Was Stanley Griffiths Man or Woman?

NZ Truth, Issue 1168, 19 April 1928, Page 5

Was Stanley Griffiths Man or Woman?

The solicitor turned to the coroner. "I would like your worship to include this. That documents found on the body of the deceased, and purporting to be m deceased's handwriting, were handed to witness by me with the request that he peruse them and state whether they are copies or not, and that 'he refuses to answer on the grounds that he might incriminate himself by his answer. Also that the coroner rules that I cannot press' the question." The scratching of the coroner's pen as he wrote was the only thing that disturbed the silence of the court for several minutes. Then the solicitor turned quickly to Hando. Lawyer Abigail: Did you know your father and mother had gone to Victoria to see Mrs. Griffiths after Stanley had left your father's service? — Yes. Did you know that the object of their visit was to have Stanley Griffiths operated on m Bendigo? Lawyer Kelly again rose quickly to object. "Very well," said Lawyer Abigail, curtly. "I'll put it this way — that when Stanley Griffiths wanted this man to marry him he slew him." Lawyer Kelly: I protest, your worslii p.

These questions are only being asked with the purpose of 'disparaging the witness. The coroner: I will not allow any question that is merely calculated to harass and embarrass the witness. Lawyer Abigail: I put it to him for this purpose — that deceased came back and asked him to do the honorable thing by him and marry him, that Griffiths believed himself to .be m a certain condition at the time, and that this witness, fearful of the consequences of his association with him, might have desired his destruction,' so that he could not tell.

Lawyer Kelly quoted the Evidence Amendment Act, 1922, and reminded Coroner Yeo that he had absolute power to refuse to allow any questions whatever to be asked, and there could be no appeal from his ruling. Lawyer Abigail: I ask your worship to use your discretion with care. I recognize that your worship had absolute power, but I also recognize that your worship is a judicial officer and will not forget the oath of your appointment. However, I shall approach the matter from another angle. It is very important what conversation took place between these two m the stable before the shot was fired. To Hando: Before Griffiths fired the first shot at you, did he not say, "I am m a certain condition and want you to do the right thing by me and marry me?" — No. Did you notice that he was wearing gloves? — No. Didn't you feel the glove on his firing wrist when you caught hold of it? — I don't remember. Do you say that after you got the wound m the head you remember nothing else? — No, I don't remember anything clearly. This finished the

cross-examination of Charles Hando and counsel asked for William Hando, the father, to be recalled. "About a month after Griffiths had left, did you and your wife and Charles go to Beaufort to Mrs. Griffiths' house?" the solicitor asked. "No,"' replied Hando, senior; "we met her m the street." "Did Mrs. Hando say to Mrs. Griffiths, 'Stanley is m a certain condition'?" The question was disallowed. Lawyer Kelly and the coroner again voiced remonstrance at the tone of the questioning.