DUNEDIN.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4516, 26 June 1883, Page 2

DUNEDIN.

Yesterday. The'criminal calendar contains 10 cases, the most important being charges of manslaughter against Fredk. Wain and his wife. Mr W. H. Cutten, formerly Commis•ioner of Grown Lands, and more recently M.H.R., is seriously ill. The Government; inquiry was continued to-day. Mr Stout appeared for Cald well. He submitted that the members of the Commission were placed in this unfortunate position : They had to, consider the actiou of the Inspector of Prisons, and of the Minister of Justice in this case. The Minister for Justice was ; plainly the prosecutor, and it was unfair to the E.M.s to have to hold such an inquiry, as they were officers of the Minister of Justice's Department. The whole thine had been,got up to deprive Mr Caldwell of his Well-earned pension. Furthermore he would point out from the reports in the newspapers that a quantity of hearsay evidence had been admitted, —he did i not know at whose request. These sittings were open to the Press, but it was unfair that libellous statements mado by prisoners should go forth to the public.—Mr Curtis, one of the Commissioners, in reply to Mr Stout pointed out that the inquiry was as to the general arrangements of the prison, and they repudiated altogether the idea that it was merely for the purpose of examin ing into the charges made against Mr Galdwell individually.—Capt. Hume replied to the suggestion that the inquiry was got up to deprive Mr Caldwell of his salary .--Mr Stout then cross:examined, the witnesses who had previously given evidence; the prisoner Morrison —in regard to Dr Moffat, who, he stated, had i been in the gaol—said he did not know I that prisoners had been sick in gaol, or I bad, he had his sentence relieved in conse. quenee of losing an< eye* while in gaol. Morrison also said "I did not say tnat men and women were in the baths together; what I complained of was that there were no female baths. I cannot say that debtor prisoners were improperly, treated; the treatment was different.''! —Mr Torrens, f^ol chaplain, was also cross-examined.' He made the following statement: " I invited Capt. Hume to tea one evening, and he asked me to make a statement about the gaol. lam not quite sure whether he asked me, or I, volunteered to make the statement. took- ! place after Mr Caldwell left the gaol. As to the other questions, he answered that he had never written a sub-leader mi a newspaper about the gaol." He declined to answer whether he had written'letters to the press on the subject, and added, "probably if you asked Mr Caldwell the . same questisn he would decline to answer; perhaps the less said on the subject of letters to the press - the better. He would say this much, that when he found most Unjust things said in the papers he considered it his duty as a man to put them right in certain quarters."—The inquiry will be resumed to-morrow. After concluding in Dunedin; evidence will be taken in Christchurch and Wellington, and Government will pay Mr Caldwell's expenses if he desires to attend at theseplaces. ■■„■.