigger, and pointed out some • stains On his clothes, which he said were blood stains. The landlady of the hotel; would inform them that accused had not been at the hotel that day, nor had there been any fight or disturbance thei-e. Rumble asked accused what the time was, upon which ■accused gulled out a silver watch, by which he told him the time. They walked together for some distance, and atrain prisoner drew, out the watch and told him the time. It would be proved that Veitch hp.d his watch on him when he was called out, also a penny in his trousers' pocket; but when he was brought back wounded to the house both were missing. A man named- 5 Shaw met accused a short time before Rumble, so that there was ample proof that he was in th-e neighbourhood about the time of the assaulc. After parting with Shaw he went to the barn or hayloft, in which he usually slept.and on the day after his arrest a watch was found concealed near where he slept, wrapped up in some hay, and he denied all knowledge of it. It would be proved that this was the watch which had been worn by Mr. Veitch on the night he was attacked. Mr. Bain would tell them that he did not know that accused had been sleeping in his hayloft, but a boy who would be called would tell them that accused had been in the habit of sleeping there. These , were the facts which bo would have to lay j before the jury in support of the indictment. ; THE SCKN'K OF'TIHS OUTRAGE. Albert George Allom, surveyor, produced a set of plans which he had prepared for the purposes of this trial, showing Veitch's farm, the locality between V eitch's farm and Wairoa village, roads, etc., and locality of settlers' houses, etc. It was on a scale of 10 chains to tlie inch. The second plan showed Bain's shed and part of the adjoining neighbourhood on the farm. The third plan was a ground plan ot Veitch's house and land in vicinity, and also Veitch's house. They were all drawn to scale. He also prepared the copies of the plans produced. In answer to Mr. Napier, witness said that the distance between Veitch's farm and Bain's shed was 2& miles. The black bridge was marked on the plan, and its distance from Veitch's house by the ordinary route was 2?s miles. There was .also a small bridge over a"creek 2\ miles from Veitch's house and one on Veitch's property, but not on the road, about 440 feet from the house. The plans were put in evidence. MRS. PATTERSON'S NARRATIVE.

Agnes Patterson, an old lady, deposed that on the 23rd of March she was housekeeping for Mr. Veitch, Wairoa, and oi: the evening of that day, about eight o'clock, she heard; somebody outside the house calling him. There were then only Mr. Veitch and witness in the house. Mr. Veitch was between 70 and 80 years of age—about 70, she thought. The call from outside was, " I have n letter for you," and Mr, Veitch went to the verandad at the front of the house there and asked " Who is there and what do you want." Mr. Veitch went in and put on his shoes, and went out again. Witness;went with him half-way down the road, und heard two voices speaking. Ono was Veitch's, and he said " What do you want," and then she heard him cry "you're murdering me." She then heard five fearful smashes, aud thought it was a pistol, and becoming frightened she went no further, but changing her voice she called out to know what he was doing, and after waiting a few minutes went on across the bridge on Veitch'e property. She found Mr. Veitch lying on the ground with his face to the bush. She saw no one else there, although it was a moonlight night. Mr. Williamson was about to ask what was said, but Mr. Napier objected, and His Honor said when there was no other person present this could not be given in evidence. Mr. Williamson quoted some authorities to show'that such evidence could be received, and from Cox's criminal cases he quoted Cox v. Luney, a case similar to the present, in ! which the evidence of a girl who hud come up after deceased had been struck and robbed was admitted. His Honor said that none of those'cases applied. Mr. Napier said that in Taylor on evidence numerous cases, myriads almost, were quoted to the contrary. His Honor said he should not admit the evidence. Witness must toll what she saw not what was said. Witness said she saw Veitch bleeding from his head, nose, and mouth. She lifted him up and helped him home. He had all his clothes and hat on when ho went out, but when she got him home he had no hat, and this she found next morning, Ho called her attention when she got Mr., Veitch home to the fact that his trousers iwckets were turned out. He had hia watch on him when

he went out, but he missed it when he got back, and she noticed he had not it on him. It was one of Dawson's silver watches, but she did not pay much attention to it, and , could not identify it. Prisoner had worked for Mr. Veitch at the harvest, bringing oats in on regatta day, but he worked only one day, and he had his dinner, in Mr. Veitch's house in the front room on that day. In cross-examination by Mr. Napier, witness said it was eight o'clock when they left the house, and about a quarter past eight when they got back. It was not the habit of the deceased to change his clothes after he had tea. He carried his watch with him to work. On that morning he went out to work about daylight; he always went out early. Witness saw the watch lying on the table that morning, and he always put it in his pocket before he went out. She did not notice particularly that he had the wetch on him when he went out at night. The witness was examined as to how far she went after deceased before she stopped, and she pointed'out the position on the plan. Mr. Veitch was ahead of her, but she could see him. She lost sight of him at the slip panels where the bush was, and she found one rail down when she got there; and i% was because the bush obstructed her view that she lostsiirht of him. The witness, in reply to a question as to the distance between the house and the slip panels, said it only took a few minutes to walk there. When she got Mr. Veitch homo it was a quarter-past eight, and she washed his face and head; and next morning, some time in the forenoon, the doctor arrived. (This witness, who spoke in a very faint tone of voice, stood beside the Judge while she gave her evidence).

THE CAUSE OF DEAOII. Dr. Edward A. Bewcs, practising at Otahuhu, deposed that he knew Mr. Wm. Veitch. and visited him at his house on the 24th or March. He was suffering from wounds on the head, two incised wounds on the top of the skull, one on the back of tho skull on.the left side; both eyes were bruised, the left dy"o was completely closed, and there was bruising on the left teulple, and on both skies of,the upper and lower jaws, an abrasion on ■■•'the' left cheek caused by some rough instrument, and one on the outer side of the right arm. He could discover no internal injuries, but the last bone of the ring finger of the right hand was broken. All the wounds had been recently inflicted. Witness arrived about midday, when he made his examination, and the appearance of the wounds was consistent with their being inflicted by blows from a stick, and there must have been at least half-a-dozen blows inflicted. Witness again saw Veitch on the 28th and 29th, and not again alive afterwards. Ho made a post mortem examination on the. Ist of April in company with Dr. Carolan, and found no wounds! on the body other than those he had described. He examined the head and found clotted blood under the scalp iu the left temporal region, but no fracture. .On removing the skuil he found some coagulated blood, but the brain was otherwise healthy. The heart was rather small, but healthy. The bases of both lungs were congested, and the left lung was adherent to the ribs, but all the other organs of the body were perfectly healthy. He attributed.death to the failure of the heart's action, caused probably by the shock he had received from the injuries. He had lost a considerable amount of blood, and all his clothes were disfigured with blood. Deceased was about 75 years of age, but was a hale old man. In cross-examination witness said, from the first he considered the injuries likely to prove fatal, although ho had not seen him from the 24th to the 28th, but Dr. Carolan had attended him in tho interval on the 26th or 27th. On the 24th he thought the shock to the system would bo the cause of death. Witness was not present when deceased's depositions were taken. Witness advised that Veitch should be removed to the Auckland Hospital on the 28th, as he would get better nursing should any new symptoms arise, and he thought him sufficiently well to stand' the journey. Witness told Veitch he would recover all right if he progressed as he was doing. The only bones broken were the finger and the bones of the nose.

In reply to His Honor, the witness said that he had no doubt the injuries he saw on the 24th caused the death of Mr. Veitch a week after, and had it.not been for these injuries there was no reason why he should not be now alive. Dr. James Frederick Orolan. practising at Bombay, Great South Road, who visited deceased on the 27th March, and who subsequently assisted at the post-mortem, corroborated the testimony given by Dr. Bewes. The witness, who was present when the depositions of deceased were taken, was qrb-sa-examinecl by Mr. Napier as to what transpired, and the state of the deceased time. In re-examination, witness saidh'deceased recognised witness, Mr. Crawford, and Mr. Bell. He could see perfectly at the time, although one eyelid drooped. . THE DECEASED'S DEPOSITION. ;'- Daniel Crawford, a settler, at Wairoa South and a;justice of the peace, deposed that on the 30th of Maroh fast he was at Mr. Veitch's house at ten o'clock in the morning, having been summoned for, that time to toko down the depositions of William Veitch, who was in a critical position, and about to be removed to. the hospital. The doctors considered it necessary that his depositions should be taken, as he might die on the way. Witness was accompanied by. Mr. James Bell, another J.P. They went into the room where deceased was in bnd, and lie could sit up without assistance. He sometimes sat up and sometimes' lay down. The. accused was present. (In reply to His Honor witness said it was the hearing of an information.) The accused was charged wjth assaulting Mr. Veitoh, and the information was in writing. It was.the information of Constable McKnighb charging accused with assaulting and wounding arid robbing William Veitch .of a silver'watch and a penny. The charge was read over to the accused, and Mr. Veitch was sworn by Detective Chrystal, and asked to state what took place on Monday, the 23rd of March. He made a statement, which was taken down in writing. Mr. Williamson put in the depositions, and asked that they be read. Mr. Napier objected to their being received, and quoted section 165 of the Justices of the Peace Act, 1882, submitting that the conditions had not beencomnlio.d with, as they were taken on a charge ot assault and robbery, not on a charge or murder, and on the authorities he contended that they could not be admitted unless the indictment was for the identical charge heard before tho justice. He quoted an authority and the judgment of Mr. Recorder Greaves. A similar objection had been taken before Mr. Jnstice Gillies, who admitted a deposition as a statement, but commented on it. His Honor said he was inclined to think the decisions were in the other direction. Mr. Napier admitted that there was a conflict ; but the decision of Mr. Justice Gillies in the manslaughter case Rcgina v. Payefct, was a recent one. In this case the Grand Jury threw out the bill for murder on which the depositions wore taken. It was rejected by Mr.. Justice Gillies as a deposition, but was admitted as a statement. <■■ . His Honor said ho would not bo inclined to follow that ruling. Mr. Napier said the .rqiscjg, d'etre for the ruling was that the learned judge held that the prisoner had not sufficient opportunity for cross-examination. ' w

His Honor said he would take a note of the authorities, but probably ho should not decide the question that nixht. ' ■' ' Mr. Napier submitted that it was not a dying deposition,nor was -there anything to show that it was a judicial proceeding, or that the inquiry had been completed.

His Honor said a dying declaration could bo taken in the absence of the accused, but m this case the necessary formalities had been observed. In this case a dying declaration could not be taken, for the man collapsed suddenly next day.

Mr. Williamson replied to Mr. Napier's objections, and said the reason why Mr. Justice Gillies rejected the deposition in the case refci red to by Mr. Napier wad that the woman died almost with the pen in her hand, and that the accused had not the opportunity to cross-examine. He quoted a number of authorities to show that depositions taken under circumstances like this present were admissable us prisoner had full opportunity of cross-examination.

His Honor said it would bo necessary to give evidence that, the accused had full opportunity of cross-examination,' and if that was proved ho must admit the depositions.

Examination resumed; Witness said prisoner had full opportunity of asking questions. Detective Chrystaj asked him after Veitch had finished bin statement whether ho had any questions to ask. Prisoner made no reply, and witness then said to him " You are at liberty to ask any question you like. Yon need not necessarily do so unleaa you think fit." He made no reply, and witness a second time said, " You need not necessarily ask any questions, but if you think it to your advantage you may do ao. . The accused said in a low tone of voice, " What is the use of me asking any questions of that man in the state in which he is." Ho did not ask anything and the depositions were then read over and signed by Mr. Veitch. They were taken down partly by witness and partly by Detective Chrystaf. Hn had known Mr. Veitch for over 20 years, and lie recognised witness readily when he went into the room. Me could see out of the right eye, but tho left was closed from the effects of the blow he received. Ho saw him on the 25th, and he was cjuito unconscious. On the 27th lie again Haw him, and had a long conversation wibit him. Ho was perfectly conaciouH, and knew Constable MeKinght, the Hev. Mr. Norrio, and witness. On the

<$oth he was perfectly conscious, knew them all and all that transpired. There was plenty of light in the room to enable him to see, and his mind was quite clear. Witness thought he was Retting better, , and had; no idea his end was so near. Mr. Veitch identified the watch produced as his watch, and asked for the key* to wind-it up. There was also a nenny produced. . To Mr. Napier: Witness thought Mr. Veitch was getting better, but Dr. Carolan said that he had lost so much blood that he might die any minute. It took them a long time to take down the depositions as they did not wish to hurry him. He did not appear exhausted, and he got out of bed without assistance. ' The depositions of the deceased were then tendered in as evidence. # His Honor said they appeared to be in proper form, and each page was signed by both Justices and also by Veitch by hia mark. ■,-■■. ' , . , , ,' ■ ,' The depositions, which have already been published in full, were read by the Deputy Registrar. Deceased in them stated that he identified the accused as the man who struck him. He knew him by tho name of " Mexiby his-apjiearanee and voice. He had his watch and a penny when he was called out of the house, but he missed, the watch when Mrs. Patterson brought him back to the house, and he identified the watch produced as his property. . ,-n '' " In reply to Mr. Napier witness said Detective Chrystal first questioned the deceased; but Detective Chrystal asked witness to question the old man as he understood him best, and he (Chrystal) would take down the answers. During the whole time Veitch gave his answers he sat up, but when he wanted a rest they allowed him to lie down. He lay down onlv twice, and for about a minute at a time. He positively identified the accused as the man who assaulted him. Detc? tive Chrystal asked witness to ask him whether he had seen the man since the 23rd of March who had assaulted him. Witness put the question, and Mr. Veitch at once said; pointing to the prisoner, "That is him." When the accused was brought up to deceased's bed, Mr. Veitnh said to witness, quite excitedly, "Is that my man ?" Witness said it was not for him to say, and asked Mr. Veitch, " Who do you think it is?" and he replied, "I would say that is ' the Mexican." , Then the question of Detective Chrystal was put, and deceased's reply was, "Yes, that is him." Deceased did not say to witness, " I think thai; is the man. What do you think 1" Mr. Napier asked that Captain Crawford s depositions in the lower co'nrt should be read. This was done, and the deposition was put in evidence. Witness stated in his deposition that deceased said " I think that is my man," and he also said "that is my man, but he had not been asked in the lower court about the question put through witness by - Detective Chrystal. In re-examination, witness said he had no doubt that Mr. Veitch identified the accused as the mao who had assaulted him. Witness had known accused for six weeks iii the district previous to the assault as " Mexican," " Yankee Tom," " Wild West Tommy," and " Oyster Jack." The Court adjourned at six o clock until ten o'clock next inorninc;.