THE DOBSON MURDER.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 166, 5 February 1867, Page 2

THE DOBSON MURDER.

(To the Editor of the Grey River Argus. ■ 'Siß—WilL you' allow: me, through the medium of your paper, to make" public tho g wing m justice that the police have been w. V« , t ? wardßme . iv the unlawful .and unji-stihable manner they have acted iii theu< nnxiety to procure my conviction. Before this frightful tragedy, in which I vas -bo unfortunate as to get mixed up I was always of opinion that if the police did fall across any ey dence that coulS tend to f^St^-^^r' the y onlyb^ too glad to bring it forward; instead of that they have .acted quite the contrary. j u two instances that nave come to ray certain knowledge, .and can, if necessary, prove, they have endeavored to get witnesses out of the way,- Avheit Mr James knew that the y could swear, positively that I m as in the Grey at the lime that the villain Sullivan swears that I wa9 -with him engaged in the murder •of Mr Dobson. ..-,- Now, 'Sir, 1 will give you two instances ; Mr James went to a inan/;named Albert Capau to know what he could prove to establish a case for the '"'Crown', and when this Albert Capau told him that he saw mo at four o'clock that aftoraoon, and had tea with me at half -past five iii the afternoon of the 28th May, Mr James told him that his evidence would not be wanted. This cow ia arespeotablemechanic, whose characternoono can question. Yet Mr James neglected to fetch this man s evidence forward, because it Avould injure the case for the Crown He also adopted the same course qi, proceedintr towards the brothers Cohen. \ The secbha instance occurred in Hokitika, reganl J 0 * 1 ,! 6 , .^Hows family, tbat were subpoineil to Hokitika to give evidence to support tho case against me. When Mr James came to know that the girl Pricilla Fellows served me with my tea on the;Mbuday,rf the 28th May, at the very time, according to SuJlivan'a statement, that I must have been on *tho road with him. He (Mr James) went to the girl s mother ajid told her that her evidence would not be wanted; and he would giveher an tirder for her money, and that she could go home, evidently trying to get the girl's evidence out of the road. But the mother with an amount of truthfuUiess and justice that I can never l)e too grateful; for, replied that the girl came to tell the whole truth of what she knew i.f the affair, and that ■■tooth-''-'" ing of the truth should be hgden, and declined to go away until the^girlhad giveu< her evidence. Now I ask if that is justice hr anything like it ; Mr James has had eii'ht mouths' to get up a case against me, and only: succeeded in fetching forward two men T\ ; ho '- thinks that one of the men that they saw putting up a tent that day had Ught hair, aiifi yat they could not tell whether, bhebf the meu held a black eye and cut face >qi: not; Now according to the evidence there inusfr have been ten or twelve men who passed by those men at that tent on that day— could riot they have^been hunted up ? I -think that if I had been a member of j;he police foroo I could have found some of them. lamof ' opinion that Mr: James must have fallen across evidence tliaV would hav^ proved tho ' perjury of Sullivan, and my entire: innocence ■ of the crime I was tried for ; and^that if ho did fall aoross such evidence, fron?^ what I know of him, I am certain he would not fetch it forward. Had I been; found; guijty, my blood would have been assuredly [im the heall of Mr James," as it woald on Sullivan, 7 and never would their have been a crueler murder pevpetrated. Had Mr James taken my advice those* men would have been arrested, and the lives of those unfQi-tun'ate men niur-> / dercd in Nelson would have been saved • bub Mr James wjis afraid of the men.and oalv tv glad to get thenaout of his dyj;rict ) .aiid ■w'keu he found what a. mistake lie ha I made *in ■ letting them slip through his panels, he endeavoured to regain his lost reputation by secviring my conviction, .an«\, haying the naiiio. of ha\ing efficiently worked 'up a case against me, and but for the uutiring exertion? of Messrs Button, Recce and T^'leiv whoml can* never be siifficiently grateful towai-ds, ami who I hope will accept my bast thanks, thcre^ is no doubt that Mv James wouLl havo* * secm-ed my comic* ion, a-id never woul«t Jilierehave been" a iiiori ty.nA murder. Tnisting thah in the name of justice yo;i will givo ;his a place in your eoLisuas. v . I am| &c. , r ''./ JaMIS, AVILS(>N\ GreymSutli, January 4, 1833.