H.—.A,

57

sell my goods. I said you can do what you like to sell out; Ido not know anything about it. Ido not remember saying I would pay when Mr. Macfarlane paid me. On the Wednesday when I was arrested there was no brandy or any other spirit in the house. After I was let out of the lock-up Mr. Nicholson brought some brandy. My wife never takes too much drink. After I was let out of the lock-up, on the same day, tho constable came to Lipinski's house, and gave me a paper. I ow red Mr. Eobinson £2, and I have worked it off all but 15s. The £3 ss. I owed Eobinson was paid out of the proceeds of the cow. I got all I could get for the cow. I gave £9 Bs. for her. Mrs. Lipinski sworn and examined. My name is Juliana Lipinski, wife of Eobert Lipinski, resident in Jackson's Bay, in one of the Government houses. Mr. Klempel was in my house, and the constable came and called him out. The constable took him by his hand, and was going with him to the lock-up. I came out to see it. When this took place Mrs. Klempel ran after them and wanted to speak to her husband. The constable shoved her on one side, and said, "You go home; your husband must go to the lock-up." Mrs. Klempel did not come back to my house after her husband was locked up. She went home. She did not speak to me afterwards. I did not hear anything about Mrs. Klempel's child being ill afterwards. Mrs. Klempel was pushed away by the constable with one hand, and Klempel pushed ou with the other. I only said to Mrs. Klempel that the constable had pushed her husband very hard. I did see it, I was standing on the road. I saw the constable push Mrs. Klempel. Charles Eobinson sworn and examined. Mr. Nicholson never paid me any money on Klempel's account. Klempel owed me £2, and I offered him work at 10s. per day to work it out. He has worked two days, and marched off, and owes me about 175., and has been walking about doing nothing since. I sold the house to Klempel about twelve months previous to his selling it. It is a four-roomed cottage, of sawn timber, and iron roof. It was thoroughly papered, and had a colonial oven in it in one of the rooms, and a nice garden attached with fruit trees in it, which I paid between five and six pounds for two years ago. I think the house was worth at least £100 with the garden. I received £30 for it. JosEPn Barrett sworn and examined. lam sergeant of police at Jackson's Bay. On the 4th of February last I received a warrant from Mr. Macfarlane to arrest Martin Klempel for debt. The warrant was in default of distress. I looked for Klempel, knowing he was somewhere in the Bay. I was informed he was in Lipinski's house in the Bay. I went to Lipinski's house and I saw him there, and called him out. When I called him out we walked from Lipinski's house to my own house. At the same time I took the warrant out of my pocket and read it to him, and explained it, and he seemed quite to understand what it meant. Whilst I was explaining the nature of the warrant Mrs. Klempel came out of Lipinski's house and came up to Klempel and me and said, " What are you going to do with my husband ?" I told her I had a warrant to lock him up, and I explained to her what I was going to do. She stood in front of me, and she had a child on one arm, and held her fist up before my face and threatened me that I should not do it. She said she would not let me do it. I reasoned with her for a time, and told her it would be better to keep quiet and not interfere with me. Klempel said at the same time that he would not go with me. I caught hold of Klempel by the arm to bring him along, and Mrs. Klempel caught me by the arm and held on to me. I let Klempel go then, and pushed tho woman away from me by the shoulder. I then took hold of Klempel and ran him before me into the lock-up. Mrs. Klempel was not very far from me by this time, and at the same time he was resisting. After locking Klempel up, I shut the cell-door, and when I turned round Mrs. Klempel was close behind me. She was abusing me a great deal, but I advised her to go away and keep quiet; but she refused to, and I told her I would have to lock her up. She refused to leave the lock-up, and I took her by the arm and moved her some yards from it, and left her abusing me. She had come inside the yard, round the lock-up. I never touched the child iv any way, nor did I use more violence than was necessary to put her away. I did not throw her down, nor did she fall down. I was not drunk at the time. Lipinski is living in one of the Government cottages. It was about three o'clock in the afternoon. This was the first arrest. Klempel was kept in about three hours, aud afterwards Mr. Macfarlane came to me aud told me to let him out. Mr. Macfarlane told me he thought he had made a mistake, or words to that effect. The arrest was illegal. Joanna Eobinson sworn and examined. lam the wife of Charles Eobinson, who keeps the hotel hero. I remember the 4th of February, when Klempel w Tas arrested. I saw Mrs. Klempel following after her husband aud Barrett, trying to get him away from the constable. She tried to pull her husband away from the constable. The constable pushed her on ono side as he tried to get her husband into the lock-up. I saw the constable push her away. I thought the constable was very gentle with her. The constable was quite sober at the time; I have never seen him the worse for liquor since he has been in Jackson's Bay.

APPENDIX. Sib,— Jackson's Bay, 17th July, 1876. I have the honor to enclose herewith a statement of all moneys expended on Bay Eoad, around Bluffs, from 4th February, 1875, to 10th July, 1576. Also, the exact amount it cost to repair same after two heavy gales and sea setting in from N.E. and N.—the first on 11th February, 1876, and the last ou 23rd June, 1876. As I see in the West Coast Times that there was eighteen months' work destroyed by the heavy sea and gale on the 23rd ultimo, the attached is what it actually cost to repair damages on each occasion. — I have, &c, James Nightingale, The Provincial Engineer, Hokitika. Overseer of Works, Jackson's Bay, B—H. 9a.