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H.—7a.

rdwai-th coNpon.

(To Mr. Kennedy): i have never known you to be untruthful during my service here. I did not sign some of the petitions and round-robins got up by the attendants. You did not urge or press me to sign them. You have not taken the whole onus of drafting these petitions on your own shoulders without consulting other attendants. (To Dr. Levinge): Boys asked me to sign the first round-robin, not Kennedy; Kennedy asked me to sign the other one. Dr. Levinge handed Mr. Beetham a number of letters of application for re-employment from former attendants, which Mr. Beetham perused and returned to Dr. Levinge. Mr. Beetham asked for Christiansen and Miss Walls to be called. The former had left the service, and therefore could not be called, but Miss Walls was called. Jane Walls examined. Witness (to Mr. Beetham): I have been here six years last April. Christiansen brought a petition to me to sign. He brought it from the male attendants; he did not say from which one. I did not sign it. (To Dr. Levinge): That was during the day on the evening of which Christiansen left, I cannot remember having said anything to the Matron about the statement which appeared in the newspaper. (To Mr. Kennedy): You have never asked me to sign round-robins or petitions. Edward B. Harris examined. Witness (to Dr. Levinge): I have been sixteen years and a half in the Asylum. lam Deputy Head Attendant, and act for the Head Attendant when he is away. I signed the counter-petition [marked A] which was put in the mess-room. When I went out into the airing-court afterwards I thought there was a coldness in the demeanour of the attendants. (To Mr. Kennedy): I did not sign the petition to the Minister: I did not agree with it. I agreed with a good portion of the first issue. (To Mr. Beetham): Kennedy came down to ask me if 1 was going to sign the petition. He did not have the petition in his hand then. (To Mr. Kennedy): You were not the first to ask me to sign it. My reason for not signing was that I thought the petition asked for more than was wise. I told you at the time that if you had simply asked for increase of wages, shorter hours, etc., 1 would have been with you right through. I said that, considering the amount you had put on the petition, going as far as you did, I would much rather stand out of it. I considered you had asked more than was necessary. Thomas Stevens, patient, examined. Witness (to Dr. Levinge): I generally go to the bakehouse every evening. I was in the bakehouse one evening the week before last. Kennedy came in. There was no one there that night, The baker and I were in the flour-room. The baker was there when he came in. (To Mr. Beetham): I saw that Kennedy wanted to speak to Davis, and so I walked out, (To Mr. Kennedy): 1 do not remember what night it was; I think it was on Wednesday evening. You went into the flour-room. It was the evening before the letter appeared in the newspaper about the baker's hours of work (Friday, 26th August). I heard you speaking, but did not hear what you said. I told Mr. Newport that I had seen you in there. (To Dr. Levinge): ( retired because 1 saw I was not wanted. Mr. Kennedy: Before making my final statement I should like to ask the doctor a few questions, and also the Head Attendant. I want to know whether there was any record taken of the deputation that waited on Mr. Witty- any report of the inquiry' taken at the time when Dr. Levinge had me in his office. It is one of the charges made against me that I was untruthful. I took a note of the remarks made by Dr. Levinge at the time, and I should like to know whether the doctor and the Head Attendant are depending on their memories or not. Dr. Ijevmge: I am depending absolutely on my memory, which is perfectly clear. Head Attendant Newport (to Mr. Kennedy) : In my experience of you as an attendant I have found you untruthful. On more than one occasion you made a misstatement, and then corrected yourself later. I cannot say whether or not the misstatement w r as intentional. You make statements that incriminate others and then contradict yourself. Dr. fjevinge (to Mr. Kennedy): I cannot say I remember giving you a month's notice. If I withdrew it, I suppose it was because you had been here some years and I wished to be lenient. My opinion of you is that you are untrustworthy; I have had that opinion more or less ever since. I have appointed you Charge Attendant since then; but, notwithstanding that, I considered you a man to be watched closely. I have had no reason to consider you other than honest in your transactions. I have no recollection of calling you into the surgery and telling you that I withdrew the notice because there were others more to blame than yourself. Attendant Newport (to Mr. Kennedy): I do not think I asked you whether you were at the deputation; Truman and Bowen volunteered the information. Dr. Levinge (to Mr. Kennedy): I told you that I knew you were an agitator. You denied it, and said you were falsely accused. I asked you if you were not present at the deputation to Mr. Witty. You were the only person I asked; I asked you because you denied it. I had formed the opinion that you were an agitator. lam not prepared to state my grounds for forming this opinion. John Kennedy: At the time of Dr. Levinge's interview with me I took a note of what was said. Dr. Levinge said, " I have it on good authority that you are an arch-agitator in the place, and are in the habit of interviewing members of Parliament about your grievances." I took a