MOLE RESTORATION

Evening Star, Issue 21750, 19 June 1934, Page 8

MOLE RESTORATION

WORK NEARING COMPLETION DEPARTURE OF QUARRY MANAGER Within two or three months the restoration of the mole at the entrance to Otago Harbour should be completed. In vie ’ of the early completion of the work the quarry master, Mr George Lomas, has resigned from the service of the Otago Harbour Board, and commences duty to-morrow as quarry manager to the Oamaru Harbour Board, He has been six and a-half years at the Spit, and during that time has fired twenty-live tunnel blasts, every one of which has been successful. The blasts have brought down the huge quantity of 227,000yds of stone, half of which has been deposited on the mole and the remainder used for reclamation purposes. No serious accident has been experienced at the quarries, and the management has been proved efficient ,by costs being lower than originally anticipated. Three quarries have been worked in the past six years, the last being two miles from the Heads at a spot suggested by Captain Coll M‘Donald during his chairmanship of the board. The best stone was obtained from this quarry, the biggest blocks weighing forty tons. However, the biggest blocks deposited on the mole were no more than twenty tons. Before coming to the Spit Mr Lomas was in charge of big quarry jobs at New Plymouth, Gisborne, and Lyttelton.

them in a patch, of titrec, but found the fence there. He then left them under the wattle tree. That man could not be Bayly, who knew _ the wheels could not be taken to the titrec there. Mr Northcroft added that the jury would be taken to Buawaro a second time t'o have an opportunity of seeing the titree. Wheel marks were traced a certain distance, but not nearer the boundary than 69ft. There was no justification for the view that the wheels had been taken to the fence, and to take the wheels down the paddock and transfer the body to the sledge would be a remarkable proceeding, which would bo extremely likely to be observed, considering the exposed nature of the paddock. Counsel then asked the jury to examine the photograph of the boundary fence which, according to Detective Sneddon, was in good order, with ,the wires taut. To lift the inert body of a heavy man would tax the strength of a strong man, and Bayly was a small man. *

“ I suggest that the body could not be put through the fence; it would have to be lifted to the height of the fifth wire,” continued counsel.” If this body had been disgorging blood, and had been handled in any way, that very handling would cause it to give out blood, and there w'ould be blood everywhere. There was none. There was not a blade of grass disturbed. The sledge was never brought nearer than 9ft to the fence. If it had been used in the way suggested by the Crown, it would have been driven to the fence, the body lifted over, and placed directly on it. The Crown is hard put to it to conjure up innocent circumstances and make them look sinister against Bayly,” declared Mr Northcroft, referring to accused’s action in placing four head of stock in the paddock where the sledgemarks were.” Why should Bayly want to tread out the marks after they had been observed, measured, and pegged? Had Bayly wished to see what the police were doing, bo could have walked across the paddock instead of just opening the gate and driving the beasts in. “All Bayly’s working clothes were taken by the police on October 21. They were all in normal, soiled state when examined by the pathologists. Not a spot of blood was found on them except for a few stains. Not a stain of blood was found on the coat, boots, or shirt. The only blood found was on the trousers, which were covered by oil skin.” “ The Crown must have known that those clothes proved beyond possibility of doubt that Bayly was not involved in the transfer of the body in the manner suggested; yet not a word was said about them,” declared Mr Northcroft. When the police indicated the stains on the sledge which they considered to be blood, but did not take the sledge, Bayly made no effort to remove the stains. When the police returned the sledge was in the same condition. The two stains of blood on the sledge were the minutest smears, not even drops, and any harmless explanation would account for them. AN IMPOSSIBLE RECONSTRUC- • TION. “Apparently the Crown thought at first .that the body had been taken away in a motor car and not destroyed,” he proceeded. “ Following a report that a strange motor car had been seen, the Onewhero River had been extensively dragged, while the police satisfied themselves that Bayly’s car had never been out. The next theory entertained by the police was that Lakey had been cut up and boiled. Even now, realising that there were many gaps and difficulties in regard to the ’ theory of burning, evidence by Furniss regarding the condition ot Bayly’s copper was brought to court, notwithstanding that the police knew Furniss was mistaken. The police had seized a chopping block, chopper, and hacksaw, all of which proved to be innocent. .. “ The madness of that theory lies in this fact: 'Hint the operation of cutting up a body, cutting away the flesh and boiling it, could not have been done without leaving a most ghastly mess, declared Mr Northcroft. “It must have been perfectly obvious to the police that Bayly’s place had, never been the scene of such activities. fn© Crown now asked the jury to believe that Bayly used a destructor for incinerating the body. No witness m the Police Court gave an opinion that it was possible to burn a body in such a furnace. Experiments made latex showed that it took eight hours to destroy the body of a sheep. The experts worked on the assumption that Bayly had increased the efficiency of the furnace by using two sheets of corrugated iron. “If you put the drum on the concrete and put the sheets of iron with it you will see that the sheets of iron were never used with it. The smoke marks do not start until 12in above the edge of the drum,” declared counsel. “ The police have never taken tho trouble to see if they fit. By no process of reconstruction could the sheets of iron be used with the drum in that way.” Tiie drum and sheets of iron were set up before the jury, as were the drum and iron used by the Crown experts. In conclusion, Mr Northcroft contended that the wire it had been’ suggested was used for holding the sheets had not been heated.