37

H.—33

kitchen and children's room, and handed them to Detective Benjamin in the station. Ido not think I would know the papers again. Re-examined : I had some papers in my charge and handed them to Mr. Skey on the sth June, and got them back again and handed them on the same day to Mr. Tasker. They were papers I found on the scene of the murder. John Taskbe, sworn, saith : I am a clerk in the Civil Service, and have an office in the Government Buildings. I have at various times received from the police bundles of papers in this case. I have kept those papers separate. I have also received some scraps of paper from Dr. Cahill. I have all the papers here. I marked on the bundles the date of the receipt when I received them. The bundle of papers marked " A " was received by me from Detective Benjamin on the 6th June, 1889. "B" is also a bundle received from Benjamin on the 6th June. "C" is a piece of Evening Post of Saturday, the 17th November, 1888. I took "C " from bundle "A " myself. "D " were piece#of paper received from Mr. Thomson on the sth June in an envelope; it is paper dated 28th May, 1889, Evening Post. "E" is an envelope received from Benjamin containing a piece of Evening Post of 28th May, 1889. "F" is a small envelope received from Mr. Thomson on the sth June containing pieces of Evening Post of 23rd May, 1889; also a small piece of Post of 18th November, 1888 ; a small piece of a pamphlet about the Langworthy case, and another piece of newspaper not identified. " G-l" contains an envelope received from Mr. Thomson on the sth June containing a paper pinned to a blue sheet marked "Gl and G2;" it is part of a newspaper of the 17th November, 1888, and two small pieces of Evening Post of 23rd May, 1889. "H" are scraps of paper received from Constable Carroll on the 6th June—pieces of paper of 23rd May, 1889, Evening Post. "I " are pieces of paper received from Detective Campbell on the 6th June—pieces of paper of Evening Post of the 17th November, 1888, and 23rd May, 1889 ; also a small piece of cloth, and a box containing small scraps of paper received at the same time. "J"is a small wooden box received by me from Dr. Cahill on the 6th June. I took some of the contents and gummed or sewed them on to a piece of paper marked J. The papers received from Dr. ■ Cahill contain some pieces of the Evening Post of the 23rd May, 1889, and also small portions of the Evening Post of the 31st May. There are some pieces I could not decipher. They remain in the box. "K " are pieces of paper received from Benjamin on the 7th June. "L" contains pieces of paper received from Detective Benjamin on the 18th June, marked as received from Mr. Green. I have examined the two pieces of Post of the 23rd May, marked F, received from Mr. Thomson. The lirst piece I have marked as parts of columns Nos. 1 and 2, page 2, and the second piece is a portion of columns 1 and 2 of page 4. I found that the piece of page 2 fits with three pieces, Nos. 1, 2, and 3H, found by Constable Carroll, in box marked H. That is handed to me by Constable Carroll. One of those pieces, H No. 2, fits a piece of paper, handed me by Mr. Thomson, on sheet Gl, marked No. 4. 1 find that H No. 1 fits with a piece of paper forming part of the papers handed me by Dr. Cahill. ''J," that was pointed out to me by the Crown Solicitor. Among the papers handed me by Constable Carroll I find pieces of page 4, column 1, of the Post of the 23rd May, 1889; and among the papers handed to me by Inspector Thomson I find a portion of page 4, coluinn 2. During all the time I have had these papers I have kept them separate, and I am able to say that no papers from one packet have become mixed with any other. They have been kept perfectly separate. Mr. Bunny.] lam a permanent clerk in the Police Department. I have been in the department seven years and two months, and been in Wellington during that time. By taking the pieces of paper, and putting them against the other portions, I find that it fits the portion torn, and the reading-matter agrees. 1 and 2of H fit on to F. The torn or frayed edges fit in, and agree letter for letter. The letters "om" of 1 fits into F. The "o " is cut in two, and part of it is found on each. That is the only connecting point of No. 1 on F paper. No. 2 fits into H, and also on to HI. The words " Doric left," and on scrap of paper " Plymouth " is seen, which fits on, and the edges fit. No. 3 joins on to No. 2. G No. 4 fits into H No. 2 "Teneriffe" is divided, and the word " Nelson "is cut in two. The piece " Kaitangata " belongs to the Evening Post of 31st May, date of Mr. Hawkings's death. I have found an Evening^ Post of the 31st May intact —it is complete —among papers handed me by the police. This portion, was in the J box of torn fragments. Mr. Bell.'] I only received papers from Constable Carroll on one occasion only. John Bell Thomson, recalled, saith : The envelope marked F in the box marked F is marked in my handwriting, and contained papers found in the bedroom of accused. I took the papers from the envelope previously produced, and put them into this envelope marked F, and handed them to Mr. Tasker on the sth June, 1889. I look at envelope marked Gin box marked G, the indorsement on it is in my hand-writmg, and contained the papers therein described when I handed it to Mr. Tasker on the sth June, 1889. Statement of Person accused of an Indictable Offence. Louis Chemis stands charged before the undersigned, Henry Wirgman Eobinson, Resident Magistrate, sitting at Wellington, one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace in and for the Colony of New Zealand, this twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, for that he, the said Louis Chemis, on the 31st day of May, 1889, at or near Kaiwara, in the said colony, did of his malice aforethought kill and murder one Thomas Hawkings; and the said charge being read? to the said Louis Chemis, and the witnesses for the prosecution being severally examined in his presence, and their depositions being now read over to him, the said Louis Chemis is now addressed by me as follows : " Having heard the evidence, do you wish to say anything in answer to the charge ? You are not obliged to say anything unless you desire to do so, but whatever you say will be taken down in writing, and may be given in evidence against you upon your trial, and you are clearly to understand that you have nothing to hope from any