THE CAIN CASE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1421, 1 December 1886, Page 2

THE CAIN CASE.

TUESDAY’S EVIDENCE. The following are the salient feature a o! the fu -her evdence iaten Margaret Graham Houston wnit to reside at W o land* on Ist December. About h week aft Ca>n came home one d iy and sa’d that ha was very ill ; that he hid seen Dr Maclntyre, who had told him that he though he (' he captain) had dropsy. Had been i' the house a fortnight wren iha captain toon ill He did not vomit st hit tim-. • >oly saw the Captain vomit once Many visitors used to come and seethe Ctp ain, among them being Mrs Hall, and the accastd Ha’i used to c >me in the morning, about 9 30, that being his first visit. His visits were frequent, nearly every day.' He would remain about five or fifteen minutes. He used to bring Mrs Hail with him, and when he went away after bis morning visits Mn Hall used to stay. Hall used to return about five in the evening. Mrs Hal generally stayed all day till Hall called for her In the evening. Hall used t > call for hb wife every evening, and stay long enough to get M 1 s Hall into the trap. Sometimes ha used to stay longer. He had on few occasions stayed as lung as one hour. It was about a week before Captain Oaln died that he took to his bed, and did not get np again. Did not see Hail go into Cain’s room that week. A few days before Christmas Day remembered the the Captain getting sick at lunch when Hall was present, but could not fix the data. This would be about three weeks before the captain’s dea'b. Shortly before tha dinner-room was turned into a bedroom for the captain Did not remember if Mr Os'ler was at lunch the day Captain Cain became sick. Did not remember Mr Meas'on, or Mrs Hail and Mr Hall being in the house the nigh', before Cain’s death Gave evidence at the inquest. but did not remember what she then said. Mr White—Do you remember stating this—“ Mr and Mrs Hall went away ab ut ten o’clock that night 1" Mr Perry objected that the witness could not be asked about the evidence she gave at the inquest. Bis Worship held that the evidence was admiesable in reply to the Bench, witness then slid—l mean by saving “ I think Hall and Mrs Bail went away at ten o’clock that night,” that they were in the habit of going away at that time. I now remember nothiog to fix the particular night before Captai i Cain die *. Emma Brlgnall Ostler remembered dining at Captain Gain's some time in December Captain Cain wanted a drink and Hall was going :o help him from the spirit siand on the table, when the Cep- ■ aia said the spirits made him sick. Hall then went to the cupboard, and poured out something into a glass, which he took from the table at the side of Captain Cain Be stooped down at the cupboard, and witness could not see what he poured from the cupboard. The door being between them, witness could only see Hall’s body. Hall next placed the tumbler alongside the captain, and some water was p’aced in it fr >m a green jug on the table Did not take notice whe her the captain drank from the tumbler or no*. The captain became very sick at his dinner. He vomited in the room, and had to leave the room. This was while dinner was going on, Mrs Newton and witness helped him from the room. c hortly before the captain’s death witness was present with Mr and Mrs Newton, when Hall asked Mrs Newton whether it would not be right for the doctor to give him something to make him die more easily, seeing how he was suffering. Hail had said two or three times in witness’ presence that there was no chance of the captain recovering, or words to that effect, On one occasion, when Hall spoke of the doctors giving Cain something, he said that he oonid not recover. Hall wrote to witness on 30 h June, stating that she was not to go near the house to see MrW flail. (The letter, which was hare read, accused Mrs Ostler of •* going out of her way to say unpleasant things " of HalL) Witness—To Mr White—The “ unpleasant things” Hall accused me of saying referred to my telling some ladies that I thought Hall was poisoning his wife _ I told Mrs Newton that Mrs Hall was being poisoned, I was afraid, by Mr Hall. I thought that at tha time I received the letter Hal bad left, off poisoning his wife. At this stage (4 30) the Court adjourned until 11 o’clock next morning.

TO-DAY’S PPOOEEDINQS.

Tijcabu, December 1. The Cain murder case was resumed this morning. Mrs Ostler having been re-examined In regard to the letter produced yesterday, W. A. Mason, clerk, gave evidence of having frequently visited Gain daring Us last illness in the evenings and had often seen him vomit, the first time at the end of November or the beginning of December. Captain Cain attributed his sickness to grog and professed his inability to understand it. Witness repeated the evidence given at the inquest. G. Kay, who nursed Cain, gave similar evidence to that given at the inquest. The only material addition was that witness on one occasion had a severe attack of sickness but he could not attribute this to any particular cause. A good deal of time was occupied this morning in arguing a law point as to the admissaoility of Mason’s evidence in regard to Cain's symptoms, and the pro* greas of the case waa slow. Kay wa? cross-examined, but nothing fresh was elicited.

Jackson, blacksmith, who made an invabd bed, deposed to being sick after partaking of champagne at Cain’s howe. The Court at this stage adjourned for Innoh.