"I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE WOMAN BEFORE"

NZ Truth, Issue 1216, 21 March 1929, Page 7

"I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE WOMAN BEFORE"

■'. ':'.'■.■;■■ ■ Yy:-/'. '. . . *:...' ' •■•- ' '\ J- . ' Grown Witnesses Deny That Mrs, Clark Was The ACCUSED COMMITTED FO^IAL ON GRAVE CHARGE ' ' YY. ■"■'■' . • ■ V "'.■■' '' ■■'•-.1. ' ,-. - " •'.- ■ ■■-.' ;■■ ' ' : ' ' - ' - . -.' '- (From" N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative) -; ■t< . V "' | , V V ■— "- V " .' - ' ...'.'.'-. . ft 'iThere was an unexpected turn of events during the Police Court evidence against Mrs. Mary Jane Clark, charged at Dunedin on two indictable offences, when two important Crown witnessed — denied that the accused was the woman who had visited their home and allegedly performed an illegal act on the younger of the two women. Mr, J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., declared the mother a hostile witness, arid the incident led to defending counsel puriotuating the proceedings with frequent objections to the Crown's line of interrogation.

is,.; t ; - .\ - ■■ The alleged offence was then described by' the ,'gl-rl. Returning to the sitting-room, she went on to allege, the two women joined Smith, and Mrs. Clark asked her visitors if they would care for a drink. They accepted, and whisky was brought to them. > "I then saw Smith hand Mrs. Clark two £10 notes," declared the girl. Mrs. Clark, she alleged, asked them to leave by the back gate, and instructed them to walk home, both requests being complied with. The girl said she returned to her boarding-house, and remained •' there until .the following Monday.' On January 26, she entered the Visit With Girl Red Roofs' Maternity Home and .two days later gave birth to a female child. Describing himself as a wool-buyer of Balclutha, Sydney George Smith stated', that he . came to Dunedin on September 8, and booked m at the Gladstone Hotel. ' The following, day, he said, he went along MacLaggan Street with the idea of finding Mrs. Clark's residence; it was disclosed; however, that the .woman lived m Ariderson's Bay Road. Speaking of his first alleged visit to Mrs. . Clark's dwelling, Smith said that when she opened the door he asked her if she was Mrs. Clark and she replied that she was. N "I told her that I had a girl friend who was m trouble, and asked her what she could do for her. She. told me to bring her along the following day at 2 p.m., alleged Smith. "He. then -related his version of his visit with the girl Hislop, during the closing stages of which, he mimmmiiimi!iiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii|iiiiiimijiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiifiii

■ ■ . i said, he asked Mrs. Clark "what the damage would be." She had replied "ten pounds," arid he had handed her two £5 notes. Evidence of a person by the name of Miss Hislop having booked m at the Club House, was given by the proprietress, Jane Canning. Shortly after Myrtle Eliza Duncan, a slightly-built young girl, had entered the witness-box, the chief-detective experienced some difficulty with regard to the girl's failure to identify the accused as the woman who had visited her home m connection with the alleged illegal act. . She was ordered to stand down, arid her place m the box was taken by her mother, Jane Ella Duncan, a widow, residing m George Street. "I have never seen that -woman before," declared Mrs. Duncan, indicating the accused m the dock. '..-..

Continuing, she said that about six , or seven months ago, accompanied by her daughter, she visited a house m Anderson's Bay Road. i • A woman opened the door and Mrs. Duncan asked if she was Mrs. Clark. • The .Chief -detective: Who was the woman who opened the door to you? Mrs. Duncan: I don't know. Did she say who she was? Mr. Hanlon objected to this question, and his objection was upheld by the magistrate. ' . :■-,•■'-' Detective- Cameron (to Mrs. Duncan): Did you go inside? Mrs Duncan: I just stood inside the passage. Did you' have a talk with this woman? — yes. Did you, some days later, see the same woman at your own hoirie?— She was not anything like that woman there (indicating accused). ,

— ->J Mr. Bartholomew, (to Detective Cameron): You may treat this witness as hostile^— it is obvious. The police officer's resumption of interrogation was immediately ' attaoked by defending counsel, who intimated that the detective was "bouncing" the witness. Mrs. Duncan admitted that she had given a statement to Detectivesergeant Nuttall which she had read over and signed as being the truth. The statement referred to was produced and she identified her signature, after which the document was handed m. The- Chief- detective : • Wteis your daughter ill after that woman visited your house? Mrs. Duncan: No, not for a long time after. -. ' .' Was she ill?— She had pains . . . I Mystery Woman called m a doctor to be on the safe side. y , • What did you go to this house iri'Anderson's Bay Road for? At counsel's request the t question was ruled out by the S.M. Mrs. Duncan first denied that she had given the woman any money, but on. being pressed, admitted that she handed her ten shillings. Mr. Hanlon: Wait a minute, detective; who are you talking about— who is this woman you refer to? ... I object to taking statements about some woman who is not identified. Anything said about a woman who is not Mrs. Clark is not admissible against Mrs. Clark. "In her- evidence m chief she says it was not Mrs. Clark, yet, m her statement to the police, she says "it was Mrs; Clark," observed the magistrate, m allowing the objection. "Her evidence is really negligible.". > The daughter was .then recalled. I Her earlier evidence was to the effect niuiiiiiiuiiiiiut'.'.iiiiiuiiiiiiniiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiinHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiii