NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 310, 6 October 1915, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

PERMITS FOR RAFFLES. WELL! NOTON, October 5. Entirely new forms are being prepared for permits for raffles for patriotic purposes and will be ready for issue within the. next day or so as soon as the Governor has giren his assent to the Gaining Amendment Bill. Hitherto permits have all been by letter, but now tjhe proper form of permit has been prepaired and will he issued. In every case sets of full conditions are. laid down and the Minister may make special conditions to suit particular cases. Care will be taken that raffles are not permitted for monetairy prizes or what amount to such, THE RAMARAMA MURDER. THE ADJOURNED INQUEST. AUCKLAND, This Day. The adjourned inquest on John Thoma s Perry farmer, of Ramarama, who was found shot, dead in bed on September 2-3, was opened this mct*ning. Amelia Perry, aged 29, wife of. deceased, who was under arrest, was present in custody. Her demeanour wa s perfectly calm.

The licensee of the hotel at Druiry gave evidence to the effect that deceased had some refreshments, including a mug of beer at the hotel at 7.40 p.m. and left at 8.20 p.m. on September 24. Wlhen he left the hotel he was perfectly sober.

Lillian Perry, residing at Ramarama, but not related to deceased, gave evidence of a conversation betweeen her mother and the accused, prior to the tragedy, in which accused said she would not be without her husband for anything as she could not control the boys. Her eldest, boy thereon remarked that he did not care if his father died to-morrow, as he badly used the boys, Henry Jennings, in evidence, stated that accused borrowed the gun from him a week before t|he tragedy, stating fliat her husband wanted a loan of it. He identified the gun produced in court.

Thomas Perry, the eldest son of the deceased, referring to the conversation recounted by Miss Perry, said he did not remember saying anything. He

was awakened about 2.30 on the morning of September 25 by a noise like gun fire. He noticed a smell of powder coming llrom his father’s bedroom, and looked through a crack in the bearding between the rooms. He thought he saw his mother moving on the bed and leaning over towards his father. He heard his father groaning, and asked his mother what was the cause. She did not reply at first, but told him to light, a lamp, and she then said that his father looked as if |he had been shot. She told him to get tjheir neighbour, Bill Girmevan, to come over. They went together, his merthef saying to Ginnevan, “Come on up, somebody's s[hot Tom.” His mother was crying. He said his mother offered no explanation of,.how the shooting occurred. The parents sometimes quarrelled, but not recently.

Cross-examined, witness stated that he remembered his father going to the hospital in May through being poisoned by eating tinned fruit His mother threw the tin into the lire after taking out. the fruit. He did not remember, her doing this before.

Mh Mays, Crown Prosecutor, stated that;witnesses would be called to show’ that the illness referred to was due

to strychnine poisoning.. , Witness farther said that he had never heard it said that anyone had a set on his father. On rteuming flrom the neighbour’s, his mother said that someone might have been quarrelling with his father, but did not say who.