ALLEGED PERJURY BY THE POLICE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1937, 31 August 1889, Page 3

ALLEGED PERJURY BY THE POLICE.

At the hearing of the charge of perjury against Detective Benjamin at Wellington on Wednesday, a witness named Frank Greaves deposed he had never seen the shot pouch found at Kaiwarra on Sunday in Chemis’ possession. A man named Gibson had told him he had lent Chemis the pouch found on Sunday. His ex-amination-in-chief was mai»ly in the direction of proving that the powder flask, shot, caps, and wads were in the drawer before the date of Hawkins’ death, and also on the day of Chemis’ arrest. He also swore to seeing four quail at Chemis’ on June 2nd.— Hodges, owner of the pouch found, and Gibson were called, and deposed that the former lent Chemis a shot pouch with a peculiar iron top and embossed picture on the side. Gibson lent it to several people, including Chemis—to the latter about a year ago, he thinks. In cross-examination

Gibson deposed that he had been pighunting with Chemis, but the latter never killed any pigs, and he never saw him with a knife. A young man named Bound had borrowed the shot pouch once, and came for it a second time, when witness told him it was at Louis Chemis’. Had asked Greaves to bring down the shot pouch from Chemis’. He had left the pouch at Chemis’ after a shooting expedition, and could not remember taking it away.—Ebenezer Bound corroborated part of this evidence.—Mrs Chemis, recalled, said she had never seen a shot flask in the house except the one taken away by the police. She had never seen the flask produced before. Beyond the stiletto, there was not a knife in the house with both sides sharpened. On Thursday, Ellis Low, who found the shot pouch and knife on Sunday, said he did not think a plant had been set for him. The articles found were covered with leaves, which he thought had fallen from the growth overhead.— Warder Coyle deposed to thoroughly searching the creek and hill on August 2nd, and if the Knife and pouch had been there then he thought he must have seen them.—William Skey, Government analyst, deposed that he found no signs of blood on the knife and sheath; if the articles lay in running water any stains would almost certainly be washed away. —Bound, Greaves, and Gibson were crossexamined. Bound distinctly swore that he had never said anything about a picture being on the pouch in conversation with Gibson, Greaves, and others. Greaves as distinctly swore that Bound did say so. Gibson thought he had given seven or eight bullets to Chemis, but did not seem very certain about the numbers. He left the bullets and sheath koife at Chemis’s because he did not want to carry them home that night. He got the knife back again the night before Good Friday. He had never seen another sheath knife at Chemis’s, nor the knife or sheath found by Low.