CO129-475 - Governor Sir Stubbs & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1922 [5-7] — Page 99

NOTES ON THE PETITION.

8. Since I wrote the above the defence have been

goodenough goodenough to supply me with a copy of the petition.

I add a few notes on it.

73

14 Para. 12 and para. 42(1); This is incorrect.

did not say a single etatement- word about any dif- fering statement.

I

I did not even ask to be allowed

to treat the witness as hostile.

I purposely re- frained from doing so in order not to prejudice the

jury. I merely asked to be allowed to hand up the

paper, and I did so as unobtrusively as possible. The Chief Justice at once realised the nature of my appli- cation and said that he saw to ground for allowing me

to treat the witness as hostile.

Of course I had

showb the paper to the counsel for the defence before

handing it up,

and that probably explains his lapse of

memory as to what I said to the court. I have no

recollection of having characterised the evidence of

this witness as a fabrication, at this or any other

stage. I do not think that I did so. I had to

treat his evidence delicately as he was my witness.

Para. 42(h): I do not know what is intended to

be suggested by the word indicated." All that I

said about Larkins evidence is reported in the Daily

Press. This passage is one of the best portions of

the report. In such cases one naturally always tries