5

H.—33

a light in Mrs-. Hawkings's bed-room when I returned. ' I did not try to go in. My wife in there. I did not go into the house. I was not asleep. Harry Norman usually slept there. There was a bunk there. Norman was awake. I sat on his bunk all the night. I swear I had no sleep that night. I tried to sleep. I could not sleep. I had nothing to wrap round me. 19. Why did you not go inside ? —I did not like to see the woman that evening (meaning Mrs. Hawkings). I saw Mrs. Hawkings before I went down in the morning. I went in and lit the fire. The youngest child is ten months old. There are two, between the child at eight and the child at ten months. The other children range up to sixteen. Six o'clock was the usual time we always sat down to tea, whether he was home or not. He sometimes came home early from town on these Fridays. Sometimes early in the afternoon. 20. Did you ever hear of a German named Lidden?—There was a carpenter of that name, a German. He is up at Foxton. He was at the wedding; that was the first time I knew him. He was not a friend of mine. I had not seen him previous to the wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Hawkings invited him. There was a letter written. They told me they had written. Mr. Hawkings told me he had written the letter. He stayed at the wedding three or four days. He had no words with Mr. Hawkings that I have seen. I know he had not. 21. Had Mr. Hawkings told him he had not to come to the House?—Never; he has always invited him. I swear Hawkings never had words with him. Lidden arrived again, Thursday after the burial. He always came down by steamer, not by train ; lam sure of that. lam still living at Mrs. Hawkings's. I heard no shots fired that night. Wind was south-east, blowing straight up the gully. We feel the south-east at the house. 22. Does not the wind draw up the gully? —Yes; but it does not reach the house. We feel the south-east direct from the south-east. We felt the south-east yesterday, but not that that came up the gully. I heard no gunshot that evening. I have a cousin, George Bowles, who is Mrs. Hawkings's brother. He came down a week ago last Saturday. He does not frequently come down. He was not in the habit of going to Hawkings's. He was not on very good terms with them. Ido not know the cause of the quarrel. Ido not know about their business. I remember George Bowles becoming bankrupt, and bringing down 200 sheep to Hawkings. Ido not know that he gave them into Hawkings's custody. I know the sheep came down. I know the creditors did not get the sheep. I know nothing about his asking Hawkings for the 200, and only getting 100 sheep. Ido not know anything about it. Ido not know whether he only got 100 back. George Bowles's mother lives at Ngauranga. 1 was never present when any disturbance took place about the sheep. I was never present at a row. I never heard Hawkings say he would shoot Bowles as a dog. I know they were not on very friendly terms; that is all I know. On the morning after finding the body I saw a dead hare, three or four chains from where I saw Hawkings's body, at peg 24, nearer the house than the gate, on the grass, two or three yards away from the road. It had been dead for two or three days. 1 found it with all the hair off. I did kick it over with my toe. I had not been down on the road before on the Friday. I just kicked it over. I did not tell any policeman about the hare; some one spoke to me about one. Mr. Miller told me about the hare. He had come down on the Sunday. He noticed it at once. I went into the morgue. Mrs. Hawkings did not go in ; she wished to go in. I am sure Thompson and the others were picking up cloth and paper—a good lot of paper and cloth. I stayed talking with them about five minutes. First thing in the morning I did not notice a good deal of paper there ; it was dark. I might have seen it if I had looked for it. I did not notice on the road or about there any paper. I did not on the way down. I saw no stone with blood on then. I believe I have been twice into the Rainbow Hotel since. Ido not remember once bursting into tears before Jenkins, the landlord. I do not know him; I never did, lam sure. 23. Mr. Bell.] Lidden's name is William. He is a carpenter at Foxton. George Bowles lives at Carterton, at a saw-mill. 24. Where was Bowles on the 31st May? —I do not know. I did not see him when he was down last. I do not know that Bowles's debts have been paid. I have nothing to be afraid of. At the spot where the body had been lying I found in the morning a pool of blood. I saw it again in the afternoon. The police saw it morning and afternoon. I do not know if my hands were marked with blood. I saw none on my clothes or hands. When I returned with Dr. Cahill to the body he gave me Mr. Hawkings's watch, which I saw him take from the pocket—a silver watch with a gold albert chain. It was taken from his waistcoat. That is all I received. 25. Mr. Bunny.] I did not feel the pockets. I noticed no pocketbook. Ido not think Dr. Cahill searched the trouser-pockets. If I remember right, the watch was out of pocket.

SECOND DAY. Frederick Bolton, Clerk to Mr. Chapman, examined. 26. Mr. Bell.] Saw prisoner at his house on 19th December last, I took a draft-lease of some property comprised in an agreement between him and Hawkings. I told him I had brought a draft-lease. He said he did not want to have anything to do with it. I described the land. I said it was the land in the agreement between himself and Mr. Hawkings. I asked him if he would sign a lease. He said No ; nothing else then. I next saw him on 24th December, on the road leading up to his house. I had a writ in the action, Hawkings v. Chemis, with statement of claim attached [Exhibit A.] This is it. I told him it was writ in action praying performance of the agreement. I asked him to take the writ. He declined to do so. I told him that service by bringing the writ to his notice was as valid as on him. I brought it to his notice and flung it down beside him. Then he picked it up and flung it back. Then I went down the path towards the road. I returned again to him; I picked up the writ and flung it down again