The Chemis Case

Feilding Star, Volume XI, Issue 29, 22 August 1889, Page 3

The Chemis Case

THE CHARGES^OF PERJURY. I ?ER UNITED PKESB ASSOCIATION. I Wellington, August 21. The perjury charges against the police came on this morning. That against Inspector Thomson was dismissed, as Mr Jellicoe wished to go on with. -■-■ the others first. Mr Jellicoe «aid he would lay a fresh information. The charge against Detective Benjamin was then taken. Mr Jellicoe made a long opening address, in the course of which he intimated that Cheinia and his wife would be called, and their evidence corroborated by others, particularly as to Benjamin's denial that he saw any quail or a wad f tjutter in Chemis house. In the ■ course of his speech Mr Jellicoe accused a Ministers wife, whose name was not mentioned, of going to Mrs Chemis and examining her as to what evidence she was to give. ■ The Premier, who Had been in the Court during the hearing of the case, was called. He stated he had received the drawer produced, coutainiug, amongst other things, a tin with powder in it and a box of gun caps. He had also received from Mr Jellicoe a box of wads and a wad-cutter and a band box with a piece cut from it. The wads fitted the gun very well. "The Hon. Mr Richardson assisted him to try the gun. The wads must have been cut from the band box. George Denton, ironmonger, proved the sale to Mr Jellicoe of a wad-cut-ter of peculiar size which was similar to the one produced in Court and was by th 6 same maker. Evidence was given of the purchase <of a wad-cutter at Denton's, by Uobert Dybell, for Chemis who received it from the latter on April 15th. Mrs Chemis detailed the visit of the police to her house the day after the murder. There were no piecas of paper in the bundle Detective Benjamin brought out from the hedrootn gave to Inspector Thompson. She was opiate sure, as she could see It all. The gun was in the bedroom. Her husband had never fired it on Friday, the day of the murder On that morning she used a drawer from iwhicb. the revolver was taken by the •detectives. It then contained powder And shot, flasks, caps, box of wads, wad-cutter, a cocoa tin (containing .£■7 or £8 in money), tin of powder, box of dynamite caps, some fuses, and some stuff witness took to be dynamite. After the search was over the articles were still there, except what the police took away. The articles -were then shown to witness, and she swore to them separately. Her husband got the wad-cutter about Easter, sand made wads from a piece of a <band-t>ox which was kept on the shelf. The police saw this baud-box on the •day her husband was arrested. The tcaps, wads, &c, were still in the and Detective Benjamin turned the contents out on the bed sand put them back again. When the iiouee was first seaiched there was a tin containing four quail in the kirchen. They had been shot on Wednesday, and on Thursday Detective Benjamin opened the tin and looked in. A man named Greaves Raw the quail, and Dowd, her brother, ate aoine of them on the Sunday after the murder. Cross-examined by Mr Bell : Did not know when the police came they had a warrant to search fo- a pocket book containing seven pound notes. Now she did not know, and still iniisted that there was money in the cocoa tin in the drawer, as she had said first. Heard of Hawkins' accident when her husband returned from serving milk on Saturday morning. When he came home to dinner he said he had heard at Kaiwarra that Hawkins was dead. Did not ask what the police wanted when they first put in an appearance, but when they began to search her husband said, " What is it ail for?" Got no answer. Did not openly express any surprise, so to speak, but inwardly wondered. In answer to other questions the witness said the dagger was got from an Italian about eight years ago. > v he swore most positively tha 1 ; a, piece had not been cut from the band box since her husband's conviction but it was in the same state as when the police first saw it. Mrs Chemia was very closely questioned by Mr Bell, and at 5 o'clock, the cross-examination not being finished, the Court adjourned till to morrow morning. This Day. Cross-examination of Mrs Chemis continued: — This morning Mr Bell questioned her cloßely, but found it difficult to get an exact answer to some of his questions, even with the help of t'le magistrate, and accused the witness ot deliberate evasion. This led to frequent sallies between him and Jellicoe. The witness' principal evidence related to her husband's movements on the evening of the murder. She said he came home after 5, turned out the cows, cut up a cask full of mangel, fed and cleaned the horse and then came into tea about 6 o'clock. .', A letter of hers to Hawkins was read, accusing hia childrehof beating hers, and threatening to bring them to Court, but the witness did not consider it offensive. She persisted that Detectiye Benjamin's evidence was false.