3

H.—37

from injuries received by violence from some person or persons unknown"; and added as a rider, "a grave censure on the inhuman conduct of Jeremiah McCarthy in allowing the deceased to be in his apparent helpless condition without giving information to the police, or assisting him in some other way." After the close of the inquest, I had an information laid against McCarthy for murder. He was arrested accordingly, was subsequently brought up before Major Keddell — the Crown Prosecutor, Mr. J. W. White, appearing for the police, Messrs. Eaymond and Hamilton for the accused—and in due course was committed for trial. The main facts which induced me to have proceedings taken against McCarthy can be gathered from the newspaper reports of the case attached to the letter to the Hon. the Minister of Justice; but, as the evidence is somewhat lengthy, I shall briefly state them. A few days prior to Thursday, the 10th January, an old man, evidently weak-minded, if not quite insane, was seen by several persons wandering about at Waicaki North. John C. Henderson, one of the witnesses, saw him. He had some telegraph forms in his hand, and he asked Henderson to write a telegram for him to one Joe Dawson, saying he could not write himself. After it was written, Henderson asked him for his name, which he gave as Thomas Sullivan; and, seeing the mentally weak state he was in, Henderson said jestingly, "Late of Seacliff Lunatic Asylum? " and he said, " Yes." On Thursday, the 10th January, this man was at Waihao, a few miles from Waitaki North, and was seen by several witnesses, who stated that he appeared more or less insane. At 7.30 that evening he called at George Kilworth's, about a mile from McCarthy's, and asked for McCarthy's. Kilworth pointed the way to him, and saw him leave in that direction; and at about 8 o'clock, as all the McCarthy household swore, he crossed the fence leading to their house. A dog ran at him, and he commenced to stone it. He then went up to McCarthy's front door, and commenced to kick it, and he also swore he would murder the inmates. McCarthy, who was all this time at the stable, a little distance away, sent his son to inquire what he wanted, and the man told him to kiss his . He went back and told his father. The man in the meantime had gone round the back of the house and commenced to kick the back door, and again threatened to take the Jives.of those inside. Just at this time McCarthy, as he stated himself, came to the back door and said, ''What are you doing that for?" The man replied, "This is my house." McCarthy then asked the man his name, and he made no reply. He then asked him to leave the place, which the man did. McCarthy also swore that he never went nearer than 5 yards to the man, and all the family swore exactly the same thing. This was all that occurred, according to McCarthy. Now, McCarthy is an old blacksmith, a hot-tempered man, and to act in the manner described while labouring under such provocation, without saying an angry word or striking a single blow, one must suppose him to be blessed with extraordinary patience. The theory of the prosecution was that it was at this time McCarthy committed the assault which broke both bones of deceased's leg, fractured the collarbone, and inflicted the injury over the temple. About midnight the same night all the family stated they heard a man either singing or crying outside the front gate, but nobody went out to see ; but early in the morning one of the sons, Michael, went out and found deceased lying within 200 yards of his father's gate. He asked Michael for some " tucker," and he went in and got some from his sister, telling her at the same time it was for the man who had been at the house the night before. He further stated that she told him that she had told her father and mother of the man being there, but the father and mother denied it in the witness-box. Shortly after the boy Michael brought the deceased some food, Ernest Davis and his sister Kose, who were passing in a trap, saw the deceased lying near the gate, and Ernest Davis observed that one of the man's legs —the injured one—was gathered up under him, and that he had his hand on the knee of that leg. Ernest Davis drove over the same road about an hour afterwards, and the man was still there, and in the same position. Again, about 2 o'clock the same day, Ernest Davis was passing McCarthy's gate just as McCarthy was coming out driving a dray, and the man was still in the same position he was in in the morning. McCarthy spoke to him, and gave him some scones, bread and meat, and tea, and asked him what was the matter with him. The deceased said his leg was poisoned. The man was evidently insane, and did not know what he said. They again passed the place in an hour or two afterwards; the deceased had crawled across the road in the meantime, and was sitting on the opposite side; but the dray passed on, and McCarthy did not speak to him. The next seen of the deceased was on the following morning, Saturday, the 12th January, when McCarthy stated he saw him some distance down the road, and about three-quarters of an hour afterwards he again saw him where the body was afterwards found, a distance of 10 chains from where he first saw him that morning, with a water-course intervening. Now, as the deceased had both bones of the leg broken, besides his collarbone, it was quite impossible for him, as the doctor stated, to have got up and walked at all. He therefore could not have got over the 10 chains, and, as the place is most solitary, it cannot be supposed that any one came and carried him over the distance. If any one had come he must have been seen by McCarthy, for the country is quite open thereabouts. If the man had dragged himself over the distance —a thing I do not suppose he could have done—he must have left some marks upon his trousers in going through the water-course; but the trousers were found to be quite clean when the body was found that evening. Shortly after McCarthy saw the deceased for the second time on the Saturday morning he took the train at Waihao and went to Oamaru, and on his way to Waihao he saw the deceased at the cross-roads where the body was found. He said the deceased was then alive. He saw his eyes moving, and he thought his arms were across his chest. He further stated he passed the same place in the evening on his way back from Oamaru, but he never looked to see whether he was there or not. On the same evening John Davis, in passing the cross-road, saw the body and informed the police. Beside the body was found one of the boots—the other he was wearing—and also some bread and meat, scones, and a piece of brown paper, the very food and paper that McCarthy had given the deceased the day before. The question is, How did these things get there ? It is