THE EKETAHUNA MURDER.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4138, 14 June 1892, Page 2

THE EKETAHUNA MURDER.

The Third Trial. Address of the Grown Prosecutor. The casein which Charles Smith and Charles Harrison are charged with the murder of John Dalton at Eketnhuna, was called on in the Wellington Supreme Court yesterday, The oharges were heard together at last sessions, bat the jury failed to agree, and another trial took place immediately afterwards, the jury again disagreeing, The Crown Prosecutor intimated that as counsel for the prisoners intended to make separate defences he bad deoided to deal with the charges : separately, ind the charge against Smith would be taken Brat.: The Crown Prosecutor in opening the case, said that the murder which the jury were called upon to investigate was committed e'ther lute on the night of the lltb February: or earl) on the morning of the 12th. Early on the morning of tho 12th a man was found lying on the road leading to Alfredtoh,,about half a mile outside Eketohuna with his throat cut, the. windpipe being penetrated, and there waa a deep cut botween the ribs on the left side. The man, who was in a very weak state, muttered iomething which no one present could understand, and he died in a few hours, inflammation from tho wound in the side being the causeof death, Itturned out that the man was one John Dal« ton, who had been employed on a farm at Mauriceville, and' who had gone into Eketahuna on the evening of the 11th, the day before his death, with a cheque from bis late employer amounting to £Blla 6d, being .the balance of wages which were due tc him. The man first called at the ' Railway Hotel, nt the end of the township nearest the railway station, \ and tried to change his cheque there : hut was not able to do so. He> ther I went to the Club Hotel, and arranges , to stay for the night, After having '• his tea there, he went to a hotel kepi , by Mr Anderson, an old friend, anc [ alter Btaying there a little while hi j went back to the Railway Hotel whore he picked up the prisoner! Ji about 9 o'clock. Evidence would bi !< brought to show that ho remained it r their company at that place until hal i pastil. Two of the most impoctan , witnesses in the case were Mr Whiti I and Mr Bone. Mr Bone, whi was waiting for the landlord to pu up his horse, saw the prisoner! ' whispering together in the passage I and later on he Baw them outside r Evidence would be given to show tha ' the prisoner Smith and Dalton left tin hotel together, the prisoner Hairisoi , remaining in the hotel for a quartero an hour, Later on Mr Johnson, i ; railway guard, who waß going home , met two men on the road, and it wai suggested by the Crown that they were Smith and Dalton. As Mr John i son was approachiug them ho heard I them speaking, and it appeared to bin that one was trying to persuade th other. Johnson heard one of them a; that the place was shut up, that th' hour was too late, and the inferenci was that the. prisoner Smith wa trying to persuade the other mat that he could not get into th Club Hotel, where he had beoi ' staying, as it was shut up, Anothe ( witness, a Mrijort, would state tha ' he saw several men talking on th Alfredton-road, and that they wer ' trying to persuade one of thenumbe i not to go to the Club Hotel, M , Aahmore, another witness for th Urown, would.state that as' he wa j going home he beard several aie ] squabbling, and one of them spok ' with a foreign accent. Mr Anderadi , the hotel keeper, would give evidenc .that he aroused by lieariu, r squabbling in the street, and that h 1 got up and opened the door. Ho di not go to the mm, but recognised tha one of them was a foreigner from hi Rpeeoh. Anderson then shut the dobi 3 and presently the men who had bee B squabbling went over to bis hotel an i tried to get in, He, however, re mained quiet, and as the door was nc ' opened they went away. While the B were outside he reoognised thevoic t of one jif'the'men as that of Daltor B and be also noticed that one of th 0 men spoke with a foreign accent, A . the men were going away Anderso r got up on a sofa, and looking out c 3 the window noticed that one, of th .j party' was Dalton. Mr Hodgei who lived on the main street, vvoul e also give-evidence aB to a squabbl tt near .his house as;he was reading ,i r bed;' ahd : amongst other things h heard some allusion to a knife, Hodge lifted up the blind and saw some men t, one of them leaning against hia(M { Hodges') fence, After a while the, e moved away and be heard the squab . bling iigain down the road, and one c \ them was heard to say, " I don't wan l p togo," *M vill notgo." Later on h heard more squabbling near' hi , house. The Crown .vould also ndduc . evidence showing that tho wound : had been indicted about six hour before the man was discovered; tha Harrison and.Smith returned to thei camp about two o'clock on the morn '• ing of the,l2th; that, both had knivos on which nO traces of blood wer s found, and that on Harrison's shir s there were spots of blood, • whicl n however, could not be proved to b human blood. ':;;.■' d Evidence ' was then proceede I, with.