May 15, 1895.]
Mr. Ellis objected, as suit 493 was first on the list, and suit. 494 had absolutely nothing to do with it.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
his box. We went back.to the Hongkong Hotel together. I remained with Mr. Hardy while he bad breakfast. I brought him back to the Court. When nearing the Court I said to Mr. Hardy, "Supposing Mr. Smith has got the money, who is going to pay the costs P Mr. Hardy said I won't.' Then I said Suppos- ing Mr. Smith settles with Mr. Dennys about paying the costs the case will be settled and will be released. How are you going home? Have you got any money ?" He said, No; all I have got is 25 cents. That is the reason kept that money, as it would settle the accounts | between me and Mr. Smith."
you
When Mr. Smith told you he had received the money, did he tell you not to arrest Mr. Hardy No.
Did he tell you to arrest him ?—No, I told him I had to arrest him.
Was there any necessity for Mr. Smith to come with you at all? Dida't you know Mr. Hardy well I knew him perfectly well-as well as I know you, I wanted to find out his room.
I am referring now to the time when you discovered Mr. Hardy was not in his room.—I did not know the likeliest place to find him, and Mr. Smith was more likely to know.
Mr. Smith went with you for the purpose of assisting in the arrest ?-He came to show me where Mr. Hardy was likely to be found.
Mr. Dennys-You are treating the witness in a very hostile way. You have to right to treat the witness in a hostile manner
His Lordship decided to hear the suits in their proper order. and the case then proceeded. Mr. Ellis-This is a suit in which the plaintif olaims the sum of $1,000 for damages occasioned by the malicious arrest of him on the 1st of the present month. The sircumstances, which I will shortly state to your Lordship, are as follows. The plaint ff was, to a certain extent, in rather an undefined position, business manager to the defendant with reference to this Dramatic Company. On the 29th April he collected from the shroff of the City Hall the sum of $400. That sum, I admit, in the usual course of affairs it would have been his duty to pay into the credit of the defendant in the Chartered Bank. He did not do so, and whether he was right or wrong I submit is not a. matter we will have to go into now, But the reason of it was that defendant is indebted to the plaintiff in a sum considerably exceeding this sum of $400, and the plaintiff wished to retain it in order that he should have something to go upon if it was necessary for him to take any proceedings. Whether that was right or wrong I will not go into now. It is not necessary to the suit, and possibly he was not justified in doing it. On the 30th April he received a letter from the defen dant or his solicitor informing him that if he did not pay back the money proceedings would be taken. Plaintiff did not reply, and he heard nothing more until the next morning, when the defendant came
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to him with the bailiff. Mr. Brown, and then and there di- rected the bailif to arrest him. He was arrested at 8.30 in the morning and was b. ought here and kept here until your Lordship came at 10 o'clock, when h was told he might| depart without any reason being assigned for his arrest and release or anything else, and the suit was withdrawn. Prior to the arrest, about 1 o'clock a.m. on Wednesday, 1st May the And you refused. What was your reason ? defendant obtained, in the manner I shall show None whatever. I did not want to give infor- to your Lordship presently, this sum of $100 formation. That is the reason why you sub. which he was suing, and in respect to which paused me. the present plaintiff was arrested. Such sre the facts, and I submit that when your Lordship has heard the evidence you will come to the conclusion that the plain- tiff is entitled to the verdict, and it will be for your Lordship to decide what amount is to be paid as damages. The malice I shall be able to prove to your Lordship as conclusively as it is possible to prove malice. At one o'clock on Wednesday morning the defendant admitted to witness here that he had the money then in his possession and farther he went on to state that, in spite of that, he intended to have the plaintiff arrest d.
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Mr. Ellis-If my friend will allow me, I will treat my witness as I like. I will show you that I have reason for considering him a hostile wit- ness. I will treat him as I like. It is for his Lordship to interfere.
His Lordship-Mr. Dennys has a perfect right to ask me to interfere.
Mr. Ellis (to witness)-Have you been asked to give information of what took place P
Witness-Yes; by yourself.
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three minutes afterwards the bailiff brought me to the Court. I was kept there about su hour. was told I could go away, but no explanation was given to me. I asked to be brought before the judge, but they said they could not take me, as I was released.
Cross-examined by Mr. Dennys-Did you pay for your breakfast that morning at the hotel →→→
No, I am a boarder at the hotel.
How much do you owe them for board ?---- Well, I do not quite know the amount; it is very trifling!
How much ?-The last bill presented to me was for $15.
$15 is not a trifling amount if you have only 25 cents in your pocket ?—$15′′ is not a big
amount.
You owe them something ?—Yes.
And it was your intention to leave the colony on 1st May P-No, I did not decide anything at all.
Did you not inform several people that you were going ?-No.
Didn't you tell Mr. Farmer sof—No. Didn't you tell Miss Hawthorne so P-No. Did you not say a word to either of these people about your intention to leave ?—I had no intention whatever. I had made no intentions.
The idea had never crossed your mind of leav- ing the colony P-No, not before I had a proper
settlement of affairs.
Do you remember seeing Mr. Farmer between 8 and 9 o'clock ou the evening of the 30th ?—I may have seen him.
Just try and recollect. Didn't you tap your pocket and say "Here the money. I am off to-morrow by the French mail"—or words to that effect --No, I did not.
Jask you to try to remember. Did you or did you not speak to Mr. Farmer on the evening of the 30th April ?—I may have.
You have no recollection ?-I cannot swear it. Were you drunk ?—I cannot swear whether I was at that time. I know I eventually got drunk,
What time on the 30th April did you begin drinking ?—I can't say.
Early in the morning ?-Very likely. Were you sober when you received that letter
Did Mr. Smith not say anything to you when you found Mr. Hardy sitting in the hall of the signed by me ?-Perfectly sober. hotel ?-Mr. Smith said "There be is."
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Did he not add the words Take him ?”. Not to the best of my recollection. I can't say one way or the other. I do not want to say a lie. I would rather say "I do not know."
Cross-examined by Mr. Dennys-I was given to understand that Mr. Smith had the biggest part of the money, but I had not the costs. He may have mentioned the amount, but I cannot recollect. I insisted on arresting the defendant because I had a warrant from the Court, | and until that warrant was withdrawn I Mr. K. F. Lammert, clerk to the Acting Chief was bound to do so. Mr. Hardy was released Justice, produced the papers belonging to Sum-without being taken before the Judge, and his mary Suit 489. They included two letters from the plaintiff's solicitor-ons to the bailiff and one to Mr. Sangster.
In answer to Mr. Dennys witness said he did not know what time the letter to Mr. Sangster | was delivered,
release is timed on the warrant as having taken place at 10.5. Before Mr. Dennys's letter was delivered at the Supreme Court, Mr. Bowley, from his office, spoke to me and said the warrant would be withdrawn. That was just before ten o'olook.
Mr. Brett Hardy, the plaintiff, was then called and said-On 29th April I collected a cheque for $400 from the shroff of the City Hall. "In the ordinary course of business I would have banked it in Mr Saville Smith's pame. I kept it in consideration of a sum of money exceeding $400 due to me by Mr Smith. On Tuesday, the 30th. about nooù, I received a latter from Mr Dennys. It called upon me to pay back the $400. I took no notice of the letter. I had the $400. I had cashed the cheque, and I placed the money in a tin box in my bedroom at the hotel. The box was looked." I had the keys. Next morning, 1st May, as soon as dressed, I went to the box with the intention of putting the money in my pocket. When I opened the box I found the money was gone. recollection or idea how it got out of my room.
And you received that letter about 12 o'clock? -I should think that was the time.
You took no notice of the letter ?—No. You have been in Hongkong before, and you know me personally as having something to do with the City Hall. You know whom the letter came from P-Certainly. I paid you the first cheque for the hall.
You took no notice of the letter, although you say you had a claim against Mr. Smith P--That isso.
What time did you receive a cheque from the compradore at the City Hall on Monday, 29th April-Early in the morning-about ten o'clock.
That was the cheque for $400 drawn by the compradore on the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank?—Yes.
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You took that cheque to the bank and got eight $50 notes ?—Yes.
James Brown, assistant bailiff, Supreme Court, stated-The warrant I produce was given to me on 30th April, just before 4 o'clock. My in- structions were that the plaintiff was to be brought up at 10 o'clock the following day. About 9 a.m. on the 1st May I went to the Hongkong Hotel to Mr. Saville Smith's room. I asked in what room Mr. Hardy was. Mr. Smith informed me then that he had the biggest part of the money. I told him that the case was, not settled without the costs being paid and I would have to arrest Hardy. He said "All right" and we both went along together to Mr. Hardy's room. Mr. Hardy was not in. We went down to the ground floor, and saw Mr. Hardy sitting close beside the office. I went up to Mr. Hardy and told him I had a warrant for his arrest-for the sum on the warrant and $25 costs. I served him with a copy of the warrant and a copy of the writ. Have you any recollection of paying Mr. Saville He asked "Are these for me?" I replied "Yes." Smith that money ?-None whatever. I went I asked him to come along with me to the Court. downstairs to the hall, and about 8.30 Mr. Smith On getting near the entrance to air, Brewer's, and the last witness came up to me, and Mr. Smith Mr. Hardy stopped and asked me to go back to said "There is the man; take him," The last Mr. Smith and see if he had got the money. I witness then presented me with the papers-the #aid “Mr. Smith has gone upstairs and I cannot writ and the warrant. I was left alone with leave you." I offered to go with him. He said the last witness, Mr. Smith having gone up ke knew Mr. Smith had the money, but that he stairs. I went to the dining room, and the did not see him take it. Mr. Hardy said Mr. bailiff remained outside. I had a cup of tea Smith was the only one who knew the keys of and a mouthful of something to eat and two or |
I have no
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And those notes you would have paid into Mr. Smith's account at the Chartered Bank, if you had not had a claim, as you say, against Mr. Smith P-1 should have paid the cheque into the bank if I had not bal a claim against him. || On the same day did you see Mr. Smith ?-I did.
Did he ask you whether you had banked that cheque P-He did.
Did you say had P-I said "Yes.”
And you had not ?I had the cheque in my proket.
That was a deliberate lie P-I had the cheque in my pocket.
That was a deliberate lie at that time ?—At that time.
Yes.
Do you know how it was that Mr. Smith found out that you had not banked the cheque?
I do not.
It is your business, according to what yon have stated, when you receive cheques from the compradore of the City Hall to pay the money into Mr. Smith's account at the Bauk. That is your ordinary duty ?—Yes,
On Thursday, 25th, there was a performance in the City Hall ?-Yes.
That was the opening night ?--Yes. Did you receive a cheque from the compra- dore?—I did.
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