A "FIXED IDEA" AND A KNIFE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 591, 20 August 1909, Page 9

A "FIXED IDEA" AND A KNIFE.

Peter'; Willianison\Tait,Va, man of about forty;;; years,: was• charged with; having .as- , , saultod David M'Col:) a fellow-boarder with him.at,the house of Miss Mouday, iu Kent Terrace, with intent to do him grievous bodily;harm: ,;■■':; " .: ■; ■■;■' Mr;. Herdinan appeared for tho accused, not guilty..'..-._ ; . . Drs. T. Gilray, and P..S. Foster described M'.Coll's injuries. ' . .;.'■..., ■ ' ■'' David M'Coll,-driver, 'stated that accused attacked a knife. . Accused, was intoxicated at'tho, time/ . . ■'■• '

Miss Monday,, and Constable Carmody also7 ; gaye cvicfeiico ,fo'r. the . prosecutio-n. • - ■Accused went;.into;the : bos, ,intl said that he}!had .lived in Wellington , continuously for thirty-two.*: YfiskTS,'-' except for very 7 short periods. Before going to. South -Africa as lieutenant in the: Srventh X'ontingent, he was' ifi the". Crown';Lands'.Department.-'. 6n returning to the Dominion, he was employed Education. Departmont, ■ conducting .teachers' examinations, "and , relieving - in various schools. His lifo had'latterly beon full of misfortune. In South Africa he contracted malarial fever, and ho was injured in : o railway;'accidcnt,".in Wellington. On tho>night of May 23 last, M'Coll camo homo drunk, and-quarrelsome; Witness left the diriiiig-roomlreforehe had finished his meal, in.:order to get away from M'Coll, but the latter followed him upstairs. .Witness was perfectly .tobeT. He- was dressing to go ou't,':and sent M'Coll away, ,'i'berb. was talk about a note which M'Coll was alleged to havoy failed to deliver io the Government Insurance Office, whore- witness was cmplojixl, .AVitecss ■ left the house to go to • a Chess; Club,' and M'Collcamo after'him and approached him in.on aggressive manner. Witness used .the knife in self-defence. -Joseph -William Poynton, Public Trustee, stated, that ho had known accused for eighteen years, and his reputation .was good. To"Mr ; Myers: He would get heated oh one subject. He had a fixed.idea that he' wns, persecuted. by, a .cortain ■ statesmJin/;.- .• , ■•■;■■'.■ '■■• ■ ■ ■:■. ■■'*■ Mr. _ Herdman: It is not an uncommon thing m. this country for. people to get heated over- statesmen, is it, Mr. Poynton? - •'■•■ Mr. :, Poynton:. No; if-is "'not uncommon. Statesmen are of ton talked about bitterly. Political feeling runs high in some nwn; it is. like religion..with a few—it is about tho onlv; thing you can'disturb them'on.

Eorbert Louis James, .assistant librarian at'the Parliamentary Library, and, William Mackay, of the fij'm of S. and- W. Mackay, booksellers, also testified that- accused was a.diiiet, gentlemanly man, and fond of books'. : •; ••>■■■ , .At 9.5 p.m., after the jury had been locked Op four hbur3, itivas repkorted that no agreement could bo reached, and tho jury wcro discharged. . . •. .

Mr. Myers formally applied for a now trial to Ije held on Monday nexf!. ' ,The application was granted.