New-York daily tribune., 1866-02-22
THE NUY.DEH OF POLICE OFFICER
DCRSEA.
Trial Of CahiIl lContinued-OpcningA Arg"-
ment for the Defense-Exnmin o.
Witnesscs-Couuters Swearing.

opened for the defense.
! OPENING ARGUMENT FOR THE DEFENSE.
! GESTLEMES OF TIE jury: This case is one OF the
most extraordinary that has ever been my fortune "
be engaged in. The charge is the most serious known
to the law The prisoner is accused Of shooting down
in cold blood one of the guardians Of the peace OF mo
city. AZ moment when he was engaged IN the dschaEo
Of his duty. The case is extraordinary in more TRAN
one respect. The officer shot in broad daylight III
the presence Of fifty people, many of whom were
close BY the person who perpetrated the deed'
some of them within three feet Of the deceased
and Vet not one Of those persons who the ofense
and had ample opportunity TO perceive and identity lne
assassin has veItuTed 10 suspect the prisoner ~
tie man who committed the decd. This officer was
killed the 10th of May and on the same day !1unv
man named COnnell was arrested ana chafHcu WIN w
lperpetratOn. An investigation was held before INC
Coroner q larre number ot witnesses were eXumineu
and Of them ideDiiied nm A0out tnc -vtn VI y,
Jnne John Cabill arrested ard charged WIN thIs
Iofiense Another COrOners lnyestSntloh was hch anu
II witnesses H. Of whom were witnesses on the preccd
ing Investigation, were examined ana yet none u
them identified the prisoner in any respect. sono
of them said emphacally that he was not tne nhn.
The case then upon the testimony there adduced was
brought before Recorder Hoffman nud upon lt u'i'uu
Wits the prisoner at once discharged on
the ground that there was not shadow of evidence
iustihmg bis detention this charge Amer TINS eN
lauination in which / retained. te!mlnht,u; !
Thought nv connection with il forever closed Dul
subsequently persons with characters ~ biack s II Is
possible to conceive came forward and ior various Ie
sois which must be apparent to You au' prefer 'his
CHARGE again against him. In the meantime TINS young
man had cpt himself loose from all his previous hsro
ciates married The daughter o respecaoie citizen ~
nv own ward aud was in q distant cit, in business on
h own account. when he was again arrested " no
are the witnesses Thomas Hart after lapse oi two
years saw fit TO make tns charge u9loIe u
Justice DODGE. Hart and bis brother have
lconcOcted this scheme 10 screeA themselves ana pre-
vent Cahl from tcsfying against them on tie acelsd.
ton of Conuell Thomas Hart was not IN jones' Wo1u
l,I Ia 4tt1 .h.
fact He swOrc 10 madeup stosy, and nothing ese
The cOrroboraton Of the pistol Is 10 corroho-aton NJ
all and when YOU strip the case 81 the evidence ol
Dca and Cregan- which you must do according to me
rules OF law-therc VIII not be left one shadow, one
shred OF evidence on which 10 convict the prisoner
These witnesses fresh from the Ionbs ana are at
best Infamous witnesses interested in the procurement
OF "A conviction. Mr. Clinton then concluded by re-
questng the jury 20 give the matter their careful con
sheraton, weighing the evidence for the poSs
and for the defense equally ana lmphillhii!
EVIDENCE FoR THE DEFENsE.
| The first witness called III the defense was
Alex Muller who testified that he was witness IN
this case before tie Coroner when tie prisoner Cahii
was IN custody: the 10Th Of May he was on the TOP
OF Second.aye Railroad car, going home when the
afflay in which Duyca was shot took plecei sh" o
short time the face Of tie MAJ HLo Lfcl testurd ne
for, the Coroner there was resemblance between
Cahil and the man Who shot Duryea. 30 es!iy no"
about seconds elapsed between TIE iis ana second
shots.
Crossexamined-I testified before the Coroner that
the man who tired the shot was yOnus man. low sized
/ did not UNI uFelN ~ Nir manu- WIS ivNh4"F
more Of the man who fired the shot than q; the police
man; / am not positive that the prisoner l. Lot ihe
Tobn W. Combs a foreman on the SiKh.aye. Rail
road testified HAT De remembered the shooting OF
Oheer Duryea; saw OfceT SchoIed running after two
men; Duryea with a man H. custody II siori TINE
after walking slowly down The avenue near ShiY'
fourihst.; when the officer rot near SIXTY lrdst snw
lim raise his club and o tho party strike HIM with
on rmbcrela; some words passed between them when
one man stepped out o. the crowd gld fred two shot
after the second was fred the officer fell. testified
before the coroner tlat could not recognize the pro
oncr ns the man who fired the shot, cav wagner io.'
low the man who did FIRE
/ Cross cylm.nailon-I was attending more 20 my pri
vate business than 70 this disiuTbince tc'ih'd mat
! the man who fred was of medium night
Henry Bohlcn fed that ON tho lt'h Of May when
Durvea was shot be did business % The corner 90 SAty
nfths 81 and Second ave, DaDe. arrested a man op-
posic the door Of Witness house and took hun down
/ tie avenue.
| Crossexamir ircl-I did not sec the shooting.
! William Muller, shoemaker and a brother OF Mex
andcr Muller. testified that he witnessed the sho"uhs
of Duyca, was on Tie top car 70 company WIN
BIS brother al tie time the person who hfed Tie sho
stood near tie west side Of the sd yak saw nothing
m his hand was witness before tr coroner md tcsi
hcd that tlep. far ne could jndGe, Cillll was
not the man; then testified that thought the man
who fired vas taller than Cahih
Crossex miued-Q You testified before the coroner
that tie man who fred about The .ame ere as Ca
! hii 4. Well, / don't know; thour ht that he was
taller the q hat but the leaf Of It was not
turned down so rs 20 conceal hi5 lace
Redirect noticed that be black pannloons.
Wm. Klaasen tnsmith, testified that lc witnessed
the shooting Of Daryea from the top q Second ave
car being in company with the MLllers at tie tmei
think the wLO fred the east side when he
fired tie first shot, did not see tie mans face at alL
Robert McElroy. liquor dealer. testified that he had
known Thomas Hort one OF the witnesses, about three
years and owen Hart for about tue same period whio
j have known Thomas Hart his character has been
that Of beat" the brother bears Ike reputation
CrOss.examiucd-Iaye known the prisoner about
two years. have not contributed promised one cent
toward Cahils defense, tho lGTs have not come INTO
my place for about year the reputation Of The Hars
- that Of thieves Cabin used TO come into my place.
was arrested FOR Keeping place SAID TO be the resort OF
Adam Miller Post0frce .aa!!!,sr restined that he |
witnessed the eh0ong nt linsy6A from n Seconeayc.
car, | tcrtiied before the Coroner that could not
recognize Cahil the who fired the shot; as Tar
as could see the assassin black pants and coat.
Michael Reeves testified that be knew Thomas Hart
for eight nine years. and on the 10Th OF May saw
him at Eighteenth.st and Avenue about o'clock IN
the afternoons be HaT) on the corner there from
about 3 O'Clock until c! 7; be and ! and another
young man went up 10 hlneteenth'st, where We
parted; saw Hart at the same place that night. .
Crose.eynmined-I did not have appointment with
Hart at that corner that one year and ton m0l.s
aso; | sick few days before That day. dld n0t
know Hart very intimately at that time; subsequently
bccaIne better acquainted with him; j did not ten
any body that with Hart on that day since the
prisoner was arrested; / saw tie affidavit IN the
paper, and Immediately said that Hart knew nothing
about IL; have known the prisoner for about two years
Christopher Cregan testified that he had been ac-
quainted with Th0s Hart abOu, ten years; with him
down town on the 10th Of May, from about ii o'clock
unt in the afternoons; saw him again that day about
O'Clock; read account Of the shooting next day IN
some Of the papers.
inside n Provost Marshas office; am not relative
OF Daniel Cregans; never talked TO Cregan about this
abb.
Michael Ryan testified that he bad known Hart about
nine years and saw him the 18th Of May NJ the corner
of Sixteenth ST. and Avenue A, about O'Clock; went
home with him about o'clock that evening.