MAYOR’S COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 3108, 4 February 1873, Page 2

MAYOR’S COURT.

This Day. (Before his Worship the Mayor.)

Drunkenness. —Ellen Maitland, who said the death of her boy had earned her to drit k, and Kate Fana, were each fined 40s ; Alex, (dimming was fined ss. Threatening Language.—! harles Lockhart appeared on warrant to answer a charge of using threatening lang-iage towards his wife, and of disobeying a summons. Having satisfactorily accounted for his non-appear-ance yesterday the case was gone into. I he complainant spoke of repeated ill-usage at her husband’s hands ; that he had turned her and the family our, of doors for as mu hj a five days and nights in a week, and hul threatened her. The defendant said the whole thing was a yarn.—The Mayor said they were both drunkards, and in letting defendant off with a caution, advise 1 him p make provision for his wife and leave town, which hi promised to do. 'I he' Moray Peace Shooting Case.— Thomas Kyan was placed in the dock, charged with shoeing with intent at one James Farrell. Mr Haggitt conducted the prosecution, and Mr Barton defended. The following evidence was taken ; rr- James Farrell : I am a detective officer, and am stationed at Dunedin. I remember the evening of Saturday, the 4th ot January, and was in town that night on police duties 1 live in a cottage o'F u oray place, at the rear of Brocirick s coal office. Between 11.15 and 11.20 p.m. I went towards home, having a few moments before parted with Con&tab e Bain, at the c rner of Moray place and Princes street (Park and Curie’s comer) I judge the time from the fact that it was five minutes past eleven when I passed through the ..\rcade. I noticed the town clock when passing through the Arcade, and stray own watch, which was ten minutes slow, by it. As 1 turned the corner of the street, opposite the Masonic Hall—l was walking on the left-hand side of the stree' —I heard a footstep, rapid and very light, coming from thedirection of the ball across to the side of the street on which I was. I kept walking along, and looking over my right shoulder, saw the person, whom I did not know, as he was too far behind, walking in the same direction as myself. He was on the clay portion of the footpath, between the aspha te and the high bank. I was proceeding onwards, but, hearing the step’s continue hurried and light, and thinking it was a female seeding my protection, I looked over my left shoulder and saw it was a man, the upper portion of his clothing being light and grey, I did not then recognise him. I walked along carelessly, as I usually do, and carried in my left hand six pounds of potatoes in a bag, and held my stick under my right armpit. When I looked over my left shoulder, the man was from twenty to thirty yards in my rear. As I was in the act of stepping off the kerbing opposite to Park and Curie’s workshop, where there is a crossing for drays, I was stunned at hearing the man, who was before so much behind me, step at the same time on to the kerbing, close upon me, and so as to cover me. 1 made a left-about-face quickly to see what was up ; and, as I did so, a pistol shot went off at the left side of my face. The hand that held the weapon was close to my mouth, in which I reedved some of the smoke from the nipple, I drew back, at the same time blowing the dust from my face, and looking up recognised the man who fired the shot as the prisoner in the dock. X said, “My God, Hyau, are you going to murder me ?” and the same time drew back to hit at him with my stick. He drew back also, put both hands to his right side, and again presented the pistol; that time covering my forehead. He was then,five yards dis ant from me. I appealed to him for mercy, saying, “ uh my God, Kyan, don’t take my life I am not prepared to die.” He made no reply, but fired right at my forehead. The shot missed me. I t ! . e i threw my stick at his head with all my might. He put up both his hands (the right hand which contained the revolver being uppermost) to ward off the blow. I then turned right about and ran for home, crying out “sergeant Ryan” and “murder,”and called to Mr Hughes, my next d»or neighbor, that Ryan had murdered me, I also called my wife’s name, thinking that she would recognise my voice and come out. Prisoner ran after rue as hard as he could, and when I got as far as the thedittlp house,- which stands on piles, on the left-hand side of Moray place, and was in the act of stepping from the kerbing on to the street, to cross to my own place, the third shot was fired, which also missed me. I kept running uutil I reached the right of way, between Claremont House and Albion House, in the windows of which there were lights : seeing which, and knowing boarders lived there, 1 ran in there calling out. “Sergeant Ryan had murdered me.” I had got about nineteen yards up the right of way when the fourth shot was fired, which, took effect in my back, and 1 fell forward on my right side against the fence of the yard of Claremont house. As soon as I felt I was shot, aud thinking I was dying, I qualified tfie words by calling out, “Ex-Sergeant jjtyau o| the European hots) has phot roe,

I pot up unassisted on to my feet; but did not see anything of the prisoner. Several persons Wi te about, but the first person who spjke to me, whom I recoimised, was Mr Daniels, of the Nevada boarding-house. I was assisted into my house by several people, and some of them I sent for a doctor, for the Commissioner of Police, and for a priest. When I potto my bedroom, I saw constable Main in the hall, and directed him to go to the liuropean hotel and arrest the prisoner before he could have time to change his clothes. I had previously seen prisoner that evening, at the European hotel, between halt-past six and seven. I was in his company for about ten minutes. Lloyd, the coach driver, constable Morkane, and others, were present. I had a glass of beer with him. I noticed how he was dressed. When lie tired at me he was similarly dressed, the only alteration being that he wore the leaf of his hj vt turned up, which was not the case earlier in the evening. 1 he letter produced is in the prisoner’s handwr ting, which I know ; it is addressed to my wife. 1 obtained it at the Post Office, from the clerk there, on February 16th, 1872. It was then in an envelope which was addressed to “Mrs James Farrell, Moray place, Dunedin,” and on one side was written, “To be kept till called for,” I read the letter the same day to the wife and i er sister. The former made great efforts to obtain it; and in the struggle that took place the envelope was destroyed. The seventeen letters now handed to me are in my wife’s handwriting; the additional ones produced are also in her handwriting. [The first batch of letters comprised twenty-seven and a half sheets of closely written matter; the second batch fifteen sheets ] T he cross-examination was conducted by Mr Barton as follows You say that between six and seven o’clock on the Saturday evening in question you were at the European Hotel; that you saw Ryan th< re, and had a drink with him and some others ? Yes.—How many were there altogether? I don’t recollect. I know Lloyd “shouted,” a id I had a glass of beer. -Mow tell us what ,ook you to ihe European? I was going along George street, and when passing the hotel called in to tell O’Don l , e’ a id Keligher about the fire at Coney’s Hotel at Portobcllo, where I had been the previous (’ay. I knew they were comrades of Coneys, and that they would be anxious to hear about him. That is the only reason, that 1 am aware of, why I went there.—Did you expect to see Ryan there ? I did not.—But you knew he was living there ? Yes.—You bad some conversation with him ? Yes. He, Morkane, and 1 conversed on police matters. —The conversation was friendly, I suppose ? Apparently so.—That is you thought it to be so? Yes.—At all events you were { iendly enough on that occasion ? Yes, so far as I thought at th-it time.—You say in your examination in chief, “I had a glass of beer with him, and then noticed how he was dressed. ” Had you any particular reason for noticing his dress ? I had no particular reason, but I observed he was dressed in what I took to be his best suit. I was tinder the impression that be had got those clothes made since he came to town on the 2ud —Did you notice how Lloyd was dressed ? Mot particularly, but I noticed that he did not wear bis usual working dress.—You say it was between a quarter and twenty minutes past eleven when you left Bam to go hj me? As nearly as I can judge by the time it was by the University clock when I passed through the Arcade. Bain and I came from the vestibule of the Theatre, and walked together to Harper’s, the greengrocer in the Arcade, where i purchased six pounds of potatoes for Sunday’s dinner, Bain remaining outside. We then went into Mark’s pawnshop, near the corner, and stayed there a few minutes. I took up a pair of slippers that in the shop, and remarked jocularly to Bain, who asked me if 1 was going to buy them, that I intended going into training for next year’s Caledonian fathering. We then left the shop and went over to the Scandinavian Hotel, and there had a drink together. « n leaving the hotel together, we proceeded along iVlaclaggan, Rattray, and Princes streets, till we got to Moray pi ace, where we parted —Did you converse together going along ? Yes; we had a rather remarkable conversation. I mentioned that I had forgotten whether 1 had had my dinner or not. Mr Barton : 1 suppose the potatoes under your arm made you feel hungry. (Laughter ) —[jo you believe a quarter of an hour elapsed from the time you saw the University clock till you parted from Bain, at Park and Curie’s corner ? I don’t believe it was more than ten minutes. I believe I was within my house within a quarter of an hour from the time I saw- the University clock.—How do you know that? Because some of the people who helped me into the house looked at their watihes.—l understand you to say that after you parted with Bain, and got as far along Moray place as opposite the Masonic Hall, you heard a light and rapid footstep behind you. Had you a suspicion of anything ? For the ten years I have been here I have had no reason to suspect that anyone would do me an injury. -Was it a dark night? Yes, pretty dark, more especially as the man was quite close underneath the bank, and walked straight behind me. But for that 1 should have known him.—Was it nearer Park and Curie’s or the corner that you first saw him ? Nearer Park and Curie’s.—The man’s coming fair mit of the sbadpty of the bank made him plainer to you? Yes {'arid, moreover, the Corporation lamp opposite was throwing a light on him.—Where is the lamp you speak of ? Directly opposite where the first shot came from. When the first shot was fired was it the first time you saw it was Ryan? Yes.—He had the pistol presented at you, you say, when you said “ Ryan, for God’s sake do not murder me. ” Did he use those words before the shot was fired ? I [vas appealing to him when the second shot was fired.—Did he say a word ? He never opened his lips.—Did you see whether it was a pistol or revolver? It must have been a revolver, from the fact (hat the four shots were fired,—You say when the third shot was fired you ran across the street, and called to your neighbor Hume that Ryan was murdering you. “Yes, bub 1 did not call until quite close upon my own place. I made for the right-of-way nearest to the houses where the lights were, and w'here I knew there were boarders, because I thought my cries of ‘ murder ’ would bring people to me. I did not make for my own nght-of way, because my wife was in bed. -Then Ryan at that time must have known perl ectly well who you were ? Everybody must have known; as 1 kept calling out his name. - He must have seen those lights as well as you ? Certainly he must.— After the fourth shot you fell against the fence of Claremont house, and as you fell you called out “ Ex-Sergeant Ryan has murdered me. ” Did any pt ople come up ? It was not a minute from the time I fell till I was in my bedroom, and the room was soon crowded. —Did you call out “ex-Sergeant Ryan” more than once ? Repeatedly. Then you bad your senses perfectly about you all the time? Perhaps better than now.— Who was the first that came up? I believe the first were Daniel and Humphrey, I think that Lines met me at my own right-of-way.—Where is the broom fence ? It is in front of the house near where I fell.—Did you move from the place when you arose? Oh, yes. —Did Daniel see you at the moment you arose? I do not think he did.—You say one of the gaol warders was there ; who 1 is he ? 1 do not recollect his name. 1 gave his name in my brief. He took the time. I believe Dr Hocken took the time as well. You say when you got into the house you saw Bain ; he must have come running down immediately? He must] have heard the Shot. —1 think yon. said. “ A.s soon as 1 got in I saw Bain, and 1 ordered him to go to the European Hotel and arrest Ryan before he could change his clothes ? I believe 1 said “arrest him before he could change his dress. ’’—Did he leave for the purpose of doing bo ? He did.—To Mir Haggitfc ; I told him to go at once to the European Hotel, wd

arrest the prisoner before he had time to change his clothes, as he was dressed exactly as he was in the early part of the evening. [Left sitting.]