RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2286, 28 November 1891, Page 4

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE’S COURT.

Geraldine - 1 Thursday, Nov. _2Gth._ [Before M 0. Orbell, Esq., and H. AV. ~ -Moore, Esq., J.lVs] ALLEUJiD ARSON. Henry Septimus Decimus Homes war, "... q'larged with..unlawfully, maliciously, and felonously setting fire to the Hilton Hotel and dwelling-house: on the sth November, with intent to defraud the. Liverpool and , London .and Globe Insurance Company, ; 'being an'offence. Accused was further charged with maliciously, felonously, and unlawfully setting lire to the Hilton Hotel and dwelling on the sth November, with John Ineson sleeping in the house at the time. : i Mr White appeared for accused, and Inspector Pender conducted the prosecution and called, Alfred Fisher, who gave .evidence to the effect that, as agent for the Liverpool and ' /London and Globe' Insurance Company, on fie 20th July saw the stock' and furniture and felt satisfied that it was all right to the value of £240, excluding personal effects. Took the interim policy (produced) on it. Everything was destroyed, only a small portion of the stock being saved. There was . £l5O insurance, placed on the furniture and the amount on the. . ..stock was.£so. There was a previous fire at same place about three weeks before the last fire, and, a, claim was made by .the necusedlto the -amount of £3O. -' ' James Alexander Bird, agent for the company in Christchurch, stated that in accordance with endorsement the policy - produced was made out direct to the Crown Brewery Company.' That transferred the interest of Homes to the Crown Brewery Company. Homes about the 13th November in Christchurch handed witness the claim produced in court and the declaration attached. Witness went on to say.- The proof of loss referred to the stock and furniture supposed to have been on the premises at the time of the fire. I kept the proof of loss, and. told him I would look it oyer.and the'declaration. Homes came ' a-min two days after, and I told him I could not accept it in that form. He should have ■ given me particulars, and 1 gave it back to nim for that reason. I told him how to amend it, by giving the items in detail, and h. 3 said it was. quite impossible to recollect what there Was in the house. He said he would have to refer to his wife, who knew more about it than he did He took away t ic proof of loss and declaration. I saw ’■ abended: the next day, or the day after, and ’ h ) brought back the inventory produced ol t le stock and furniture in each room at the t ne of the fire;.-:;This proof (produie.i) referred to the fire in November. I had no conversation with him about the amendeo proof of loss ; he merely handed it to me. I did not pay the amount and have not seen t ie accused since. I received a claim on an order made on me to pay Mr Gabites, ol Timaru, the sum of £O. The Crown ’ B rewery Company have not made any claim uo to the present time. John Bamfield, Justice, of the Peace, livin «• at Timaru, deposed,: I know Homes bv si"'ht. Recollect him making tne declaration marked D (produced). The signature thereon is his._ Accused took the declaration' away with him. ■ Samuel George Maddison, on his oath, sAted: I am the inspector of the Eire Insurance Association at Christchurch, anc am a builder by profession. It is part o;l mv duty to the association to inspect and value buildings, stock, and furniture, ana I am- continually employed doing so. 1 remember gbing to the Hilton Hotel on the 10th of October on a -count of a fire at the hotel. I. went .through the house ano formed- an; opinion, and made a written estimatci-ot* on which 1 eet £25 value. The stock consisted oi liquor. On the furniture I put £75. The -'furniture included other effects, such as clothing and.bedding, on which I put £25. Homes was not at home” at the time, and the first time I saw him was at Mr Bird's office on the I (sth November. Accused came there to see Mr Bird about the proof of loss he ■ bad put in the previous Saturday. Mr Bird handed him back the document marked D as being incomplete; and told him heuould have to put the prices opposite each article claimed for. I then commenced to question him. I asked him about the stock and furniture—if they were in the hotel at the - timeiof the first fire when I was down. He said he was sorry lie was not at home on t mt occasion, or he could have explained that it was low on account of a lot o! t'u stock being at the Timaru and G-eral- - dine racecourses, where he had the booths All the documents of the proof of loss were in the hotel and destroyed, and he had made up the proof loss from a Mrs Constable's dictation at his own knowledge, and was sure that nothing was therein but what was id the hotel when it was destroyed. T tat this was the third fire, and misfortune appeared to follow him. He had purchased his goods from the Farmers’ Co-operative at Timaru; Wood, Shand, & Co , Christ - ’ c hurch ; arid Mrs Caro, Christchurch. The next day I got the proof of loss from Mr Bird, aud did not see Homes after. That w a|illJEiat took place in my .presence. Livingstone, detective, stationed at / Timaru, deposed: I recollect seeing Home? : 14 Timaifu oh Saturday, 31st October. He askecVjhe ,J H I was coming Out to make inquiries about the fire on the (sth October at Hilton Hotel. I told him that it was useless for me to go out now as repairs haa : been effected/ I said “ I suppose you have an idea what caused the fire,” and he said it. ' was a defective chimney. He told me lie was -roiii”- home to the Old Country if he could sell outj’iind that he had a man coming oul to look at the business on that day. Soon after that there was another fire and I saw Homes at Hilton on the 7th Nov. and told / MmChad cpme to make inquiries about t’-'-fire and that I would like to get a statement from him of what he knew of it 1 ’ went into Mr Bradley’s store near by, and he made a statement to me, which I took down in writing, and Homes’ signed each sheet as it was read over to him. That statement referred to both fires. [The Statement; in question was here handec iito court hmt read over by witness.; t arrested Homes on the.l 7th; November at Timaru on this charge,which I explained fihim. He had nothing to say. I saw Homes on the railway platform, Timaru, on tie 12th November, and in my presence he siid.that he went to bed ahoiit 10.30, aud -' read for an hour, then put out the candle, and there was no light in his house downBtairs during that night up to the time he . -jvas called for the fire in the moring. AVilliau Berry deposed : I am a contrator a-ul bricklayer, residing at Geraldine. I know Honics’ Hilton Hotel. I went there on the ilth October last to examine t u; chimney and plastering. I went again OM the li'th Oot. and took the chimney down as far us the trimmer or gatherings I examined ic very closely and saw several marks of the previous fire at the back of the chimney. I did not find any crevice? where the fire could get through. I rebuilt it and in my opinion left it in a safe condition with regard to fire I don’t know whether fire could get through or not I made a good sound job of it. Beth of the flues were foul-when I tick the chi mendown, but there was no appearance of soot The boards were burned at the back of the J could not trace the fire from

chimney to the boards. There was-a spa ce of about 2 inches between the chimney and the boards. Could not say whether the .lirrmey had left the boards, or the boards She chimney. James Blyth deposed: lam a builder and insurance agent at Temuka. I know Homes’ place, and recoUect being at his aotel on the day before the fire. I went there to see if the repairs were done after the previous fire. Homes was there and I looked over the work done, and found it in good, condition, and perfectly safe as regards fire. I saw the bar and had a look at the stock. One of the duties insurance agents is to make valuations of stock. I put a value on Homes’ stock in my own mind but did not make out an estimate as I was not there for that purpose. I valued it in the bar at £l2 or £ls. I was in the kitchen. • lining room, two sitting rooms, taproom, and four bedrooms upstairs, and all the rooms below stairs but one bedroom. All that I could see was worth about £SO at the outside. I did not speak to Homes about the stock. Homes said he was satisfied about the -repairs done to the building, and he was not satisfied about the furniture. He told me he had no one in the house, his wife, being at Ti maru ill, and two servant girls having left him, and he was without a servant. He told me he expected to leave the house at any time when a suitable tenant could be found. Constable Will. Willoughby deposed : I am a constable, stationed at Geraldine, and also act as bailiff. On the 23rd October last I bad a distress warrant to execute, and put a bailiff into the hotel. The amount vas £5 odd. The man was in charge two lays. On the 3rd November I had another distress warrant. On this occasion I took vvhat I seized away. There has since then been an interpleader, and the stock has been handed over to Rutland and Co., the claimants. There were other outstanding summonses after the fire. Margaret Mary Campbell deposed: lam general servant at Mr Alex. McLean's. I was for some time in the employ of the accused at the Hilton Hotel, as general servant. I was there at the time of the fire in October last. The family consisted some time previously of Mr Homes and his wife and mother and two children. I was the only servant, and there was neither man-servant or barman. Mrs Pearce, mother of Mrs Homes, went to Timaru about a month before the fire. I never saw any damage at all by the first fire, only to the building, a wall being burned down. [ was in the habit of going through the rooms daily and knew what was in them. There were seven bedrooms upstairs, and ■'iie below stairs, occupied by Mr aud Mrs Homes. After the first fire Mrs Homes remained tiU the Saturday following, and then went away. Between the first fire and the last one only a few clothes were taken away to my knowledge. There were some things removed from No 1 bedroom about a week before the first fire, they were the bedroom ware and looking glass, aud were addressed to “ Mrs Pearce, Timaru.” , No 1 bedroom was the one in which the first fire broke out. There were a bed, dressing table, and washstand left in the room at. the time. [Accused’s inventory of goods in the house before the fire, was here handed to witness.] In the downstairs bedroom I did not see the following things; mentioned in the list before I left: ‘‘Silver ware and slippers,” and there were only five pairs of blankets. The things in the passage were all there and also in the dining room. All the things mentioned under the bead of kitchen were there. In the scullery there were no milk pans. In bedroom No. t there was neither oilcloth or carpet on the floor, and no chairs, mattress, blankets, sheets, pillows, quilt,vallance, looking glass, washstand, ware, brush and comb, towell, or box of clothes. These things are all mentioned as being in No. 1 bedroom and they were not there when I left. The only thing wrong with No. 2 is there was no ;hair. In No. 3 there is an iron bedstead mentioned instead of a wooden one. There was no chair in No. 5, and in' No. (> there was ■, chair. In No. 7 there was only one bedhead, and on the list there are two mentioned. There was no mattress, palliasses, sheets, pillows, chair, washstand ware, brush and comb, or towel. In the front sittingroom cupboard there was no jam or stores, only a few caudles when I left. I know a man named John Ineson who served in the bar occasionally, and a man named Leary, who lives close by. The furniture' in the house was of medium quality. Jane Constable deposed ; My husband is, i laborer. AVe live about five minutes’ > walk'from the Hilton Hotel; which was kept by Homes till the sth November, when it was burned down at night, I had been in the habit of going to the house occasionally at night to work, but did not sleep there. I recollect Margaret Campbell leaving shortly after the first fire. I took her place for a week. I was through the rooms every day, and knew what was in the house. I saw two chairs being taken from the house the Saturday before the last fire. That is all that left to my knowledge. I remember Mrs Homes leaving. I don’t know what she took with ier. I was not present, and did not pack anything up in the house. There were seven bedrooms in the house, and they were all numbered. In No. 7 there' was only one wooden bedstead, and two mattresses on the floor. The things in the house remained the same while I was there. Only one fire was in the kitchen about 8, o’clock in the evening before the fire. It was a calm night, and the fire was not one that would blow about, being a coal fire. There was nothing inflammable near at rand. There was a fender. That was the only fire in the house. I left Jack Ineson md a swagger there. Mr Ineson was bar-, ■nan. Mr Homes and Mr Ineson were on friendly terms. I did not see them talking together that evening. I know of nothing being removed from No. 1 bedroom. There vas not any ware or oilcloth in- that room. Joseph Henry AVhaypold, laborer, deposed ; I was in search of employment and got to Hilton Hotel the evening before the tire and got a shakedown in a hut about .50 yards from the hotel. I went to bed about!) o’clock. I was not out until I was disturbed when the fire broke out, AVhen I went out I saw tire close to the back of the house. It was high up through the roof. I saw two men, but could not recognise them, they were walking up to the back of the house. AVhen I got up to the back of the house I saw Homes going over to a man named Ineson, who was lying bn his back, apparently hurt. I did not notice Homes doing anything; he was not excited. I helped Homes to shift some beer casks away from the outside of the house out of danger of the fire. Homes said “ AVe can do nothing to prevent the place being burned down,” and did not seem much alarmed about it. Homes remarked that I was not to mention anything about the place, and he would make it all right with •ne after. AVhen I. was gomgaway he gave ne five shillings. I know Ineson now. Homes was behind me aud passed the reuark that Ineson was a smart fellow and they would have to mind what they said I don’t know whether the remark was made to Ineson or not. I did not look around. Tomes spoke to me in the ordinary tone of nice He told me to stay till the police une out and the enquiry was over. T waited When the house was

completely burned down, Homes sent Ino, to bring a man. I ■ William Heatley, laborer, deposed,; A recollect being at the Hilton Hotel .'on the evening of the fire. Homes and IniSon were together sitting down at the table. 1 left the hotel at half-past ten.; When I was called about 5 a.-m. the place was burned down. I saw Homes and I asked him what he had been doing. He said he had had a mishap,, and/the. >place, w& s burned down, and Jack Ineson , was nearly smothered in it, and he might be arrested on suspicion because there was suspicion;on him since the last fire. We were, friendly. I looked after a bar at the races, for him. I saw a load of stock come back from the Geraldine and Timaru races before the first fire. ; . ~ . - William Millar Patrick, contractor, residing at Gapes’ . Yalley deposed;:, X was out at the Kakahu river.eeling with three of xny brothers on the night of .the fire, and ?on the way home passed the Hilton Hotel, between half past twelve and quarter ■to one, and there was then.,a light in the downstairs window. [Witness here pointed out the room on a plan presented to him, which was evidently the one occupied by Homes.] - John Ineson, labourer, residing at Hilton, deposed : I have been at, Hilton for about five years. Am not married. I was employed,, by Homes, at .ope. .time doing general work, and served in the bar, having full charge sometimes. Knew the stock pretty well. . Was,there the night of the fire. Slept in No. (5. Went to bed about 10.30. Did not know if Homes went; to bed then. Left him at 10.30 at the foot of the stairs. Homes occupied the. bedroom downstairs. The on’, marked enplafl, with a cross was the one, I only saw one jar! of whisky there that day, and itwasionly half full. I got it out after the fire, it was saved. Two of the three barrels of beer marked on the list were saved.' The three shelves of champagne marked on the list were there. There were three decanters and one was saved. The lamp mentioned was saved. There was no hrandy in the bar, I did not see any box of receipts for cattle. Mr Homes had some stock in from the races before the fire. There was a good deal brought hack from Timaru, but there was not much left from the Geraldine races. I was disturbed between 2 and 3 o’clock ,by Homes, who called me when the fire broke out. When I pame out th& place was all on fire, and there was no one else there but Homes. When he came to wake me up he told me he had fired the place. He did not say anything more after that. I went then to assist.in saving some of the ptuff. Homes also assisted. He burst in .the bar door, and I assisted to get the stuff, and Homes went to his own room to save things, but did not save much; He saved two drawers, but what was in them I don't know. I went into the sitting-room to get something out,: and was (O verpowered with smoke and became unconscious. When I became conscious the place was all burned down. Previous to going to bed I had a conversation with Homes. He said “I am going to bum the place down to-hight.” I said nothing. I did not believe him, because he had said it so often. He had said so a few weeks before. He said “ I will make money by the insurance. ” I knew the place, was insured. The building belonged to the Crown Brewery Company, and Homes rented it. After the house was burned he stayed in the loose-box of the stable. I don’t know half that was said —he said so much.. He said he expected to be locked up on account of the fire. He offered me £2O not to say anything about it. He said he would pay me if I met him in Geraldine on the Tuesday ©Rowing. I went to Geraldine on the Tuesday, but he did not come. Homes was not doing a big business. Some days they took nothing. Mrs Homes and her mother left before the fire. I do not know why they left. I believe Homes was in difficulties. He -was going to the Old Country.. He told me amount of the insurance was; £2OO, and he would make £l2O by it. To Mr White : Saw several people at the place after the fire. They were Bradley, Healey, and several others. It was hardly, likely that I made the same statement to them as I did here to-day, Ido not know if I made any statement. If I did it was a different one to what I have made here to-day. I told a lie because I expected to be paid for] keeping my tongue still. I made the - statement tq-day probably because Homes/never paid me. It was about a week after the fire when I went and told the police. Mr White : Why didn't you go and tell the police before I Witness: It didn’t pay me. I thought it paid me better to keep my mouth’shut. Mr White : How much do you require to keep your mouth shut.’ Witness,Oh, a good bit. In, answer to other jquestidhs witness said he never told Heatley that £4O could be made out of Homes, and they could make £2O eaph, and if they ,coukl not get that they could turn over the other side and get £SO reward from Detective Livingston. £lO would not keep his, mouth shut, and nothing less than £2O would do it. Mr White: Were you not waiting to sec which side you could meke the most out of.' Witness; I think if you had to work for a living you, would do the same. We all look out for ourselves, and you look out for yourself. ~, ■ Mr White: I think you are a little inclined to be impudent now. Witness: Ditto. Mr White: Oh, we’ll meet again! (Laughter). Accused reserved his defence, and was committed for trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court, Timaru, on the 9th February, bril being allowed in two sureties of £2OO each, and self £2OO. The court then rose.