Supreme Court.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 484, 4 December 1869, Page 2

Supreme Court.

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. (Tfrforc Mr Jusiic Gresson and a Common Jury.) •■■■ The following is the remainder of the evidence taken yesterday : — Godfrcy—Cross-cxiiinincd by Mr Williams : i told ber tliat in t'.e afternoon, not after she roturued from the back yard. I didn't say tstttyllihsg to Mary Ann Walter after Mrs ji«vyth's death. Maggie Burns, the former /.r/rviuit girl, was the person who cut Mrs jjiuiyth adrift in the cellar, .she went down for some cabbages as an excuse. I was theu .hi. the dining-room. I couldn't see into the '.jf-.'Har from there. She took the knife down Vo tfic cellar, and told me afterwards that «he had cut Mrs Smyth adrift. I luve cut "AJrs Smyth adrift three or four times. I advised her to take proceedings against Smyth, but she said she would not do so on Recount of the children. I never interfered pfelwcen them further than I have stated, «i':imely, by cutting her adrift. I never took any measures to put a stop to the prisoner's ill-treatment. Plenty of people knew of it. J. was the only man in the house when Mrs Sniyth was dragged down by the hair of the head. She moaned. It is 10 months ago *ince I flrst saw tlie prisoner commit acts of •wiolence towards hia wife. I heard the prisoner tell Mra Smyth that she had been drinking on Saturday, Nov. 6. I was in the fcitchen at the time, and they were in the . room overhead. Screaming for assistance cculd easily hay« been heard out ia the direct. I don't think that I was helping the prisoner at all in ill-treating his wife. I fcwear I did not cut the piece of stick (the gag) off the top of a broom handle. I did not see it until a week before the day of Mrs Smyth's death. I am not sure whether*

I told Dr Rouse about her falling down tbe stairs or not. If I said anything to him it was about her falling down the stairs. I don't recollect corroborating anything that the prisoner said to Dr Rouse* about her being drunk. Re-examined by Mr Duncan : It was Maggie Burns whose clothes Mrs Smyth seized on one occasion to save herself being dragged downstairs into tbe kitchen. Mrs Smyth said that she had not been drinking, when she was accused by the prisoner on Saturday, November 6. I heard her answer. { Mary Ann Walter : lam the daughter of George Walter, of Lyttelt-n. Iv the begin- ; ning of last month, I went into the service of the prisoner at the Railway Hotel. I went into his service on a Thursday. Mr Smyth j left for Christchurch on the following Saturday morning, by the nine o'clock train. He put Mrs Smyth in charge of the house. I did not hear him speak of any particular room. I did not hear him tell her anything about the bar. She was sober at the time he •left for Christchurch. Smyth returned by the half-past 12 train. Mrs Smyth took charge of the house and bar up to that time. I was in the '* private room " behind the bar when Smyth returned. Mrs Smyth was in the bar. I dou't know by which door Smyth entered. There are three doors — one leading into the house by the back, one leading along the private room, and one leading into the bar. He did not come in by either of the two first-named entrances. Thor ? is a door leading from the bar into the private room. It was partly opan when Smyth returned. When Smyth entered by the bar door he accused Mrs Smyth of having been drinking. She said she had not been drinking, lie then pushed her from the bar into the room where 1 was sitting. I went down into the kitchen. When I got down, I heard some one fall at the top of the stairs. I heard no other sound besides the fall. I heard no one else besides her at the head of the stairs. I didn't hear anything after tbc fall until Mrs Smyth came down into the kitchen. That was about an hour afterwards. 1 didn't hear anything until Mrs Smyth fell : nto the kitcheu. I heard Smyth walking about upstairs after she fe'l down. Before Mrs Smyth fell downstairs, I heard a noise as if somebody were walking about the top of the stairs. After she fell down I went into the backyard and stayed there about a quarter of an hour ; I then returned into the kitchen. I don't remember whether anybody was there when I returned. I next saw Mrs Smyth in the private room upstairs. After her fall I saw her in a room above the private room, or parlour, brushing her hair. That wa3 about a quarler-pa3t 4 o'clock. I saw her sitting in the parlour after that. I saw her sewing in the parlour about 3 o'clock. It was after that I saw her brushing her hair. That was the last time I saw her alive. After seeing her brushing her hair I returned to the parlour. I mvt Mr Smyth! going up3tairs as I came down. I heard a noise soon after he had gone up like some- 1 body scraping feet on the ground, and drawing about feet. I didn't hear any other sound. The noise cams from one of the upper rooms. I didn't see anybody but my father in the bar at the tini2 I h.ard the scraping of feet. I heard my name called to come upstairs a little before five o'clock. I went up ; a man called out to me to fetch some brandy. I got the brandy and took it into the bedroom, where were Mr Smyth and Mrs Smyth, and j Tom Godfrey,- the cook. I gave the brandy to Mr Smyth, and he told me to go for the doctor. 1 went for Dr Rouse, who came to the house immediately. When I went into the bedroom, Mrs Smyth was sitting up between Mr Smyth's knees. It was after Mrs Smyth fell downstairs that I heard the noise at the top. [This answer is exactly the contrary of that given at a previous part of the exnmination.] It was a few minutes after Mrs Smyth fell down.stairs that I heard the noise at the top. Cross-examined by Mr Williams : I had not heard any quarrelling between Smyth and his wife before the Saturday in question. I went into their service at nine o'clock on the Thursday morning previous. Nobody has spokeu to me since the irquest about Mrs Smyth being drunk. It was entirely of my own accord that I went before the Resident Magistrate to correct the statement 1 bad made at the inquest. Before tbe Coroner I said that Mrs Smyth was drunk on the Saturday. She was quite sober. I said she was drunk because I was so conf jsed that I did not know what I was saying. When sitting I in the parlour, sewing, at three o'clock in the afternoon, Mrs Smyth was perfectly collected and steady. I had the child in my arms when I went into the back yard. Tom Godfrey told me to go out. I remained out about a quarter pf au hour. I heard no screams before or after I saw Mrs Smyth sewing in the parlour. She was sitting down sewing quite quietly. It was very soon after I saw Mrs Smyth lying in the kitchen that I went into the backyard. I did not see Smyth pull Mrs Smyth down by the hair of the head. Ido not believe that I had any conversation with Godfrey after Mrs Smyth died. Tom Godfrey told me on my return from tho yard that he had to kneel on Mrs Smyth's stomach to keep her down, or sho would have broken all the dishes. I am quite sure of tliat. I heard no screams or moans come from Mrs Smyth, I am quite sure that Smyth didn't pull his wife down by the hair of the head while I was in the kitchen. By his Honor: He could not have done so without my seeing him. By Mr Williams : If Mrs Smyth had screamed or moaned, I think that people outside would have heard her. I could not have helped hearing it where I was. Smyth, on his return from Christchurch did not say to Mrs Smyth " You are drunk again." He said she had been drinking. By Mr Duncan : I might have mistaken what Godfrey said to me. I didn't hear him very distinctly. I might have mistaken his saying that he had to go on his hands and knees to cut her adrift, for what I have

stated, namely, that he had to kneel on her stomach. By Mr Williams (through the Court): I heard Godfrey mention dishes. I cannot recollect what I said to the Coroner. I mentioned the dishes to the Coroner. By bis Honor: He must have told me about the dishes the day before. He did not say what day he was afraid the dishes would be broken. I think it was on a Friday — ou the day before Mrs Smyth died, that Godfrey spoke to me about the dishes. lam not confused now. George Walter: I am the father of the last witness. I was at the Railway Hotel at 1 1 o'clock on Saturday, the 6th November. I saw Mrs Smyth then. She was perfectly sober. She was sitting behind the bar. I remained about five minutes at that time and left. I returned to the hotel at a little after 3 in the afternoon. I went into the bar. The prisoner was there. The door leading from the bar to the parlour was shut. The door was partly of glaß3. The curtain was up part of the way. I could see into the parlour. I saw Mrs Smyth sitting in a chair in a corner of that room, up against the wall. I didn't see how she was employed. Smyth weut into the little room where Mrs Smyth was sitting. I didn't hear either of them say a word. He came out from the parlour to the bar. He then went towards a shelf in the bar upon which were some bottles. He took down a rope, and went into the little parlour with it. He remained there a little time, and came out again into the bar. He went to where Mrs Smyth was sitting on going into the parlour the second time. When he came into the bar again, he drew half a tumbler of what appeared to be brandy from a cask on the shelf, tie then went into the parlour towards Mrs Smyth. She was then sitting at the stairs with her arm, as it appeared to me, leaning on the stairs. He appeared as if he were giving the brandy to Mrs Smyth. I could | not see distinctly what he was doing, because his back was between me and Mrs Smyih. I don't know what he did with the tumbler. He didn't brin_j it back. After apparently giving Mrs Smyth tbe brandy, I saw Smyth going up the stairs. I did not see Mrs Smyth then or after. Soon after I saw my daughter — about half-an-hour or three-quarters of an hour. Before Smyth went upstairs, and before and after he went into tbe parlour with the brandy, I heard something like a gurgling noise as if Mrs Smyth tried to speak and could not. I heard the gurgling noise on both occasions that Smyth went into the parlour. I saw prisoner again in the bar about five or ten minutes after he had gone upstairs. He came down into the bar. I never saw Mrs Smyth after seeing her at the foot of the stairs. When Smyth returned to the bar, he asked me to get out an empty cask, and put a full one in its place. I helped him to do so, and then left, leaving Smyth helping two men at the bar. I returned iv a few minutes from Mr Merson's. Mr Smyth was not then in the bar. I waited a few minutes. My daughter came running i down frightened, and asked for some brandy. She drew some brandy in a tumbler, and took it upstairs. A little over half-an-hour elapsed from the time at which I saw tho prisoner go upstairs and that at which my daughter came down for tlie brandy. I c-in-:not say what state Mrs Smyth was in when I saw her sitting in the parlour. I have seen the prisoner ill-use his wife. I have seen him tie her up aud beat her with a rope more than once ; I would say four or five times, sometimes upstairs, and sometimes down in the cellar. Cross-examined by Mr Williams.: My daughter was living with me before she went to live in the prisoner's house. When I say that I heard a gurgling noise, it did not appear to me that Mrs Smyth was in a fit. It seemed to me as if she was trying to speak and could not utter the words. I didn't think for a moment that the gurgling noise was the result of violence. If it had appeared to me that if&vas the result of violence, I would not have sat quietly by. The noise was similar to that whicli would be produced by a person taking a " gulp " of brandy, and then trying to speak. It might have been produced by Mrs Symth taking the brandy in that way and trying to speak. I recollect EHzabeth Arthur entering the bar by another door when I was there. She asked me where Mr Smyth was, and I told her I didn't know, but that I supposed he was up stairs. It was close upon four, or it might have been after four, when Mrs M' Arthur came into the bar. Up to the time of her coming in, I had heard no noise except tlie gurgling. I have known the Railway Hotel since Mr Smyth first opened it, over a year ago. If a person had been crying out " murder " or " mercy," or for help in that liouse at the time I speak of, I must have heard it. I couldn't but hear it. The further hearing of the case was adjourned until ten o'clock this (Saturday) morning. There are five or six witnesses yet to be examined on the part of the Crown. A large crowd assembled in front of the Court to see the prisoner as he came out. I . this, however, they were disappointed, the warders having taken Smyth out by the back entrance, and along Cambridge terrace to the lock-up in Hereford street. The jury were of course locked up for the night in the room set apart for their accommodation. This Day. WIFE 31 U:. DEE. The trial of John Smyth, for the murder of his wife, was resumed at ten o'clock this morning. Elizibeth Arthur : I am a shopkeeper in Lyttelton. My shop is within two doors of the Railway Hotel. I remember Saturday, the 6th of November last. I was standing under the lamp at the Railway Hotel about ten minutes to 4 p.m. on that day. I heard cries of " Mer y," and " What shall I do ? " I recognised the voice to be that of Mrs Smyth. I am quite sure of that. I was familiar with her voice. The voice came from a room above the lamp, in the upper part of the Railway hotel. The window was fronti: g the Albion Hotel. You could see

both London and Canterbury streets from the window of the room from which the voice came. The room was above the bar. I felt very unhappy. I went back to ray shop, stopped there for about five minutes, and then went to the bar of the Railway Hotel. | All the doors inside were fastened except the bar doors. The two doors leading to the bar from the street were open. Those leading from the bar into the rooms were fastened. There was no one in the bar except Mr Walter when I went in. I said " Oh, Walter, what is up ? " I heard moans beside the cries of "Mercy," and "What will I do?" I left the bar. I returned to the hotel a little before 5 o'clock. I then heard a noise as if of stamping of feet from the same room. I fancied I heard Mrs Smyth moaning again, just as before. The moans were rather weaker than before. I could tell the voice distinctly. It was that of Mrs Smyth. I think I used the words " I fancied tbey (the moana) were Mrs Smyth's." I heard no distinct, articulate sounds on that occasion. I had known Smyth and his wife 14 or 15 months. They always quarrelled. I used to hear it and see it Cross-examined by Mr Williams .- I was at the Railway Hotel once or twice a-day for change. Sometimes I got a glass of beer when I felt thirsty. I could get anything I liked there for money. I have got brandy and gin there. I have sent for it for my husband, who was fond of it. I have had a drop myself now and again. I had a glass of beeron Saturday, Nov. 6. I didn't go into Mrs Cannell's house to get a drink. Walter wa3 very quiet when I went into the bar. I said " Oh, Walter, what is up ? " He merely put the paper which he was reading to one side, and nodded his head. Elizabeth Jane Graham, a?ed 13, deposed : I was in tbe service of Mrs C .nnell on Saturday, the 6th November last. I know the Railway Hotel, Lyttelton. Mrs Cannell's house is two doors from it. I was in the backyard of Mrs Cannell's liouse soon after 12 o'clock on Saturday, the 6th November. I heard Mrs Smyth screaming. The sound came from the room above the cellar. I heard Mrs Smyth saying" Mercy." I heard no other sounds. Cross-examined hy Mr Williams: I never was in the cellar or the room above. I thought the noise came from the room above the cellar. Nobody told me that the room was ( above the cellar. I couldn't swear that it was Mrs Smyth who screamed. I heard a scream. There are two buildings between Mrs Cannell's backyard and the Railway Hotel. A little boy was in the yard with me at the time I heard the scream. I was blickleading a fender at the time. I first mentioned that I had heard a scream to Mrs Cannell. It was not Mrs Cannell who suggested that the sound came from the room above the cellar. I told Mrs Cannell that I thought the scream came from the room above the cellar. Louisa Cannell: I am the wife of Edward Thos. Cannell, Lyttelton. I know the Hailway Hotel. I live next door but one to it. I was in the backyard of my house on Saturday, the 6th November. My yard is close to the back of the hotel. I think it was between ten and five minutes to one o'clock in the afternoon when I was there. I heard one groan. It seemed to me to come from a person exhausted. It was a female voice. I urn quite sure of this. The groan appeared to me to come from the kitchen of the Railway Hotel. I thought the voice was Mrs Smyth's. I had not seen her that day. I heard nothing but tbe groan. I have known Mrs and Mr Smyth for about eighteen months. I have heard them quarrelling several times. She came once to my house in her nightdress, and with her hands tied behind with a rope. That was about half-past seven in the morning. It was abjut four months ago — in the winter. She seemed quite sober. Cross-examined by Mr Williams : I was not in the habit of seeing Mrs Smyth very often. 1 can't say that I have ever seen her but sober. I might have seen her when I thought she might have taken a little. She has had half a pint of beer to drink at my house; never more. I have smelt drink upon her. I cannot say what kind of drink it was. The deceased was buying things out of the shop when I smelt her breath. I recollect prisoner coming to my house to fetch Mrs Smyth home. It was about half-past eight o'clock in the evening when he came for her. She had no drink in my house. lam sure of that. She came and bought two cotton dresses, and was in the shop five or ten minutes. It was out of the shop that the prisoner fetched her. She has never had more than one glass of beer in my house at a time. She had been in my parlour just after she came in, and before she bought the dresses. The prisoner was not in the private room at all. I was up in my bedroom ill, and the deceased asked me to come down nnd serve her with the dresses. I did so. There was no drink in the parlour or beer on the table. . This took place about a fortnight before the 6th November. If she was in the private room, she was waiting for me until I came from my bedroom. I think Mrs Smyth went away with the prisoner directly he came in. He never before fetched her from my liouse. I don't recollect Smyth saying anything to Mrs Smyth about her being out. I am quite sure he didn't. I think he said she was wan ted at home. She then followed him out without another word. Smyth has asked me not to give his wife any drink. I had not been giving her drink at my house. I never sold her any. Never gave her any spirits ; only a glass of beer. I don't sell spirits; I am quite sure of that. .Smyth did not say to his wife, " You are here drinking again." lie only said that she was wanted at home. Mr Williams: You still stick to that? Witness: Yes. Mr Williams : On your oath ? Witness: On ray oath. (Laughter.) Richard Milsom : lama soda water manufacturer, in Lyttelton. I know the Railway Hotel. I remember Saturday, the 6th Nov. I called at the Railway Hotel on business at 10 a.m. on the 6th Nov. I saw Mrs Smyth in the bar. She was then sober, in my

opinion. I returned to the hotel about halfpast 12 the same day, to deliver orders. Mrs Smyth was then in the small room off the bar. She came out to receive delivery of the goods I took to the hotel. She was then sober. The prisoner came in whilst I was there. When he came in Mrs Smyth was coming out from the little room into the bar. He met her. I delivered the goods and left directly. I saw nothing more than his meeting her. Cross-examined by Mr Williams : The mid-day train comes in from Christchurch about 25 or 30 minutes past 12. When I saw Mrs Smyth, about 10 o'clock, she was working in the bar, wiping glasses, or something of that kind. When I went in again, at halfpast 12, there appeared to me to be no difference in Mrs Smyth. I saw no signs of her having been bruised at that time. I only presumed that Mr Smyth had come in from Christchurch. Mrs Smyth told me in the morning that he had gone over to Christchurch to see the brewer, and also to leave what goods I thought they would want. It would take a person about three minutes to walk from the Railway station to the RailwayHotel. „ Eliza Rossiter: Myself and husband live next door to the Railway Hotel. I have known Mr and Mrs Smyth about eighteen months. They did aot live on happy terms together. I have heard them frequently quarrelling from my own house, but never knew the nature of their quarrels. I have seen Mrs Smyth in her own house. She came into my liouse one Sunday morning, and I went back with her into her house. Prisoner and she were quarrelling that morning. She was neither drunk nor exactly sober; I could see that she had been drinking. She knew what she was about, I should say. Her hair was down. This was before dinner, on a Sunday. She came running up my backstairs. I was reading in a room off the shop. This happened about six or seven weeks before her death. Mr Smyth came into my house after her, and accused her of being drunk that morning; he told me to turn her out, that he ha-*, to put her to bed drunk at ten o'clock that morning. He cautioned her not to come in to annoy us quiet people— -(those were the words he used) — and he asked her to go back to her own house, but she wouldn't. She said Mr Smyth was goiug to put her into the cellar. I tried to persuade her to go home. She caught hold of my husband. Mr Smyth went to take her away. He tried to reach across the table to her, but she kept back, and he did not reach her. I begged of Mr Smyth, as it was Sunday, to go back to his own place, and I would persuade her to go in. He then went away without her. After he was gone I induced her to go back to her own house. I went with her. I brought her upstairs to her bedroom. Prisoner ctnie up after her. He was speaking to her and me of the lot of trouble he had. Mie said to him she would not go down into the cellar. He said he would not take her there if she would be quiet. I stopped with her for about half-an-hour. I then left. Prisoner was with ber during nearly the whole of the half hour. I don't recollect any other occasion on which I saw the prisoner and his wife together. I heard noises several times — shrieks and cries sometimes in a female voice. I spoke of them on several occasions to the prisoner, and sail that I f iared they would end in something bad. Supposing I were under the impression that they were living happily together, I would have recognised the voice as Mrs Smyth's. "I always thought that their quarrelling would end in something not right, she was so of ten in liquor, and they always quarrelling. When 1 saHto Smyth that I thought something bad would come from their quarrelling, I meant that hia trade would go, and that some trouble would happen to him as well. On Sunday evening, Mrs Smyth came round to the side door of our house, and knocked for admittance. We opened the door, and let her in. Her hands were then tied behind her back, and her hair was all hanging down. I have seen both her eyes . very, black about a couple of months before her death. I don't recollect any other occasion on which I saw her with bruises. Cross-examined by Mr Williams : The stairs leading from the parlour to deceased's bedroom are pretty steep. I had not to help her upstairs ; she walked up. I could see that she was not sober on the Sunday, hut she walked steady. When she came back to my iiouse in the evening of the same day, she was sober. She said she had been asleep, and her hair was all hanging in disorder. I said to her " Mrs Smyth, you look like a mad woman." I have not been accustomed to seeing people in delirium tremens. I • wish to qualify my F rev i° Uß answer by now saying that she appeared to be suffering from drink. I never saw her in a fit. I have heard Mr Smyth say that she was subject to fits. I have recommended Smyth to apply for her admission to the Lunatic Asylum, as I thought that she was not right in her head. I have told Smyth that by their quarrelling he might lose his license and his trade, and might hit her an unfortunate blow. I was in Christchurch on November 6. When we were in the bedroom together on the Sunday, she was sitting on the bed. She told me that the prisoner had been ill-using her. Prisoner said she had been drinking, and pulled out a paper from a box, saying that she had sworn to take the pledge, and had broken her oath, and that he could trust her no more. He shewed me the paper. I read a portion of it. She saw him shew me the paper. She said nothing then about her having taken an oath to keep the pledge. James Swindell: I resided two years in Lyttelton, and am now living in Christchurch. I left Lyttelton two months ago. I knew the prisoner and Mrs Smyth fpr about IS or 16 months. I had frequent opportunity of seeing Mrs Smyth. I saw her seven and eight times a week, sometimes more and sometimes less. She was invariably sober. I have never seen her the worse for liquor. She may have had a glass, but I have never seen her the worse for it. I remember passing the railway Hotel on one night nearly

four months ago, between 12 and 1 o'clock, I saw Mrs Smyth lying outside, the gate of the house, in the street. She had on, so far as I could see, chemise, bedgown, and frock. She was in an excited state, with her hair over her face. She appeared to have been drinking, but was not drunk. Her words were distinct. I asked ber if she would go home with me to my house, which was about six; doors from the Railway Hotel, as I did not like to see the mother of a family out in the street at that time of night. She went with me as far as my sate. She walked steadily. She said she would not go further, as she was afraid of the prisoner. lam not a married man. My sister lived with me at tbe time. Mrs Smvth turned to go home, and I went back with her. I took her to tbe side-door of her bouse, and prisoner came out. He asked me what I had been doing with his wife. I made a reply to him that he waa no man to knock his wife about as he had done. She had shewn me her leg. He said that if I didn't go away, he would kick my (Laughter.) I did not go away at once. I asked him to do what he said, but he -did not do it. I told him what I would do if he did. Mr Williams did not cross-examine this witness. J. T. Rouse was the next witness called. The other medical witness (Dr Campbell) was ordered out of Court. Dr Rouse deposed : I am a legally qualified medical practitioner, practising in Lyttelton. I remember the afternoon of the 6tb November last. I was sent for at half-past five o'clock exactly to go to the Railway Hotel. I proceeded at once to a room, the window of which fronted London street and over the har. I saw there the body of tbe deceased, Georgina Renton Smyth, in a sitting position upon the floor, her head being supported between the prisoner's knees. He was sitting on a chest a short distance from the bedstead. Behind the body of the deceased (as she was sitting up) was a heap of blankets on the floor. Godfrey and tlie prisoner were the only persons in tbe room. She was quite dead. The face was swollen, the eyes closed, the mouth wide open, the lips livid and protruding. The tongue was not protruding, but unusually fiat on the floor of the mouth.. On the left temple there were marks of an extensive severe bruise. I remarked that to the prisoner, who said she had got it by falling downstairs. There was no moisture or froth about the mouth or nostrils. The hands were swollen and discoloured, especially the right hand. It was almost black. I examined tbe hands, and found marks around each wrist, deeply indented into the flesh. The skin was not broken. The marks shewed distinctly that they had been caused by a cord. The marks of the strands of the cord shewed perfectly on the wrist. A cord of the size and harshness of the one produced (exhibit 2) would cause the marks on the wrists. I called the prisoner's attention to the marks, and asked him the meaning of it. He told me that he had been obliged to tie her up; that she had been drunk and very violent. The stocking of the right leg was down, and around the ankle I noticed a mark. It was indented, but not so deep as the marks on the wrists. I felt a similar mark on the left ankle through the stocking. When the prisoner told me that he had been obliged to tie her up on account of the condition she was in, he appealed to the witness Godfrey, who corroborated what he said. The prisoner, as far as I recollect, said she had been drunk and violent, and he had to tie her up; "Hadn't I, Tom?" Godfrey said, "Yes." lam certa'n Godfrey spoke. Prisoner told me that she Akaxi fallen down stairs twice that da?v aud tbat I should find her shoulders cruised from the same cause. He said that ehe had been subject to fits, and had been spitting blood tbat day. He asked me, "Had I not better go and give information to the police ?'* The body was warm ; life had been very recently extinct. The limbs were not contracted, nor had there been any spasm. The legs were nearly at full length. I detected a smell as of spirits about the mouth. Prisoner told me that he had tried to pour a little dark brandy down her throat. I saw a glass on the table close by, with a little dark liquor in it like dark brandy. He said that she had been making a great noise. I underitood him to mean on that day. When the prisoner allowed the body of the deceased to lie down backwards, the shoulders rested upon the heap of blankets, and tbe head inclined downwards a little towards the left side. I left when prisoner said that he was going to give information to the police. I noticed no blood on the mouth. The angles of tbe mouth appeared to have been injured — bruised. I did not examine them minutely at that time. I afterwards made a post mortem examination, in company with Dr Campbell, by order of the Coroner. At the time prisoner told me he had to tie her up, he pointed to a piece of rope fastened to the iron bedstead (similar to Ihe piece of rope before pro duced), opposite the shoulders wten the body was allowed to be flat. I saw the knife produced in the bedroom. On Monday, the Bth November, Dr Campbell and myself went to the Railway Hotel* to make a post mortem examination. We found the body in the same room, in the same position that I have described, with the blankets under the shoulders. The police were in the house. The face was somewhat more swollen than when I saw it first. The bruise upon the left temple showed perfectly, and a small superficial bruise on the right cheek was also plain to be seen. From either angle of the mouth, a dark line of bruising, about half an-inch wide, extended outwards on the right side for nearly two inches; on the left side, not more than an inch ; perhaps scarcely so much. The jaws were tightly closed. A quantity of frothy mucus, stained with blood, was flowing freely from the nostrils. On opening the lips, there was some dark blood inside. At either angle of the mouth, both upper and lower lips showed ragged cuts, which were mosi extensive within the mouth, as though

caused by the teeth. The gums, both above and below were divested of their covering. They appeared to have been rasped (that word best expresses it) — with something rough. Tbe mucus membrane, or skin of the gums, was rubbed off as far as the opening of the mouth would shew. On stripping the body, we found extensive bruises extending from the shoulder to the elbow on each side. On the right wrist there were marks as if of a thumb and three Angers. On the left arm there were several bruised spots, such as are commonly produced by the fingers in a tight grasp. Under the left breast there was a small wound, partly healed. There were many marks or bruises about both thighs, and several recent abrasions of the right shin-bone. The left shoulder anl hip were severely bruised ; also the left buttock. The marks upon the wrists were quite apparent still, but not so deep ns when I first saw the body. Those upon the ankles were also apparent. The abdomen was distended with flatus (wind). On dividing the scalp, a large collection of coagulated blood was found between it and the skull, corresponding to the external bruise over the left temple ; there was another collection of similar blood, but not so much, exactly on the top of the head; another just above and behind the right ear, and another, the most extensive, just in the extreme back of the head, on the left side of the occipital region. On opening the skull, the brain and its membranes were found much congested. The venticles contained about 2 drachms of serum, slightly stained with blood. The small arteries of the brain were injected with bright blood. The bruises on the left part of the head and behind the right ear did not shew externally, being under the hair. There was a pulpy feeling on the external surface of the scalp, more especially in those places. Tlie bruises could be easily felt, but not seen. •' Chest. — On opening the thorax, and exposing the lungs, they were found to be fully inflated, dark in colour, and with patches of emphysema upon the surface. Upon being cut into, they proved to be highly congested, the cut surfaces freely exuding frothy bloody mucus, and tbe substance being interspersed with patches of extravasated blood. The bronchial tubes were filled with frothy and bloody mucus, and the lining membrane of the windpipe was deeply injected with blood. The heart was abnormally fatty upon its surface. There was a tablespoonful of serum in the pericardium. Both venticles were empty, with the exception of a few very small clots in the left one. The membranes of the left ventricle and its valve were highly congested, as also that of the aorta and the semilunar valves. Tlie size of the heart was normal, and its tissues healthy. Abdomen. — The liver was enlarged and extensively diseased, being soft and friable, and easily divested of its capsule. The stomach healthy, and empty, with the exception of half an ounce of gastric juice. The bowels healthy ; distended with flatus. The right kidney was in an advanced state of Bright's disease; the left healthy. The bladder empty and normal. The uterus and its appendages healthy ; one ovary congested." From the appearance I have described we formed an opinion as to the cause of death. It was a very strong opinion that death was the result of suffocation. lam of the same opinion now. [Gag produced.] Suchan instrument as the one produced, placed across the mouth and tied tightly round the back of the head, would cause the appearances I have described at the angles of the mouth. It would account for the posi.ion in which the one was. I will not give an opinion as to the gums. The injury to them might have been caused by anything. 1 have no doubt that an instrument like this, if forced into the mouth sufficiently far to produce the injuries I have described at the angles of the mouth, would force the tongue backwards, so as to press the epiglottis against the opening of the windpipe, and the result would be suffocation. Such an instrument as this, if pressed into the mouth against the will of the person, would produce the rasping of the gums that I have described. I believe the marks on the instrument to be marks of blood. I have not analysed them. There are marks on it which might be caused hy teeth. There is long dark hair on the instrument, which I have no doubt is human. The hair of the deceased was dark. I consider it highly improbable that a person could walk up stairs unassisted after receiving the injuries to the head generally which I have described. I should think it would require a heavier instrument than that (the gag) to cause those injuries, if they were produced by an instrument. If the deceased's head had been resting on or near the floor, it would be possible that such injuries might be inflicted by kicks, but I would not give an opinion. With regard to the injury on the left temple, I do not believe that it was inflicted by a kick, because a boot would have broken the skin, or left some defined mark. The closed fist of a man might produce the wound on the head and left temple. It is impossible to state with what they were produced. I would rather not conjecture. There was nothiug to show that these contusions had rendered the deceased partly insensible. I removed the heap of blankets during the time the post-mortem examination wa3 going on. There were certain stains on the floor, under the blankets. The stains appeared to be those of blood. The boards produced were cut out of the floor in my presence. [Witness pointed out the places where the blood stains were.] They were much fresher then than now. 1 see several marks on the boards as if a hard substance had grazed the boards. Any piece of wood, with an edge or point, would make these marks. They seem to have been made with a wooden edge or point, not by anything sharp. The cut edge of that in-.-trument (the gag) would make the marks on the boards. Dr Campbell cut out several pieces of the hoards in my presence. The cuttings are there indicated. I took three small pieces home with me, and examined thera with a microscope. I found the stains to conßistTof blood and munis. Thc-

mucus was evidently the appearance of epitheliae skales in large quantity; they were similar to those found in healthy saliva. There were blankets below the body covering the stains of blood and mucus. I consider, from the injuries I found, that the gag would be sufficient to cause suffocation. If the blankets were placed over the mouth (the gag being in it), suffocation would be more certain. Cross-examined by Mr Williams: I have come to the conclusion that suffocation <vas the cause of death. I am of opinion that the injuries to the head would produce such an effect upon the system as would render death to be caused more easily by any means impeding respiration. A wooden gag of that size forced into the mouth sufficiently far to produce the injuries to the mouth that I have described, would be sufficient in itself to causa death. Death must have happened a few minutes before I came in. The bleeding would be caused in the inside of the mouth. I can conceive it quite possible that there might not be blood about the mouth, although on the gag, if it had been used with the deceased quite recently before her death. The head was hanging down, and any blood in the mouth might have trickled down towards the throat by means of simple gravitation. I certainly was not predisposed to think -that suffocation was the cause of death on my fir6t seeing the body. I did not think so until after the post-mortem examination. I have never seen a gag put in the mouth for purposes of punishment. There was no woman in the room when I first went in. When I saw deceased first, Smyth said that she was subject to fits. I then said at the moment as a conjecture, '* She must have bud a fit after you left her here, and died of apoplexy." I am aware that death from suffocation is a very difficult question for medical men to determine. [Mr Williams reid a case in point from Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence.] If a person had been suffocated by a blanket, (here would not necessarily be a portion of the fluff of the banket found in the air passages. Any part of the blanket which was loose and easily detached would be drawn into the air passages. If the deceased had been suffocated by a blanket, probably some portions of the fluff would have been found in the air passages. I cannot say that the congestion of the brain was caused by the gag. The girl Mary Ann Walter shewed me the way to the room. Godfrey was there when I got into the room. I know the stairs leading from the private roam down to the kitchen. Three of the wounds in the head might have baen caused by the fa.l downstairs. The fourth wound (the one at the under part at the back of the head) I cannot account for. Ido not think it likely that that wound was caused by her falling backwards on the stairs. The staircase is for the most part enclosed and narrow, and I think it most likely that a person falling backwards would fall against one of the wails. The wound was so severe that the inner surface of the scalp was disintegrated. I have no reason to think that it was caused by the kick of a boot. 1 would have noticed it if Mrs Smyth had not a full set of teeth. Without catching the tongue between the gag and the teeth, the gag would preps the tongue downward.*. By perseverance a person could have forced the gag produced into the mouth of the deceased. There are marks on the gag whicli may not be marks of the points of teeth, but they are marks sufficient to show that the gag must have been used. lam of opinion that death resulted from no other cause than suffocation. We found nothing else to cause death. There was no blood about the mouth externally when I first saw the body. We examined the heart and arteries carefully. The disease which we found about the liver and kidneys tre commonly attribute to habits of intemperance. I don't believe that embolism (the plugging of one of the pulmonary arteries by a clot) was the cause of death. I had attended deceased before in her confinement last New Year's day. On that occasion, I was told by the nurse that Mr Smyth had a fit before [Lpft sitting").