THE RAMSAY-CAIRNS CASE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12604, 6 March 1903, Page 7

THE RAMSAY-CAIRNS CASE.

ii PUETpER EVIDENCE FOE THE ig PROSECUTION, ' Ilearuig oi the charge against Thomas Rare lo say and John Cairas of having, oil February 1( lo at Dunedin, assaulted with violence and robbci e, Thomas Re-id of £235, was resumed at the Polie l t Court yesterday afternoon before Mr C. C I Gralifiia, S.K. Mr Frnser appeared to pro • B secute, Mr Hanlon for Ramsay, and Mr Invii h for Cairns. j- Thomas Porter, carter, in the employ o d Holgate and Aiichison, South Yogel street, de d posed thai on the afternoon of February H l " ho saw a horse and cart bring driven towaidi y Anderson's Bay road, a little on tho sontl side of the Overbridge in Vogel street, aboui 3 o'clock. The horse was galloping. There wai '■ only one man on the sKti of the cart. H< 0 could not see into it. He identified the hcrsi and cart shortly afterwards at the police sta- •" tion. Ho could give a good idea, of the man driving the cart, but could not swear to him ? again. He would take tho accused Ramsay to 1 bo the man. The cart pulled up opposite his firm'? stable, on a vacant section, and the " driver left the horse and cart there. Afict leading the cart he went very hurriedly across to the-railway, and lie lost sight of him. It was two a.nd a-quarter hours before the horse started to go away of its own accord. To Mr Hanlon: Ho took the time from the [ clock as he was coming past the Triangle at " 10 minutes to 3. Tho man was driving too fast for witness to got u goo 3 look at nim. His coat was on the dark side, and he had a- feit , bat with the rim pulled down nil round. Ho ; got a glance at tko mail's face as he came along. He did not identify tho man nt tho , police station, though taken there to do to. William Galvin, fish-curer, residing in King t street, gave evidence that on February 1G he , was. working on tho Reclaimed ground in Stuart street, at Hewitt's fish-curing works. A little after 2 o'clock he saw a. horse and oarfc come round tho corner by Waghorn's into . Stuart street. Two men were in it. He had . seen one of the men since, Cairns. Cairns was | driving the cart. "Witness did not notice the other man much, but his face was clean. He had since identified the horse and cart at the police str.tion. To Mr Irwin: He was on the right-hand side of.iho road. He was standing talking to a friend at the time, and did not take particular notice of the cart and occupants. His attention was attracted more to the cart than to the driver. The horse was of a. dark colour, and like the one ho saw nt the polioe station. The driver of tha cart had oil a- light coat and black hat. He had met tho 1,50 train, so was sure that it was between 2 o'clock and 2,15 that ho saw the cart. Witness was prepared to swear Cairns was the man he saw in the cart. If a clergyman were to swear that a.t that time Cairns was with him, he would still swear ho was the man in the cart. He identified one of tho men at the police station. There was another man in tho line with a dark moustache. Witness knew him. _ To the Magistrate: He noticed no man in tho lino with handcuffs or gaol slippers on. Bavid Crichton, express-driver, in the employ of Crust and Crust, deposed that on the afternoon of February 1G he was at Sargood's factory, Richardson street, about 3 o'clock. He was engaged in taking boots from the factory to tho warehouse. Ho came down Richardson street on his way to the warehouse, and saw a man and a cart coming towards the factory at a. slow jog-trot. Another man was on the footpath. He passed him about the centre of tho ' iron fence, and lie was walking towards tho : factory. He noticed that tho man walking had j his" face blackened, and had under his arm a : sack containing something about three feet long—what he could not say. Witness, spoke to th-e man on the footpath, and passed tho timo of day. Ho looked as if he had been , working, his face was that, black. The man j only smiled in reply. Witness thought the face familiar, but- could not recognise it. After j passing witness the man in the cart turned the horse, keeping the same pace, and the! other rushed over to some docks, picked up something that appeared red, and threw it into the cart. He then jumned into the cart himself from tho back, took tho reins from the other man, and set off as hard as ever the horse could go. They turned Tound the comer by the railway station towards Stuart street, ami witness lost sight of them. He had since identified the horse and cert nt the police stat'ou, Ho could not swear to the identity of the men. The one in the cart had a slouch hat drawn over his face, and lie could not identify him, nor the other, who had his face blackened, and who he thought about the stamp of Cairns. Witness failed-to identify the two accuscd at the police station. The object thrown into the cart was a foot to 18 inchcs long. To Mr Hanlon: It was 3 o'clock, or perhaps a little before, when he went to the "factory, and it would, be 10 to 15 minutes later when he was coming away. He was pretty certain about the time. A couple of minutes would ■if'ke him from the factory to where he saw the men. To Mr Trivfn: Ro knew Chut 1 * previously, but could not identify him as the man that was there that day. Walter Staples, labourer, said he was working in Tewsley street on February 16, close by Sargood's factory. About ,1 o'clock he saw

n. cart ond horse come round the corner of Howard street at a trot. The horse was " going for all he had in him," and the trap went round towards tho wharf and up Eatay street. Just as they turned round the cornel one man seemed to disappear into the bottom of tho cart. He next saw the horse and cart with Detective Hill, and identified tidra. The first time he was taken to identify g man was in the Police Court. Witness thought ho was much like one of tho men he saw in the cart, 1 but he would not swear to him on accnimt of! only having seen liim once. Tlie man he now i Tnerrcd to was the prisoner Bnmsay. A day | or to afterwards ho went to the police station, i where about sir: or seven men were shown to / him in the yard. He stopped opnosite a man second from the end of tho line, whom lie j bslioved to bo the mail who was in the cart, i This was the accused Cairns. j Cross-examined by Mr Hanlon: When witness was ashed to look at Ramsay the latter was in the dock in the Police Court. Witness said in his belief he was like the man, but ho would ' not swear to it. When the cart went past him ' he thought the men were " "bickered," and ho c.allcd out, "Let heT go, Gallagher," but they 1 did not reply. He did not get a good enough j look at the men to swear to them nga ill. • By llr Irwin: Detective Hilt asked him to and pick out the second man, and witness said lie would pick out tho man who would most nearly resemble him. j Re-examined: If there was no doubt in his mind he would swear to the men. He picked tliem out because they resembled tho men in the cart. If he was certain tlicy were the men who passed him in the cart he would swear to - them. ! Ogicr Densoin, employed by the I\ T ew Zea- - land Express Company, said he was in Rattray street on February 16, near the railway signal box, between 3 and 4 o'clock, when he noticed a horse and cart coming along about as fast as t-hrs horso could go. He only noticed ono man in the cart, which turned round into Cumberland street. He had since identified tho horso and cart, and had picked on Ramsay as resembling tho man who was driving the cart. Ho would not positively swear to him. His face -was smeared over witk something black when he passed vitness. The time was , veTy near a quarter post 3. j By Mr Hanlon: Witness would not swear ' whether Ba-iusay was shaved or not. Tho mail's ' face was blackened when ho passed witness, and that was why he conld not swear to him. Agnes Goosem.ui, living in Howard street, ; said that the frout room of her house abutted the street. She was sitting ill the front room 1 wailing for the doctor on Hie afternoon of tho 1 ]6lh February. She heard a trap coming up Howard street and going down towards tho ■ wharf. She drew the curtain aside, and saw 1 the trau pa3s with two men in it. The horse 1 was galloping. A man in light clothes was 1 driving, and the accused Ramsny looked like 1 the man who was driving. i By Mr Hanlon: The cart wont past at such 1 a rate that she looked after it. She thought ' tho men must be drunk. The man who was ' driving had whiskers, but she could not say ! what colour. 1 At this stage the court adjourned till next morning. t