R.M. COURT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1807, 7 October 1884, Page 2

R.M. COURT.

MASTERTON.-MONDAY.

(Before H. S. Wardell, R.M., and W. H. Beetham, and A. W. Renall, J.P.'s,

THE PERKY AND McKENNA CASE.

(Continued.)

T, Parsons, brewer, called, stated that for the last four months he had been searching for 7 "this reef with others. Hornblow told him he had a chance to obtain a share if he could raise tho money. Hornblow came to him to borrow the money., Afterwards McKehna showed!/ witness specimens at the Royal Hotel, which were, in his opinion, too good for the place. He advised Hornblow to have •■nothing to do with them. Mr Sandilands; What do you meau by specimens being "too good,"

Witness: They were one-twelfth-gold, and weighed about a pound,' Heasked McKerina if they were obtained in this neighborhood., and he replied that they were. From hints dropped be suspected . the.- spot where the supposed reel was and with some trouble he and, Mr Heatou found it. The Court:. I)unrig these four months were the men out there 1

■ Witness:.No, the men were about. Masterton. We '.traced footprints for two miles -in- -the clay in finding'the spot. Wo found at the spot the bag of quartz produced. Oue boulder was. chipped andj-had something yellow on it which looked like gold, After careful examination we found that there was no gold in the stone. My opinion was that the quartz in question was carried to.the spot. Tb'ero were oo indications of quartz within three miles of the Bpot. On Thursday last I went to the spot with O'Connor, Hornblow, and others, O'Connor at once pointed out the hole iu which the reel had been shown to him.'

Mr Sandilands: What were you hunting for ? Witness: For gold. The Court: Did you think the place au unlikely one ?

Witness: Yes, But we heard that the reef was in the neighborhood.

Mr Sandilands: Woro others hunting?

Witness; Yes. MrSandilands: What for. Witness: They wanted to jump their claim.

Mr Sandilands: You would not blame the men if they discovered a good find, and hid it oven from you. Witness; I would uot, Mr Sandilauds: Do you know anything about mining, Witness: No, I havo never been at any diggings.

Mr Sandilands: Would, that spot be a likely place to deceive people who know any thing about mining, Witness; Not by day, but it might by night: "'. , " Earnest Heaton, who claimed his expenses before being sworn as he had travelled-' sixteen miles, was informed by His Worship that it was not the first journey he had travelled without getting paid, deposed he was a contractor residing at Masterton, For a fortnight he had watched. the movements of the two quartz reefers and tracked them to the -bush, and found traces of footsteps last Monday; which' be with Parsons followed up and searched for a reef, He did not find one, but found where a fresh hole had been dug in the side of the hill, about eighteen inches square, He cleaned it out, but found no stone, He searched about and came' across a boulder six or seven yards from the spot and washed k at the creek and examined it, It looked as' if it had been scratched with some yellow metal. He then broke the stone but found no appearauco of gold in it. Two feet away he found a bag of quartz stones. He had since been up with Hornblow, who identified the place as the one he had been taken to by Perry and McKenna. The stone about was a soft sort of sandstoue, and bluish clay with sandstone in it. He should say it was decidedly not gold-bearing stone.

By Mr Sandilands: Ho. had been brought up on the diggings in. Otago. He had never seen indications of gold-bearing stone in this district. He was experienced enough to be able to start a reef and put it into working order. Ho would think it folly on the part of anyono to' suppose gold would be found in such a locality. Tho act of salting such a place was ridiculous,. • Men who had soen a diggings would not have selected such a spot, His idea of following up those men was not to jump their claim but to get as near the finders as possible, Ho and Parsons were supposed to be mates if they found anything. By Mr Beard: An inexperienced person would easily be misled at night time as to the nature of the ground. He would swear there wasnogoldin the toulder he and Parsons broke up. He could not identify the' stone produced as part of the boulder. Sergeant McCardle, sworn, said he knew the defendants, and was at the police station when a conversation took place between McKenna and Hornblow, The words MoKenna used were to the effect that he was sorry for. Hornblow—there was no reef and ho was sorry that he had placed Hornblow in that position. By Mr Sandilands: He did not recollect hearing Hornblow caution McKenna as to what he might say. Hornblow asked McKenna was there a reef and he said no. He did not hear .MoKenna say "They were not. such fools as to show them the reef," He could not Bay that Hornblow asked McKenna was' it a fraud, but he beard McKenna say "It is a fraud and I am sorry for it—there is no reef." He understood McKenna to refer to the whole business as a fraud, not to the place where Hornblow was taken and saw the boulder. . ; „■•

This closed the case for the prosecution. For the defence Mr Sandilandß, addressing the, Court, said'the informant Hornblow took his chance in an undefined goldfield. That interest had not absolutely accrued there was no doubt, but it had never been attempted to prove there was no gold-)

field in the district. The evidence of

the prosecutor could only go to show that he was imposed upon after the agreement had been signed, The amount of, £ls, which was paid by Hornblow'twas all they had to deal with. The fac't-of their having taken up Hornblow to'ja, bogus reef was perhaps unfortunate/-but it was done because they felt he might open his mouth, He contended Hornblow had got what he bought, an interest in an undefined goldtield, which may become much or little. No doubt if Hornblpw had taken other steps to recover his money he would have got it, as defendants found it was through him search was being made they would have been glad to get him out of it. What earthly interest .could defendants have for bothering Mr Beetham and the Native Minister if they had not a knowledge of some locality in which gold was, whiclr'could be got if their title to work there could be secured, The fact of so many people searching for gold and watching them would nccount for their'selecting a place to satisfy Hornblow which was nothing but a sell, If they had wanted to commit a fraud they would have at least chosen some other process than taking a person up at midnight and showing him a stone in a mudhole. There was uo. evidenbe; to show the specimens did not come from the North Wairarapa. ■ .Hornblow was eager to enter into the arrangements. He asked the bench to say that the statements mad 6 by MoKenna should not be taken in eyidonce either against hiuisolf or McKenna, arid.il would be a bad thing to bind Perry by what JJeKeuna had stated in. the lock up." Hundreds. of risky chances were U ken whore tho odds were-greater than the present one. If His Worship considered there was a, prima facia cai* for a higher Courfl, he• had one., important witness to call.

; The Court adjourned for a short time to consider the evidence. On its return His Worship called the informant, Hornblow into the box aud said: You say you paid to McKenna and Perry Xl 5, now upon what statement by them did you pay that money?

Hornblow; It was on' the statement that they had foiiwl a gold reef, and I was to get a share in it, His Worship; Do you swear that it was in respect to their statement thut the specimen shown you was a piece of the reef they had found in .the Wairarapa Worth, that you advanced the money 1 . Hoi'nblow: Yes.

His Worship: If that, he the case, then, Mr Beard, it will be for you to show that this specimen, on the strength of which the money was advanced is gold bearing quartz. Mr Beard then called as a mining expert Ernest Heaton, who examined •the specimen under a microscope, He said to the best of his belief it was gold •boaring stoue, The only method of testing it accurately would be by crushing the stone. ,By Mr Sandilands: He would not like to swear to the metal in-the stone examined being gold without first crushing it, He would like to see it with a better light. (A lighted candle was placed at the witness box,) Witness having again examined the atone, said "It is. gold." He was shown the stone said to'be part of the boulder found by himself and Parsons, and in answer to the Court said-he did not think it possible-for any one to. say positively that the. specimen with gold in examined by him was or was not a part of that same boulder stone. Sergeant Mc'Ardlo as an expert said the specimen was a gold quartz and contained gold, He should say the specimen and boulder were not the same class of stone.

His Worship intimated that there was a prima jam cane for a higher Court, and the defendants having been cautioned, on the advice of their Counsel reserved their defence.

They were formally committed for trial, hail being allowed in two sureties of £25 in each case.