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have no direct evidence on that, and it is a proper comment to
make. On the other hand we know, if you believe Eric Davies'
evidence, that the nullah was very interesting, they were all
throwing stones in there. It is possible that some of them may have
been on the rails. You will have to think of the five children
engrossed in what is so terribly important to them at the moment,
possibly some little heads through the rails, possibly some of
them standing on the rails, and looking over
that a man with such a diabolical design could achieve his purpose
of pushing or throwing all of them over? We know that Mrs. Fairburn
saw only two children thrown in the little girl may have attempted
to run but if she did she did not run far, so little in fact that
Mrs. Fairburn did not notice it.
W
is it reasonable
It is a very important point indeed because on it the Crown
case relies. As you will appreciate, we are dealing with the fatal
facet of one combined attack on the five children and the alternative
involves equally or perhaps nearly equally strange coincidences.
The alternative is not to accept at the moment Eric Davies'
evidence. The three eldest children may have gone down below
and having reached the bottom all slipped into the water practically
simultaneously and the two youngest ones who remained on the rails
on top fell in. There is a certain amount of coincidence there.
The coincidence is rendered more remarkable by the fact that the
three slipped in and two fell just at the moment when the accused
chose to attempt to commit suicide, at that very place. You have
got improbabilities perhaps on both sides. You will have to weigh
all that.
Now I come to the question of motive, and I begin as Learned
Counsel for the Crown properly began, by saying it is no part of
the Crown case to satisfy you as to motive. Obviously that would
be an impossible burden to place on the administration of justice
For instance, I may take a hypothetical case of any one of you
gentlemen walking along the street, seeing a man you don't know,
walk up to another and deliberately stab him in the back. It