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[j. J. MEIKLK

you called the evidence you are calling now, it was part of your case on the evidence which these Judges have before .them that Lambert was the man who put the skins in that barn—you know that ?—I know it perfectly well. 344. I want you to tell me then why it is there is no mention of this bag outside the barn until you come out of gaol years after ? —My reason is I was tongue-tied. I was not allowed to say anything, and the two skins convicted me when held up to the jury. 345. Your son went into the box and your son was examined, and your son, you swear, heard you ask Lambert about the bag, why was not your son asked this question ? —Was I going to tell my son to do it. He lies dead to-day, but I can meet him face to face with a clear conscience. 346. Mr. Justice Edwards.] It is perfectly true at that date you could not have been|sworn to give evidence, but if you had asked or your counsel had asked that you might make a statement, I think that would have been allowed. It would have been in the discretion of the Judge to have refused it, but Ido not think it at all likely he would have done so. It was open to your counsel to make suggestions to the jury, and certainly this point could have got to the jury without the slightest difficulty simply by cross-examining Lambert about it; why was he not examined about the bag ? — Mr. McGregor told me when I was in the box, " You rest content, Meikle. There is nothing against you, not a tittle. On the evidence you cannot be convicted." I rested on that rotten reed, and I fell. 347. Dr. Findlay.] You know Lambert was never asked about the presence of that bag at your trial 1— No. 348. Your son was in the box and was examined and cross-examined, he was never asked about that bag ?—I do not think so. Of-course I did not see the Judge's notes until lately. 349. Will you swear Mr. MeikJe—l suppose Mr. McGregor can be found if you will permit me to ask him —that you told Mr. McGregor that you saw this suspicious bag outside the barn, and that you asked Lambert what was in it and that he and your son were both present and heard it, and the answer Lambert gave you : will you swear you told Mr. McGregor any such thing ?—I swear that I brought up a lot of questions and that was one of them, and handed them to him, and he just took them and tore them up, and walked up to me and said, "Do not put yourself about. No jury will convict you." As I kept writing them down, he said there was no need to do it. 350. Well, you are still in a difficulty as you appeared for yourself in the Court below, and you, yourself, cross-examined Lambert: why did you not ask him the question ?—I asked him such a lot, and I could not mind everything at the time when I had to bear everything on my own shoulders. 351. Then you had an opportunity yourself shortly after this momentous bag was seen, and you never asked Lambert a word about it ? —I swore to the bag when I appeared in the Courts as soon as I could. 352. That is at the prosecution of Lambert ? —Yes. 353. That is in 1895, about eight years afterwards ? —Yes. 354. You tell us now that you told Harvey to lock this barn immediately after Lambert told you his story ?—That is so. 355. And so far as you know, Harvey locked the barn every night after that I —Yes. 356. Well, can you explain this, that when Harvey gave evidence in your favour on your trial for sheep-stealing, he was never asked and never said one word about locking the barn ?—That is quite possible, because Mr. McGregor was so sure of an acquittal that he did not trouble to put himself about. 357. Then you know your chief witness, Harvey, was never asked about your instructing him to lock the barn : now when you were examining him yourself in the Court below and no Mr. MacGregor was there to tell you you had such a safe case, did you ask him any questions about it ? —No; because, as I told you, I was not allowed to cross-examine my own witnesses. 358. Did you ask him any questions ? —I was going to ask some, but that was what the Court ruled. It was about some of the skins. Even Westacott's evidence about the skins being on the wire-fence was cut out. It was said I was charged with stealing sheep, and not skins. 359. You say Mr. MacGregor did not ask in the higher Court because he was so sure oi your acquittal, and in the Court below you were represented by two lawyers (who retired for the reason you told us yesterday), you did examine Harvey ?—I examined him on some points, but not on all. I did not expect to have to defend the case myself, and it upset me a little bit. 360. I want to know why you did not examine Harvey on this question about locking the barn after this time ? —As I have said, it was regarded by everybody in the neighbourhood that the whole thing was a put-up job, but I did my best when conducting the case. 361. We have it that Harvey was not asked about locking the bam, until 1895, and your son was not asked about locking ; he gave evidence in the lower Court and in the higher Court, and he was both examined and cross-examined, and your son was not asked any question about looking the barn ? —No. 362. Your son, who was living then, makes this statement, speaking of Mr. Lambert, " the first time he called he mentioned about the £50 to be paid for trapping father. Had no suspicion of him. Thought no need of taking precautions." Now do you mean to tell us that your son, who was there constantly, did not know that these skins were being counted every morning and that your barn was being locked every night, and that Arthur had to bring the key out to enable the men to get into the barn, and that that young man, with these things fresh in his mind, did not know that there was any suspicion, and did not know that any precautions were necessary ?—No; he was quite a boy. You would sit with him for hours, but you would never hear him speak. He was not suspicious. 363. There is in the boy's evidence on oath the statement that he had no suspicions, and thought no precautions were necessary ? —He knew I went to the police.