Police and Witnesses.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 126, 1 June 1904, Page 2

Police and Witnesses.

(Per Presß Association.) INVERCARGILL, May 80. Mr Hanlon, of Dunedin, who to-day % ippoared for a hatolkeeper charged ML with Sunday trading, animadverted™ strongly 011 the methods in force iqi. Invorcarg-ill for extracting state(iicQ.ts %1 » irom accused persons and witnesses, which, ho said, were not permitted n any other part of the colony. It was a travesty of justice for the polices to fossick around in the way they >lid, and by all sorts of traps Ret (or the unwary bolster up cases. He liad never seen cases conducted as 1 hey wore in Invorcargill, and in no centro would it bo tolerated—perhaps because the place was so far south and not closely under tho eye 0/ authority. In examining the principal witness for the prosecution—whose evidence was not turning out in accordance with statements to police—lnspector Mitchell asked witness if he had ever been in trouble himself. Mr Hanlon said it was a most extraordinary thing for the police to cull a witness and put a question liko that to him. It was the first lime in his experience of fifteen years that he had heard of such a line of conduct. Ho asked the Magistrate to rule that the Inspector could not treat his own witness in that manner. He hod no right to traduce the char- 1 .icter of a man on whom he relied o support the case against defendant, The Magistrate said he did not see he connection between the question mil the case they were dealing with. To Mr Hunlon the witness said that •letective Mcllveney told him hie vould have to sign the statement, tnd that he would get into troublo if he did'not make it; ■further, if ha did not do as requested he would bo like another man who got fifteen .uonths' gaol. It was after that that ,fitness made the. statement. The statements produced were false. DeiVndant was fined £2, the license to >0 endorsed.