THE EKETAHUNA TRAGEDY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4042, 19 February 1892, Page 2

THE EKETAHUNA TRAGEDY.

TtoMjournclfoquo3t, Verdiot of Wilful Hurler* [By Telegraph] ' (By Our Smial Reporter.) EitaAiiUHA, February 18, The inquest was resumed this morning, Mr Coates, of Wellington, watching the proceedings on behalf of Smith and Harrison. Mary Ana Polling, wifo of the licensee of the Club Hotel, gave evidence to the eficct that the deceased changed a cheque at her hotel for JJ3 lis. She gave him two notes and silver, but could not say oh whathank the notes were drawn. The deceased engaged a bed and went away at. ten minutes past eight. She knew nothing further of his movement's,

Johana Anderson, wife of a settler on the Alfredton road, heard some men quarrelling near the house at midnight, but was . afraid and did not get up because her husband was away from home. The noise of the row was first heard in the direction of the railway gates, and came past her house to about where the body was found, and then ceased.

John Younsen, settler, of Maurice ■ villa, gave evidencoto the effect that 1 he had enployed the deceased under tho name of Jack Berry. Ho gave liim £8 lis, the /balance due for wages, on Thursday night about five o'clock. The deceased said he would leave for Eketahuna on the same evening. The clothes taken from the deceased|i and now produced were worn by the man he employed.

John Anderson, licensee of the Eketahuna Hotel, deposed that he recollected the deceased and the two other men under arrest coming to his house. He saw them again about half past twelve. Ho was in bed,and hearing a row got up and loooked through tho window. He saw two men qunrrelling. One knocked tho other down. Ho saw the man who fell got up and tale off his coat, He then went down, anil opened.the side door, He saw them coming towards him, so he went inside- They went on the verandah and wanted to get into the hotel, He did not let them in, He recognised Dalton, by his voice, leaving, Fie had known him for five years.' The other voice was that of a foreigner, but he did not know who, The stranger said, " You have knocked me down four times, that is once too often," They went towards the Bail way Hotel, and he knew no more, Edward Elliston'deposed that the thre men were in his hotel. The deceased eventually went out with the prisoner Smith. Harrison remained. He did not see them again. Harrison left the hotel a quarter of an hour later. Harrison knocked for drinks about one o'clock, but witness told liim to go after his mate Smith,

The evidence of Aunie Williams, barmaid at Elliston's Hotel, was next given, but waß of an unimportant nature,

The Court then adjourned for luacheon.- '

On resuming, W. R, Bone, called, said lie recollected being in the liuilway Hotel on tho night of the lltli, at quarter past eleven, when the deceased and accused came in, Dalton shouted drinks. All three had ap* patently been drinking, The deceased seemed worse than the rest. He saw them go towards the door shortly after, and then saw them no more that night, At about half-past twelve he heard someone knocking at the front door and calling out to be allowed in Ito get drink, He heard Elliston tell the person knocking to clear out and let decent people sleep, The man tried tbe door again, shaking it, and eventually went away, The voice of tho man knocking had a foreign accent. Witness next described the finding of the body as already reported. Constable Roaehe used scissors to cut the clothes from the deceased, While holding tho deceased he heard hiui say " God savo me," He tried to say more but could not and died soon after.

Sinclair Munro George wag the next witness. He deposed that ho was superintending the grass seeding on his father's property at Pleckville, about five miles from the Railway Hotel. Both of the accused were employed, and worked ten and a balf days. The party in the camp lived in two tents, The two accused lived in one and witness and three others in the other. He remembered the accused leaving camp on the evening of the 11th, and thought (hoy returned about 2.30 on the following moraine;, He knew because Harrison woke him by coming into the tent. Harrison was'alone and asked for his time, so that he cou'd get to his father's place by four o'clock and get his money, He gave an a reason that the pay was not good enough for him. Witness told Harrison he would give him the time, but thought it mean of him to go when the job was 30 near finished. Harrison'then said ho would stop, and turned to Paul Bistrum and remarked that be had had a few drinks, got into a bit of a scrape, and tore his shirt. Harrison then inquired if Bistrum had seen the " German " anywhere, meaning Smith. He then went to his own tent. He heard voices speaking, but could not make out what he said, The tents were about half a chain apart. A. few minutes after Harrison left Smith. He put his head in and 'asked for a bit of bread, Bistrum cut him some, and he went away. Witness did not again see either of the accused until about seven o'clock in the morning, when he had a conversation with Smith, The night was bright moonlight. When Harrison came into the tent be appeared more excited than drunk. He believed the clothes now produced were worn by Harrison when he left the camp. The other clothes produced were worn by Smith that evening,

In answer to Mr Coates, the witness said he could not 3ay of his own knowledge what time Harrison woke him up,

The next witnesß was Paul Bistrum, labourer, employed grass seeding for S. M. George at present; His evidence exactly corrobnrated the last witnesses' statements re the mon visiting their tent at two on- the morning of the 12th February, Ho also sta'.ed that he heard Harrison talking to Smith ia their tent. Smith said, "Harrison, you are a big fool." Harrison, in his opinion, was not drunk, and he could not say excited. He appeared to have had a few drinks. Next morning Harrison told witness and a man called Sam Kemp that he had beeh drinking with"Jack- Dalion and Dalto'n had offered him a pound note, which lis hail refused because he had money of hi? own, Harrißon also Baid that Daltoa had promised to givu him a" hand tovfinish 'tho job, and miglitbe oiit by dinner time. •• A. R, Power, noxtoalled, gave evidence to the effect that he had roei Smith and another man whom he did

not know and whom he could not dew oribe struggling together on the foot- ■ path at quarter past twelve on Ihurs- - day evening, 11th February, The stranger asked witness if he had any money, Witness replied, "Yes, plenty, • : come along and I will shout," The men did not come, but got .quarrelling..". Soiith threw the other man twice in the road. At last Smith said 'Hake off your coat like an Englishman/ and J v* will button mine up," They and. again rolled in tho r«| • Witness was looking on. Tnep then went to Anderson's Hotel, but could not jet in ; at the front. Witness went to the back door and got inside, but. found nobody thore, so came out and went home without again speaking to the men, whom he left on the verandah of the hotel. This would be about twenty minutes past twelve. Witness drove the prisoners in from the camp after the arrest, While conversing on the road, Har- .• rison said he had a bit of a wrestle. with his mate the night before. Wit/,/ ness was sober, One of the men might have had straps round his legs. In reply to a juror Power raid it was not bright moonlight, as the moon was behind .somo, clouds, He could not say whether or not the man Smith was wrestling with had a beard or not. All he knew was that one was taller than the othor; Ho would swear positively that neither of the men said, " You' havo knocked mo down four times," He- whs., not drunk but was competent what occurred,

Constable Eoache deposed ' that ' since his last evidence he had measured the distance from the Kailway Hotel to where the body was found. Tho distance was 225 yards, The ' clothes produced were worn by the deceased at the time of bis discovery, ' Ou the left breast of the coat there was the mark of a stab with a sharp instrument. The shirt bad also a cut on the left side. Witness next produced certain clothes found in the tent of the accused and claimed . by them respectively. Owing to what he (Roache) observed on a coat and shirt he forwarded the articles to the Government Analyst, who submitted both to an official examination. Mr Coates objected to the report being putin, and Inspector Thompson did not press the point, Oolonel Roberts upholding Coates' objection, In answer to luspector Thompson, the witness said he found indications of blood stains on the shirt andjtat, S. M. George Junr,, recalled,p*)d that the meu received no wages dur- * ing the ten and a half days they were working, but he thought they _had money, as one of them gave Bistrum money to buy tobacco. Inspector Thompson informed the. Coroner that there was no further ' evidence to offer at present. The jury retired at 5 p.m., and at half past returned with the following unanimous verdict" Tho deceased, John Dalton, was wilfully murdered ky wounds inflioted on the 12th February by some person or persons unknown," A slight murmur of ap« plause went through the court when the verdict of the jury was returned, finding against " person or persons nknown,"

To-day's Prooeodlugg. Tbe rrlsonsrs Boforo tho Court. A Further Remand. Eketahuna, Friday, 11,30jU, At ten this morning BmiirTind Harrison were brought betore Colonel Roberts, R. M., and formally charged with the wilful murder of John Dalton oa tho night of the 11th inst. Both the prisoners appeared anxious and agitated, the younger man Smith especially.

On behalf of the police, luspeotor Thomson said that after the result of yesterday's inquest he did not feel justified ingoing on with this caBD,-> and would therefore ask for a remand until Friday next, the 26th inßt, at nine o'clock,

Mr Coates agreed to this, and the prisuners were remanded accordingly. During the progress of the inquest yesterday the Court was thronged with people, the utmost interest being evinced.