NOTES AND INCIDENTS OF THE CASE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3758, 18 October 1886, Page 3

NOTES AND INCIDENTS OF THE CASE.

* (Written specially, for the TisiAstr Hkbald.) The court opened promptly on Saturday morning at 10 o'clock. The aiteiiflnnee was eomewimt smaller than on preceding days, but tho gallery was well filled with a somewhat better class than has hitherto been tUe

I rulo. Despite tho frostiness of tho morning , at least three spring violols wero visible • among tho females, who occupied tho front , rows. Pownßtnir3 the Edits were more empty , tban usual, the few that were died being \ occupied by. the sterner sex. Tho first : witness put up on tho stand was Dr Hoge, , the surgeon of tho Timaru Gaol. Ho i gave his evidence m a straightforward, i manly way, satisfactory to all parties. His ; testimony as to Hall's condition of health i when first arrested again brought up the [ inevitable subject of the morphia habit to . which bo much attontion has been paid, i The phraso " poisoning by antimony" was I also brought up anew, and tho surgeon's 1 opinion as an expert on that subject was i taken. He said that the expression waß cor- , reel", and that what was actually meant would i be understood if two professional men were ; conversing on that subject, and the expression • under discussion were used. After the ; cross-examination, which with Mr Jovnt ; partook of the usual incisivo character, . the witnejs stepped down and was succeeded . by Dr Slai'poole.of Waimute. Although the i doctor himself hinted that advancing age had [ somcwlnit dulled his memory, m the witness I box ho decidedly showed no signs of waning , mental faculties. His evideuce wns clear, . straightforward, decided, and to the point, i and summarilj disposed of one point raisod m . favour of the prisoner "ouston. He distinctly ; denied having ever instructed her t> adminis- , ter the patient's medicines, and caused a i smile by alleging as a reason that he was too , well acquainted wUh the wnys and "feelings" i of nur6es to attempt to interfere. This little i innuendo, if it may bo so termed, seemed to , ticklo Mrs Mlison's fancy, for the old lady simply beamed with half-suppressed enjoyment [ of the little joke. Dr Stacpoole, who a« an , old resident of Canterbury, was familiar with the Hall family, tried somewhat to help the de- ■ fence by stating that Hull seemed much cut , up about his wife's illness, and that his dei nacanor was sticli as would naturally be cxi pected m a man who had just became a , father at the cost of much Buffering , to his wifo. Tho remainder of his , ovidenoo was mainly of a medical nature. . Mr Huwley, the Clerk of the Court of Timaru, followed Dr Hogg without producing r any appreciable change m tho situation, and '. Mr Kerr, of the South Canterbury Times, took i possession of the stand. Ho had heard the telephone incident— and deposed to it m all , its pa'ticularity. His evidence waß very clear , and precise, and gavo somewhat more informa- ; tiou on the subject of that conversation than . has hitherto been published. Following on m , the logical order adopted by the prosecution, , came the testimony of Mr Hibbard, the , grocer, and his clerk, m relation to the keroi seno bought by the prisoner, presumably . with the object of firing Woodlands for the i insurance, and to get him out of his variou? , messes. Mr Hib' ard's assistant, a small j boy, followed, whose precocities and know- , ledge of the conduct of affairs induced Mr l Joynt, m the cross examination, to let > him off very easily. Wilson, Hall's clerk, [ came next and told all he knew, which waß , not much, considering his opportunities of r knowledge. After this witness came tho t comparatively unimportant testimony of _ Forbes, who gave all the information ho knew . about tho rubbish found m the garret. . Wren followed suit, and did not alter , matters. Miss Jano Turnbull' the domestic , servant of the period, followed, and m tho j very inception of her evidence, showed that j she had a prejudice against the female prisob nor. If she only had hnd that cream m her , milk she would have been BatisGed, but that was evidently what throw her out, and 3 when Mr Joynt asked her directly, she was unable to deny the impeachment. That settled it apparently with tho jury. Mary Uassen's evidence was Intoned to with great interest, some startling revelations being 3 evidently expected by tho gallery, Although . not a teetotaller — for she drank' a bumper to 3 the health of the baby- when it was rhristf ened — Miss HasEen's general appearance r would not lead one to believe that she was m 9 the habit, of visiting her master's spirit des canters. She indignantly repelled tho soft , insinuations mildly hinted by Mr Joynt, that she " put her lips to it when so dispojjed," I and quoted a list of well-known limoru . people whom 6be had served, ftnd who, presumably, would give her tho usual " chart actor " for honesty and sobriety. In speaking , of the prisoners, Sfnry led the public slightly , behind tho scenes m the Hall mentge. Itapr pears that the establishment did not boast a ladies' maid, ;and tlmt, on one occasion at [ least, according to the witness, the male pri- [. soncr did not disdain to assist Miss Houston 1 m the mysteries of the toilet. As, unfortuj nntely, there wero no lady stenographers at . the reporters' table to explain the s e mysteries, [ I am unable to enlarge upon them. Mary, 1 however, described the process as " fastening t her stays," but what "stays" are, or how j u?eH, or why fastened, thero was no evidence ,- to show. With respect to the oysters which I had so disastrous an effect on Mrs Hnll, the . witness said that she had eaten some from the t same lot, and they lid her no harm. Her i other evidence was m favour of the proseoui tion. : The Attorney-Geneiiil has only a few more i witnesses to call for the Crown, and m all pro- » bability, tho ca?o for the prosecution will be ■ finished today, and tiie defence begun. It is 7 not anticipated that tho evidence for the ac--3 eu»ed will be very lengthy, and it is likely that ■ a few more days will see the caso ended, [ , .