85
79
The defence was one of mistaken identity, and a number of Chinese witnesses were called in support of it. This evidence had it been accepted by the jury would have completely demo- lished the Crown's case; and its rejection involved, as I directed the Jury it clearly would, the finding of a dastardly conspiracy on the part of a number of Chinese witnesses to defeat the administration of justice,
The Court, Jury and counsel, I may mention, viewed the locus in quo in the course of the trial, when Cantain Morgan and the other Crown witnesses demonstrated their respective positions in the light of the evidence which they had given in Court on the previous day. The jury had therefore every oppor- tunity of teating distances, and acquiring a close perspective in particular of Captain Morgan's evidence. The effect of the visit of the jury was in my Jud--ent erastly to strengthen the case for the prosecution.
❤
Captain Morgan'e evidence, atated briefly, is as follow:- On that morning he was proceeding along the Praya on foot when in the vicinity of Statue kharf he heard "a orack", his atten- tion being drawn to the sound he observed a ricksha some 30-40 yards ahead of him going East. There was a man some 6 or 2 feet behind it, the rioksḥs on the sound of the shot was imme- diately dropped the occupant falling out in front, and the ricksha coolie ran away, An to the ran behind the rickaha the witnsue stated that he did not see any shot fired, but that he gaw smoke immediately arising above that man which caused him to suspect that it was a shot. He wan emphatic in asserting that he ear nobody else in the vicinity of the rickshs. The firing of the shot, the dropping of the ricksha and the falling out of its occupant was instantaneous, and the ran immediately ran away up Wardley Street passing the witness within some 8 yards who gave chase across Statue Square. The fugitive pro- ceeded running past Queen Victoria's Statue towards Des Voeux Road, gaining somewhat on Captain Morgan who was in hot pursuit.