TYPICAL TIMES WITNESSES.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 45, 1 March 1889, Page 13

TYPICAL TIMES WITNESSES.

James Buckley, from Tralee, went before the Commission and confessed himself a Fenian and a would-be murderer. He described in the calmest manner bow the League paid him to murder obaoxioup persona and how he endeavoured to earn tho blood money. He attempted to murder a neighbour named Boache, but failed even to wound him, although he had the victim by the collar and fired three shoU from a revolver at such close quarters. This strurk the Court »s peculiar, but the mystery was explained in cross-examination. It wm practically proved that the outrage was a spnrioas one arr>.nged between the murderer and the victim, the latter obtaining cempet.aation for his shattered nerves and sharing tho plunder witti Buckley. Among other interesting particulars laboriously extracted by Sir Chhrlea Russell and other counsel from this scoundrel were that he had been frtquenily in prison in Ireland and England for a variety of offences, bad r.obbert and beaten his own mother, committed perjury against hif dearest friend, and had been a creature of the police for years. In short, Buckley proved himself a cie lit to his employers. Before Buckley commenced his narrative the Court was treated to a tweet ■pecimeo of Irish police reporting. Sergeant Feely

attended a League meeting, at which he said Michael Davt- wa« present, and the witness produced with pride a neatly-writteu transcript of that gentleman's speech. But Roosoll proved, and the Attorney-General subsequently admitted, that Davitt missed th? tram and was not present, a fact which, although it sp >ke volumes for Feely 'a imaginative powers, somewhat lessened the value of bis evidence. At Friday's sessions of the Commission Attorney-General Webster called attention to an article ia Unittd Ireland which said : " The time has arrived for plain speaking in regard to the forgeries commissi in. We do not inten ito wait until the forger allows us to speak. We do not cara twopence for the opinion of three judges who were especially selected in the tee h of a justly indigniot Liberal protest by the forger's friends and accomplices." Mr. Reid, of counsel for the Parnelbtea, railed attention to observations made by the warden of flier ton College, in which he likened Michael Davitt and other Horn? Bulers to the Whitechapel murderer. The judges retired for a consultation, and when they returned, Jus. ice Hannen annoounced that they had decided that an afnlavit reciting the utterances of Mr. O'Brien and his paper muse be immediately tiled, and that Mr. O'Brien must appear before the Commission at 10 o'clock next day. They had al9o decided that a notice must be served on the waiden of Merton College, ordering him to attend the first meeting ot the new sittiug in January. Thomas O'Connor, who testified on the 4th December, concerning the alleged doings of the Inner Circle of the League, was recalled and cross-examined by Sir Charles Russell for the Parnellites. O'Connor adhered to the statement that he had received £7 payment for moonlighting. The money was iv £1 notes, and two of them were cashed by the National Bank. He had decided, he said, to giveevidenec simply with the object of putting an end to the hell npon earth in Ireland. Sir Charles Russell asked : " Were you asked, in order to criminate the Parnellites, to tell queer things? " Witness evaded the qaestioo, but Hir Charles pressed him hard, remarking that he used the term " queer things " advisedly. Witness at la9t admitted that a Mr. Walker, in behalf of the Times, had strongly urged him to give evidence. Sir Charles Russell here produced a letter and handed it to witness, who admitted that he wrote it. It was addressed to his brother, and said that he (witness) had got himself summoned by the Times, thinking he could make a few pounds, but he found that he could not unless he would swear to queer things. On re-direct examination, witness, in reply to Attorney-General Webster, said that since he first gave evidence his family had telegraphed to him to the effect that they would die of Bhame unless, when he was croae- examined, he denied the evidence that he had alreedy given before the Court.