AUCKLAND POLICE COURT.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 112, 17 February 1872, Page 3

AUCKLAND POLICE COURT.

Thursday. (Before Thomas Beckham, Esq., 11. M., and Captain llolt, J.P.) TIIE BURNING OF THE KEROSENE STORE. Cyrus Haley was brought up, charged with having on the night of the 25th January, 1871, wilfully set lire to the kerosene store in Mechanics’ Bay, the property of Messrs Arch art! and Brown.—Mr Brookfield appeared on behalf of the Crown, and Mr MacCorniick for the prisoner.—Frederick Arc-hard deposed that lie was in partnership with John Brown, and carried on the business of timber merchant in Mechanics’ Bay. In January, 1871, they were owners of the iron store in Mechanics’ Bay, known as the ' kerosene store. It was burned on the night of the 25th of January, 1871, near to midnight. It was built of galvanised iron on a wooden frame. | The shutters, as a rule, were closed at i night, and fastened inside, but were opened ; every morning for ventilation. On the i night in question he believed the store i was properly closed, and Charles Hardy ; had charge of it. There were lying against the walls outside some spare rafters. The ! photograph produced was a fair representation of the store before it was burned. The rafters were shown in the photograph, lying against the north wall, the wall facing the Bay. Everything was totally consumed save the corrugated iron and the iron tins. They watched the tire until the iron got cool, so that they could : examine it. Before the ilamcs had fully * burst out. lie went down to the store, and i saw an opening in the Bay side, close to the ground, throng'll which be saw a ilame. The other part of the building was begiuing to get red-hot. The building was ten or eleven feet high. The corrugated iron was placed vertically on the framework, a | long length below and a short length j above. A portion of one of the lower

sheets of iron had been wrenched from the stud, bent upwards and outwards. The undersheet was also bent outwards towards the sea. That could not have been done by the fire ; it must have been done by mechanical means. The second sheet mentioned was not bent so far as the other one, as it was somewhat over-laid by the other sheet of iron. The opening made between the two sheets was in the form of a triangle,but not of sufficient size to admit a person’s body. It was large enough to enable a person to use a turnscrew or auger through the opening. A tin of kerosene could have been taken out. The sheets were fastened to the stud by the ordinary 2in. galvanised nails. The timber leaning against the wall outside must have been removed to enable a person to hand the iron sheets back. At the time of the fire there were between 1,200 to 1,300 wooden cases of kerosene, each case containing two tins, and a few single tins not in cases. The cases were piled one on the top of another, close to the walls, leaving a passage up the centre of the store. After the lire, all the higher tiers of tins had fallen outwards ; but in the particular place where the opening was they had not fallen, as they were only two cases high. lie examined the tins close to the opening as soon as the heat would permit. The wooden cases were all burned, and only the iron tins remained. He saw two of the tins with holes pushed through them. (Tins produced and identified.) Bo far as he remembered, the two cases were on the top of each other, and the punctured sides facing the opening made in the corrugated iron. The holes in the tins could not have been produced by any of the rafters falling on them. There were no other tins with holes in them except the two produced. At the time of the lire they thought the punctures had been made by the end of a file. The round tile and the screwdriver produced would be capable of making the holes found in the tins. He had measured within the last few days the holes in the tins with the instruments produced, and they fitted each other. He saw the store about G o’clock on the night the fire took place. The walls were secure then. The night in question was a rather dark one. There was a gas lamp in Branlcy-strcet, noarlv opposite the store, throwing light towards the store. Shortly after lie arrived at the fire his attention was drawn to the lamp, which was not burning, and it was out. The night in question was between the new moon and the first quarter. Charles Harding stated that lie remembered Wednesday, the 25th of January, 1871. On that night he locked 1 lie store up about G o’clock, and took the. key and left it at Messrs Arehard and Brown’s office. During that afternoon there was no light or fire of any sort in the store. Tim shutters also were closed. The walls were sound and uninjured when lie left the store that afternoon. There were 1,204 cases of kerosene in the store, and 8 gallons in each case. It belonged to various merchants in town. The cases of kerosene were piled up close to the sides of the building. He saw the store when it was burning about half-past 12 o’clock on the morning of the 2Gth. As soon as he came to the building his attention was called to a hole in the building on the side facing the sea. It appeared as if the galvanised iron forming the wall had been wrenched back. The hole left a direct opening to the kerosene cases. From that time lie stayed at the same place until 8 o’clock p.m. same day—about 20 hours. Before he left the store he saw the two kerosene tins produced, which were taken from near the centre of the store, and at the spot where the opening in the store had been made. He examined them and found some holes in them. They appear to bo now in the same condition as when he found them, lie saw them taken out from the place where the hole in the wall was, and the holes were in the tins then., (lie then corroborated Mr Arehard s evidence respecting the timber outside the store, and the removal of a portion of it to where the store was found on fire.) The gas lamp in Btanley-strcet opposite the store was lighted about 8 o’clock on the night in question, at which time lie passed it. When he came down to the lire it was out. It was a mild night, and not windy. lie noticed the smoke from the store goingstraight up in the air. The corrugated iron could not have been pulled back so far as it was, had not the timber outside the store been removed. —Charles Mclndoe, to.Mr Brookfield, deposed that he was a clerk in the Daily Southern Cross office., lie was acting as such in December, 1870. He recollected the accused coming to the Doily Southern Cross office and giving some instructions respecting an advertisement. Thomas Broham, Inspector of Armed Constabulary, stationed at Auckland, deposed : On the 28th January last, I searched the house of accused after he was arrested on another charge. Amongst other things, I found a number of memorandum books, letters, and other book a containing writing of prisoner. . I know his handwriting.—Mr MacConnick objected to this strain of cross-examina-tion. It must be proved, before such a statement could be admitted. — The Bench believed that Mr Broham would give his reasons for knowing the writing to be prisoner’s. Examination continued : Amongst other documents, I found a large number of letters, signed “ Cyrus Haley.” (A large number of private letters produced.) Of the letters produced, there are 18 beaming the signature of “Cyrus llalcy.” It is his signature. I know it. I have seen him write his name. . Borne of the letters are only initialed “ C. II.,” but they are all in his handwriting. (Letters admitted as evidence.) Those letters are principally to his friends and relatives. 1 also produce some other letters in his handwriting, and endorsed by him. Those letters or memoranda describing the contents of several boxes. There are 22 in number. (Memoranda received.) All those documents are in his handwriting. I also found a letterbook containing copies of a number of letters written by him. It is a manifold letter-writer. The letters are duplicates of the originals. All the letters in that book arc in bis liand-writing, except a few, which are in the handwriting of Mrs Halev. I also produce some writing of his, the preparation of a directory of manufacture, &c. That also was found in his house. I also produce five note-books containing entries in his handwriting. I also found a number of critiques on Madame Haley’s (his wife) concerts. I also found one on the concert given on the 9th December, 1870, in Auckland. I found an advertisement on the 9th, and a critique in the Doit;/ Southern Cross on the 10th.

j 1 found all these pieces in one envelope, ! the address on which is in prisoner’s liand- ! wiiting. The advertisements produced ' (formerly shown) are in prisoner’s hand- | writing. I have no doubt about it. The j series of manuscript advertisements of conceits produced arcin prisoner's handwriting i I loimd a screw-driver and tile, which i have been produced to-day. On the 2nd : of this month I found thus;.- articles ; amongst other things. I have tried

! whether those tools, or some parts of j them, would correspond wiiii the holes in j the kerosiue tins produced. They do

correspond. I have tried with the screwdriver produced to put a hole through a kcrosino wooden case. In about a quarter of a minute I put a hole right through case and tin. I made a hole similar to the hole in the tins produced. I stuck the screw-driver into the wood, and gave it a twist or two. It was one of the ordinary wooden kerosine cases I tried it upon. There are marks round each of the holes in the tins produced, which could bo caused by working the screw-driver or a similar instrument backwards and forwards as I have described. —To Mr MacCormick : It was two or three days ago since I made this experiment on the kerosine case. It was with reference to the present trial.—To Mr Brookfield : My attention was particularly directed to those tools from a certain letter in my possession. I had just returned from Panmure, where 1 had been to see Margaret Kelly, formerly servant in _ the prisoner’s employ. At Panmure 1 received information which led me to look specially for tools of this description. The further hearing of the caso was adjourned until 10 o’clock on Saturday morning.