Untitled

Oamaru Mail, Volume 357881, Issue 350, 7 June 1877, Page 2

.The hearing of the charge of perjury against Alice Purnell, alias Mary Ann Greaves, occupied the District Court nearly the whole of to-day. It will be remembered that the case arose out of some evidence given by the accused in a civil action brought by her against William John Craig for the recovery of wages alleged to be due to her. On that occasion a receipt was produced for the previous payment of accused's wages. This receipt Alice Purnell swore she had not signed, while four witnesses swore that they had seen the money paid and the receipt signed by the accused. On this testimony the civil action was dismissed and criminal proceedings instituted against Alice Purnell for perjury. The accused having been committed for trial on the charge, the ease came before the District Court this morning. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr. White, of Timaru) prosecuted, and Mr. Hislop defended the prisoner. The evidence adduced by the Crown was, with one or two exceptions, simply a repetition of that already reported as having ben given at the preliminary inquiry before the Resident Magistrate. Mr. Hislop cross-examined several of the witnesses at great length, more especially Martha Craig and William John Craig. Both of these witnesses made several statements of a different nature to those made by them during the hearing of the civil case in the Resident Magistrate's Court, as well as during the preliminary inquiry into the charge of perjury. Mr. Hislop did not call any witnesses for the defence. The case was still proceeding when we went to press.

Mr. Hooper, a gentleman well known to a great number of the people of Otago, and respected for his many virtues, has been cruelly ill-treated by the Reformer Newspaper Co. A telegram in another column announces that he, poor fellow, was actually turned out of the editorial chair without sufficient warning having been given. He took action to recover damages, but was nonsuited. Hard fate ! No one who knows him will fail to drop a tear when reading so sad a history of so righteous a man. He sought peace in Wellington from the wickedness of the people of Dunedin as & refugee, and now, we presume, there will be no alternative but to go up higher. Barred out of Dunedin and Wellington as an eloquent exponent of temperance principles, and as an ncalcator of strictest morality, whither shall

he fly for subsistence ? He may yet have to revert to the old calling of rent and debt collector, and that would necessitate a sudden and precipitous fall from, the pinnacle of fame, by which he might break his heart. We have a happy idea—Let him take the advice of an old friend, and go to South America, or elsewhere where he is not known.

No less than eleven jurymen whose names were drawn in the perjury case against Alice Purnell were objected to and ordered to stand down. Of this number eight were challenged by the Crown Prosecutor, and three by Mr. Hislop, who appeared for the accused. It will be remembered that a short time since William John Craig was committed to take his trial at the District Court, Oamaru, on a charge of having stolen a large amount of money and some valuable papers from one John Brown. It has been found desirable to send the case to the Supreme Court, Dunedin, for further investigation, instead of to the District Court. With this object, Craig was brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, and re-committed to the Supreme Court, Dunedin. Bail was allowed' but has not yet been forthcoming. The nominations for two members of the Kakanui "Road Board for the Incholme Subdivision took place yesterday, at Mr. Elder's residence, Mr. N. C. Wade being the Returning Officer. The only candidates proposed were Messrs. Gemmell and Elder, both of whom were declared duly elected. Four defaulting jurymen, Messrs. G. L. Longford, Wm. Collins, Thos. Common, and Hugh M'Kay, were each fined 40s. for not answering to their names when called at the District Court this morning. Mr. Collins appeared shortly after the jury had been sworn, and commenced an explanation of of the reason of the lateness of his arrival, when his Honor stopped him and told him to wait until the case was over. Before proceeding with the business before the District Court this morning, his Honor said that there appeared to be a greater amount of business before the Court than couH be got through during the day. He asked whether the civil case of Miller v. Hay and Barr would take any length of time. Mr. Hislop said that if the case came before the Court it would last for some time. There was a prospect of the matter being settled out of Court. The hearing of the case was then adjourned until to-morrow morning. During the hearing at the District Court of the charge of perjury preferred against Alice Purnell, Martha Craig, one of the witnesses, stated that the prisoner's hand was very shaky when she signed the receipt. His Honor rema* ked that it must have been very shaky indeed, seeing that the woman could not spell her own name.

The regular Government inspection of the head-quarters companies of the Volunteers will take place to-morrow evening, at halfpast 7 o'clock. The band is also requested to be in attendance.

It is not often that a witness persists in the maintenance of a statement with pertinacity as did "Mr." Frank White, who never had an alias, at the District Court today. The witness was being examined in the case of perjury against Alice Purnell, and swore most positively that he saw the money referred to in the case paid and the receipt signed. He was positive upon the point that the amount paid was LI 165., and that it consisted of two half-sovereigns and 18s. in silver; but when asked by Mr. Hislop of what kind of money the 16s. was made up, he could not give anything further than "I cannot say; all I know is that LI 16s. was paid." This was the answer given to every interrogation, no matter whether he was asked if the silver portion of the money consisted of six-pences, shillings, half-crowns, or five-shilling pieces, out came the same very definite answer, " I cannot say; all I know is that LI 16s. was the amount paid."

Some witnesses have peculiar ways of getting over little difficulties, and Patrick Eyan, who was a witness in the perjury case to-day, had his own method of getting out of an unpleasant position. During his cross-examination, Mr. Hislop asked him if he had ever been convicted. With an imploring look, Eyan turned to the Judge and asked whether he was compelled to answer the question. On the learned Judge saying that he was afraid witness would have to answer the question, Eyan admitted that he had served six months in gaol in Auckland. When asked wjbakthis was for, he replied, " For playing cards. On the Judge and Mr.-ffislbp expressing their surprise at a man gettirig'six months' imprisonment merely for playing a " little game of cards," and asking if there was not something more serious, Eyan replied, " I was .playing with the Maoris, and you know the -Maoris '

can do anything in Auckland." TThis "was how Patrick Eyan explained the fact of the Government having had the benefit of his services for six months. It would seem that P. R. does not look upon himself in the light of a martyr, for when asked by Mr. White whether, he thought himself an illused individual, he replied in a sort of careless manner, "Uniph, no," leaving his hearers to infer that he thought his punishment was well-deserved.