ALLEGED STABBING AFFRAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8020, 5 January 1906, Page 3

ALLEGED STABBING AFFRAY.

ACCUSED DISCHARGED. APO PULAR VERDICT. " At the New Plymouth Court on Thursday morniiip, befort Messrs H. J. Kin-sell and 8. Hill. J's.F., Francis Gore Lowe," a yomi£ man in the employ of Mr R. W. Dixon, butcher, was charged with assaulting James McCracken in the Taranaki Hotel on the afternoon of Boxing Day. The case has excited considerable interest in town during the past £>rttiglit. Sergeant Haddrell conducted the case for the police, and Mr Quilliam appeared for (he accused Lowe. Sergeant Haddrell briefly outlined the circumstances of the alleged assault. The offence was an indictable one. It would probably be found, owing to the nature of the wound and the circumstances surrounding the assault, that McCracken would not be very clear on details. The first witness called was Mont Douglas Julian, son of the licensee of the Taranaki Hotel, who was in chargo of the bar during the afternoon of Boxing Day. He stated that McCracken came into the hotel about 1.30 p.m. McCracken had been staying at the house -for a few days and had slept there the previous night. McCracken was quite sober when he arrived, and was supplied with a long beer. After McCracken had been sitting at the bar about five minutes, accused eame in. Witness, at the time was at the other end of the bar. Accused stood by the door aud started tilking to McCracken. Witness could not catch what was being said. Shortly afterwards Mr 1). Watt came in. Lowe went into the passage and stood talking to Watt for a few minutes, afterwards coming back into the bar parlour, where McCracken was still sitting. Shortly after, he heard accused and McCracken talking in what ap..petted to ho angry terms. Witness opened the door. Lone was talking about a i'o note, and McCracken was indignantly asserting that he owed accused no money at all. Knowing McCracken was a hot-tempered man, and not wanting to have any scuffling ill the room, witness asked Lowe to come ilovu to the other end of the bar. JvOire ihortly afterwards went outside. •About three minutes later heard a "scuffle near the the back door, and "on going to investigate found Lowe and McCracken " locked in each other's »rrnji," Witness separated them, and asked Lowe to go out of the house and pot to make a row, Lowe replied that he would go, and walked towards the front door.' Witness followed Lowe, and McCracken followed behind witness, all being close together, Oji

reaching the big passage, McCracken tried to push past witness, who then T>!i?T —£fu<F attending in the bar? witness heard a scuffle iu the passage. Lowe and McCracken appealed to have liold of each other's arms, Witness took hold of Lowe's arm am*,, "id llim to go awav. Lowe replied: v All right, Mont, pick up my liat and I'll go." Lowe went through the bar into the bar parlour, and witness followed him straight Witness did not sec McCracken again until some considerable time later. Witness afterwards noticed close to the fnot, si the stairs, where ,Lowe and MeCraekm had been senfntj, that water had been used evidently to wipe something up, I Wit.ne»« never noticed any blood on Me. Crackeo on either of the occasions of the scuffles. The only drink Lowe had in the hotel was a medium " shandy" ' Cross-examined by Mr Quilliam: He thought McCracken wanted to get at Lowe again, when he tried to push past witness in the passage. Lowe did not show any disposition to renew the 1 fray. Lowe was laughing when he asked witness to pick up his bat, Witness did not particularly notice Me. Crackcn's condition, but he did not look like a man who had been mur- : dcrously assaulted. If Lowe had as- < saultcd McCracken, it must have be?n < before witness picked up Lowe's hat. ' Did not see;a knife in Lowe's posses- < *ion either then or afterwards. Lowe stood ialking after witness took him through the bar, and shortly after- 1 wards went out on to the footpath, : and. did not come into the house again that afternoon. To the Bench, witness stated that frftm the time Lowe and McCracken : came into the bar until he saw the last 1 of McCracken, about a quarter of an hour elapsed. About on hour afterwards McCracken came to the hotel 1 with the police. David Watt, accountant, a boarder I at the Taranaki .Hotel, said he re. -taraed to the hold for lunch about .half past one on Boxing Day. Monty Julian was in the bar, and McCracken 1 was sitting in the parlor. Lowe -bus standing about 3 pace"* from McCracken, nearer the front door. Lowe 1 naiil to witness: " This man, pointing to McCracken, owes me £'s or os—witness 1 could not remember the amount—and ivou't pay rue a penny. Witness immediately left to lave lunch. About 15 minutes later, in consequence of something witness heard, he went and saw "McCracken in his bedroom, McCracken wa« bleeding freely from a kind of wound in the back of the head. Witness attended to him as best he eould. McCracken seemed to be in a bit of a blue flunk, suffering from nervous prostration after sho;k. Cross-examined by Mr Quilliam: Believed there might lie other contri. butory causes to the state of nervous prostrat.on, McCracken was a man of ; irregular habits. McCracken did not accuse Lowe of having stabbed him. Saw McCracken next day near the Taranaki^Hotel, McCracken abruptly said to Sim: " This will he a police case for you, Watt. Why did you hold me back so t..at I could not strike Lowe." Witness inquired what he meant, but got uo reply from McCracken. He had seen no scuffle of a.iy i'c; cription between McCracken and Lowe. The" informant, James McCracken, described as a cordial manufacturer, •aid he had been staying at the Taranaki Hotel 'for a few days, and on Boxing Day was in and out of the house several times. About, half past one witness went into a room to do some writing. Lowe caiSe in and asked when witness was going to pay the £5 he owed him. Witness replied: " I don't owe you anything. I dou't know you." Lowe then applied some filthy epithets to him and knocked hiui down, and knocked him about the head until he was almost unconscious. Witness struggled to his feet and followed Lowe. Sonicbody in the passage prevented witness from getting at Lowe. His head was ' dazed' and in his excitement he could not positively ideutify the persons who stopped him. Informant Tierc made a long rambling statement concerning the alleged , assault and the scuffle in the pas sage, ami declared that while he was being hold by some persons Lowe was endeavouring to strike at him over their shoulders with some instrument in his hand. He received a blow on the back of the head, hut could not say who gave it to him. Witness detailed his subsequent movements, which, from their intricacy, were somewhat difficult to follow. It appeared, however, that he left the hotel in search of a doctor, fearing lie might bleed to death, and was taken to Dr Whittou's surgery iby a gentleman whom he met. Thefijn was in plain clothes and he did ljHuiow he was a policeman it the fflmt. lie did uot accuse Lowe of causing the wound on the hack'of his head, wlvirti w as bleeding and had to be dressed. He accused Lowe of striking him about the temples. Cross-examined by Mr . Quilliam : "Did not know who struck'him on the back of the head, ile did ncil know anything about Idling the. police that Lowe struck him with ,-y knife. He had not told people that'.he had been goaded on to press the case by the pojicc. He had been hjoycolted by people in the street over (this matter. He meant that he was being annoyed pvcr.th.is matter and aecusa- 1 of forcing

on these proceedings. At the time he told the police of the matter he was not quite responsible for what lie may have said, Though rendered almost unconsij ns by the (irst assault in the har par'-.nr he rushed after his assailant. did not call for help. He never hi anyone that he helievecl he ree .ved the injury to the

hack of is head by falling against the i stair-cai! V '. Since the injury he might t have told some people that it was the I. result of an accident. If he said so, g it was only to get rid of people. He i. was a cordial manufacturer, and made c cordials wherever they were required, i He got liuancial assistance from the •. Old Country. He never knew Lowe, - and had never borrowed any money - from liini. Ada Lucas, housemaid at the Tarn- ? naki Hotel, remembered cleaning up 1 some blood from the floor at the foot of the staircase about two o'clock 011 I the afternoon of the day in question. There were only a few spots of blood, and it was dry. Cross-examined: McCrackcn, on his return from the doctor, did not accuse Lowe of having caused him the injury. ' Constable O'Halloran described having met McCracken in Devon-street abont 2 p.m., on afternoon in question, ■ covered with blood. Asked what was i wrong with him, McCracken said he had met with an accident. He was bleeding from a wound at the back of his head, which was covered with blood. Witness sent him to the doetor's.

Cross-examined : Witness was in uniform. Walked some little distance, ]icrhaps 150 yards, with McCracken in direction of the doctor's. McCracken then found his way the rest of the distance himself, unaided. To the Bench: McCracken was sober, but had had some drink. On resuming after lunch, Mr Qui], liam applied to have the informant recalled for cross-examination. On going into the box, McCracken was asked by Mr Quilliam if he had ever previously been before the Court. McCracken stated: "I decline to answer." He refused to answer how often he had been charged with offences before the-Courts in New Zealand. To the best of his knowledge he had never been up before the Stipendiary Magistrate in Wellington. Later he stated that he declined to answer because the questions had nothing to. do with the present case. In reply to the Bench, Mr Quilliam stated that he wished to point out that the evidence of the informant was unreliable. ' Detective Boddani, in his evidence, said that in consequence of a statement made to him by James McCracken at the police station on 2Gth December last, he arrested the accused on the present charge. Accused replied: "I had a scufflle with McCracken in the Taranaki Hotel this afternoon. I did not stab him, but gave him a push and pushed him away from me." He •searched accused, who remarked "I have no knife- I never carry one." i\ r 9>?-eMmined by Mr Quilliam; Arrested accused at tHe Pofrce SffffeS on a charge of assaulting McCracken and eiiusinj bodily harm. Previously told aceii vd that a complaint of stabbing ' 'cCrackrn had been made against hi and the reference to the knife mai by accused was probably due to tha To the tieneh: Found no knife or other instrument on accnseO. Ilr Whitton said McCrii-ken eame to bis surgery about 2 o'clock on the afternoon of 26th December, suffering from a sculp wound about ialf an inch long, and to the bone in depth. The (round was clean edged, is a vertical direction, ami lw.l cut a snail arlerv, which was the paiipe of the* bleeding, After drawing and stitching this wound, witness washed informant's face and neck, which were smeared with blood. Noticed then bruises and scratches over informant's right eyebrow and eyelid. The left lip was scratched, and left jaw bruised. Two inches above ihe right eyebrow there was a bruise, not black, and a .scratch. There was also a bruise on the right wrist, and some scratches. Informant was daml and bewildered, and had apparently lost from 10 to 12 ounces of blood from Ihe cut wound at the liaek of the lici .1. It was a clean cut wound caused by a sharp instrument. IVeither a blow nor a push would eausv the wound. It would depend on what lie was pushedagainst. Had not seen McCracken since last Tuesday, but would not expect liini to be right yet. The wound necessitated three stitches. Cross-examined by Mr Quilliam : The mere sharp the instrument, the more likely there would be to be copious bleeding. That view was supported by authorities. To the Bench: A push against the corner of the dock would not cause such a clear sharp wound, but a contused wound. A nail in the wall would not cause tlie wound. Mr Quilliam asked whether (here was any case to answer, Hp contend* ed I hat the prosecution had utterly failed to make out a prima facie case. I The Bench retired to consider the evidence, and on returning to the Court announced having come to the Conclusion that the evidence against the accused not sufficient to support the rVirge. Accused was then discharged, amidst some applause from I the body of the Court,