COURTS.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 113, 19 February 1872, Page 3

COURTS.

AUCKLAND POLICE COURT. ARS O N . BURNING OF TIIE KEROSENE STORE. Cyrus Haley was brought up on remand and charged with wilfully setting fire to the kerosene store in Mechanics’ Bay, the property of Arcliard and Brown, on the 25th January, 1871, with a malicious intent. Mr MacCormick said that at prisoner’s request lie would not any longer he represented by counsel during the present investigation.

Ilis Worship said he was not sure that prisoner was acting wisely, lie would, however, do his best to protect the prisoner.

Mr Herbert Ashton deposed : I have bad frequent opportunities of seeing prisoner Avritc. (Letter book produced.) I identify the letter dated 4th July, 1871, as having been Avrilten by prisoner. It is addressed to me, and I saAv him Avritc portions of it. I also saw him write portions of the letter dated st!i July, 1871, addressed to the Chairman of Directors of the Ncav Zealand Insurance Company. (Other letters and papers put in as evidence previously, Avere then produced.) To the best of my belief they are all in prisoner’s handwriting. I am of opinion that the five note books arc in his liandAvriting. Mr Charles Williamson, manager of the J)(iili/ Southern Cross, deposed : It is my duty to receive and open all letters addressed to the editor of that ucavspaper. I remember fires taking place in Auckland in the early part of 1871. I think the} - Avere all in January. There Avere tAvo or three, succeeding 011 c another. They Avere the ship City of Auckland, Archnrd and Brown's kerosene store, and the Music Ilall. They Avere commented on in a leading article in the Cross. On the 28th January I received the letter and envelope produced through the post. Mr Thomas Russell, solicitor, deposed : I am the prosecutor in three cases against prisoner. During the progress of these cases, I had opportunities of becoming intimately acquainted Avitli prisoner’s liandAvriting. I knew it before, but during the investigations I have become even bettcr acquainted with it, and I also acquired a knowledge of other facts in connection Avitli the letter now in my bands, marked Jj (the same as had been identified by last Avitncss). I have read and re-read the various documents referred to in Mr Ashton's evidence. They arc in prisoner's liandAvriting, with the exception of some letters purporting to be Avrittcu by other persons. 1 have compared them Avitli the letter marked L and the envelope marked K. To the best of in} - belief the envelope and the letter are in prisoner's handwriting. There arc certain strong peculiarities in prisoner’s ordinary liandAvriting, Avhich in the letter and envelope he has been unable to conceal. The features referred to arc the formations of the capital letters E. 8, 0, Q, W, the £. the letters k, v, tho forma tion of the letter s in the printing portion, a peculiar termination to the letter g at the end of a Avord, a habit of writing letters Avitli a pothook before the down strokes to tho letters b, p, and other letters formed in that way., It is a very strong habit of prisoner’s. The formation of the letter x, which lie never makes except in one

way, is very peculiar. There is a peculiarity also in the manner of placing the dot over the i. It is not a dot, but a stroke across the paper above the letter. I recognise a very marked peculiarity in the letter 1 in the second line of this letter which I have never seen in any other writing. Two words arc separated by a hyphen. The words following the hyphen are underlined, and the hyphen and the underlining are connected by_the pencil mark, a peculiarity which is repeated in the threatening letter sent to me—l mean the one for which bo lias been committed. There, is one other circumstance. The word “and” is used 35 times in this letter. In only two instances is it written in full. That is a very strong habit of prisoner’s all through his writings. I have counted the words all through the letter book, and be very seldom uses anything but the abbreviated character. From these and other reasons I have not the slightest doubt that- the handwriting of the letter and envelope is tliat of prisoner. Bad spelling is another characteristic of his writing. (Enlarged photographs and printed copies of the letter were produced to the Court.) The envelope is of an uncommon kind ; the stamp is peculiar ; it is a fern. I produce an exactly similar one which Ternahan and myself found among prisoner’s papers. The die, size, make, &c., are exactly the same.

Cross-examined by prisoner : I have been at your house. I was there in emupuny with Inspector Broliam on one occasion, and one only. I do not remember the date. It was four or five days ago —within a week. It was since (lie first investigation. I did not find the envelope at your house, but among your papers, which were in Inspector Broham’s room on 2nd February. I took nothing from your house, but Inspector Broliam did. " He took a book at my request. I saw there a lady, whom I supposed to be Mrs Haley, some children, and a servantwoman. I bad some conversation with Mrs Haley - . I think it was some casual remarks about a book I was examining. Mrs Ilalcy did not object to our searching the house. I do not know that Mr Brobam bail a warrant. It did not occur to me to ask if be had one. I was never at your bouse prior to that. Mrs Haley objected to Mr Broliam searching the bouse, and be replied lie had a right to do. I went to the house, not in regard to this case, but to that of the threatening letter. The book I requested Mr Broliam to bring away bad reference to that case. John Schinit, lithographer, examined by Mr Brookfield, deposed : I have experience in the comprrison of bandwritings. The nature of my business gives me this experience. I have been a lithographer sixteen years. I have during the last week examined the books and letters referred to in the evidence of Mr Ashton. I have seen the writing marked L. I have examined and compared it carefully with the other documents. I have conic to the conclusion that they were all written by the same writer. I have not the slightest doubt of it. There is a certain characteristic in the manuscript in the letter-book marked C, which I find repeated in the letter marked L, also in the writing on the envelope marked Iv, also on the envelope produced during the bearing of the charge against prisoner of sending a threatening letter to Air Russell. This characteristic is particularly displayed in the following letters. The capital R, the small r, the small f, tho capital M, the capital N, the figure 2, the figure 5, the small x, the capital T, the small h, the capital Q,the £, the abbreviation of “ and,” which occurs very frequently,—the obliterating of words, the small p, the capital A,the capital \V, the dots above the i, the capital P, the small k. I find these peculiarities in the letter book, reproduced in the letter and in the envelopes. I have not the slightest doubt that all the documents are in the same handwriting. Mr Frederick Battloy, Inspector’s Accountant at the Bank of New Zealand, deposed : I have been in the Bank of New Zealand 10 years. Previously, I was a compositor. I have bad a great deal of experience in comparing and decyphcring handwritings. During the last ten. days I have bad an opportunity of examining the letter-book marked C and the other documents produced, which were referred to in Mr Ashton’s evidence. I have also carefully’ examined the letter marked L, and the envelope K, and I have compared them vciy carefully. I am very strongly convinced that the same person wrote the letters in the book C, and the letter marked L, and the envelope, but I do not know who that writer is. There arc very many striking peculiarities, which I think it impossible to combine in the handwriting of different men. A few of these are, in the crossing of the JC, the dotting of the i, the small x, the back formation of almost all the long letters, such as b, q, d, t, 1, f, h, the letter k, the capital E, the capital C, the capital S, and the small s. These peculiarities are also in the manifold letter writer marked C. There is also an unusual proportion of times in which the “ and ” is contracted. The figures 2,3, and 5. There arc also peculiarities in the construction of the language, which led me to the same conclusion. There is also mis-spelling of a similar character in each, namely, in the double vowels and double consonants. In the lettor-hook, for instance, maintenance is spelt “ maintainaiico,” nonpareil is spelled “ nonpariel,” exaggeration is spelled with [one g, issuing is spelled with ail c. That class of words are also mis-spelled in the letter sent to the Cross, e.g., vengeance is spelled without the a. In the same document obnoxious is twice spelled without an i, desperadoes has no e in the final syllabo, ballot is spelled with one 1, wooden with two d's. This mis-spelling seems to be on the same rule in both cases, and for all these reasons I am convinced that one and the same person wrote both documents. Mr Brookfield then tendered the letter in evidence. The small characters of the letter, and their peculiarities quite puzzled the Clerk of the Court, although he was .•.ssisteil by a powerful magnifier ; and it had to be read by Mr Broliam, who had the opportunity of studying it previously. The letter is as follows : (envelope.) The Editor SOUTHERN CROSS Queen Street Sir, Your surmise that the Recent tires have been done purposely is right. Your sarcastic prediction of annihilation to yourself may be—right you arc again. The first fire was done in a novel clever, and as we know successful manner. You shall have details when the system is exhausted to explode it now would prevent its future use by us. & battle ourintended operations Number 2 was fired in this way. The light commanding the point of attack was put out & a look-out stationed near it & in the opposite direction. {The gas cock was left open. The corner of one large sheet [was bent back & the lower part of the side of the next sheet was turned over a bit. Then with the turn-screw, three

holes were bored one above another through the wooden cases & and the tool thrust through the tin. Out oozed the kerosene on some cotton rags were lighted & the first phiz went off in less than a minute. In about ten minutes after it was observed by McComish. About twenty elapsed before the alarm bells rang. There weresome pieces of timber outside one of which we moved. Number 3 was fired by placingafire under the floor. the position was under the side of the main building near the refreshment place & almost at the end of the latter. We had watchers outside & two of us commenced work soon after the hallkeepcr had retired. We look wood and kerosene with us & with the assistance of some empty cases we found laid the pile ready for firing. To make sure work we had all the wood to cut & lay nicely. This took a long time & prevented us doing another place that night as We had intended. There will be no more fires at present from our party. When we commence again we shall you it shall number them as we go on. We vow to destroy £IOO,OOO of property & to take five of the lives of the most obnoxious persons. Wc arc a clan vowing vengenee & determined to have by any or some means what we have not been able to get by fair means. Wo balot for the persons to do the acts and in case of persons to he put away with—wc keep a list of obnoxious persons & balot for you who aie to be put away. Five of you are doomed to go this year & will be drawn for next week. The truth of this document will be proved by time only but that it is true you will learn to your cost. The editors of papers & the persons holding places at the public cost arc continually by misrepresentations and to serve your own purposes inducing persons to come here & then make both tools and fools of them. Tradesmen and good honest artisans and labourers spend their all in coming out here & persons in better positions make great sacrifices to come & when they get here the former is offered Stone-breaking and jeered at. The latter is written down or pushed aside because he is anew comer let his talents be ever so great that is sufficient to stamp him. Public money & sinecure situations arc given to favourites & old chums ad libitum. But a few of us desperadoes wc will call ourselves are determined to alter this state of things. Wo will not have £25,000 Busby’s given at a sweep & and subsidies to rich persons and friends & every public person looking out for himself and his friends only. We will make work in a manner of our own & make unmistakeably quiet every unduly selfish public person. Fortunately for the poor persons who have been gulled out here you all have easily assailable points—woodden houses, &c., and circumstances favouring assaisnation, 1871 will be a sad year for AUCKLAND. No fear of shaking our fidelity. Nothing but a £IO,OOO reward will be noticed.— Wc demand that publicity be given to the contents of this letter. Time alono will proved the correctness of theso forebodinggs.—Not les than £IOO,OOO of property & 5 lives. Inspector Broliam of the Armed Constabulary, re-called,deposed : Just previous to the 28th January last year, three large fires occurred in Auckland. The first was the ship City of Auckland, on the 24th January ; the second the kerosene store on the 25th ; and the third, the Music Hall, on the morning of the 27th. The description given in the letter just read of the burning of tlio kerosene store corresponds exactly with the circumstances observed by me at the site of the fire. In consequence of that letter and other circumstances, I searched for a turnscrew in the prisoner’s house. In the letter there are references made to misrepresentation made to induce persons to come out here, and to tradesmen and other persons being put to stonebreaking and jeered at; and in the letter-book I find a letter dated 14th June, 1871, containing exactly the same sentiments. The letter is addressed to a Mr Bishop, in London, and the following passage occurs : —“ Now a bit about myself, copying the remarks in yours undor reply. I have indeed been perplexed for want of cash, to such an extent as to see starvation in view. I came out hero to make money honestly, decidedly, if I could, but nevertheless to make it. I and my wife tried almost every resource. Mrs Ilaloy worked at menial work for a trifle a day, and I was just on the point of accepting a Government appointment, not very lucrative I admit, still it appeared to be the best and only thing that offered at the time. ’Twas breaking stone on the roads, at a starvation price per ton, when fortune turned on me and I am now better off than ever 1 was in my life. Before this, L have been driven to desperation, seeing nothing but starvation for myself and little ones, and knowing at the same time there was money due to me from England.

This concluded the ease for the prosecution, and the Court adjourned for half an hour.

The depositions were then read over, and the prisoner was committed to take his trial, Ilis Worship the Resident Magistrate observing that although there was no no direct evidence against the prisoner,yet the circumstantial evidence was of such, a nature as to warrant the Bench in sending the ease to a jury for trial. Prisoner reserved his defence.