Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-11-26

INTO the case, and then called on him.
Wnat he knows about the finding of
the evidence he never communicated TO
me.
Nor could the Mayor prove II by
Captain Epps, Sergeant Hulcs, nor Ser
geaht Tomlinson, for those gentlemen
very frankly state that they do not
know what evidence was furnished by
Mr.. Wren.
Inc Mayor states that every fact as
to articles Of apparel, &C., was tie
work Of others, without the least aid
from MIR. Wren. Yet Mr.. Witt test
fed on the trial that he got the sha ri
from Mr.. Wren. Mr.. Hill testified
that he brought the shawl to Mr.. Wren.
tits true that Mr.. Wren did not dis
cover, by the power of imagination or
any other mental faculty, that the shawl
was at Mr.. Dunstan's. No man &C.
quainted with the detective service
thinks that detective finds everything
himself. The fact is that from him Mr..
VIII received the shawl.
While Sergeant Cousins furnished
most Of the witnesses who saw the par
ties on Belle Isle, he did not furnish all.
Mr.. Wren furnished one of the most
important of that line of witnesses, Mr..
Martin, who heard the prisoner called
by his first name.
The Mayors statement as to the dis
covery of that very important piece of
testimony, the "torn note" differs
from the testimony of the witnesses as
given on the trial. The sworn proof on
the trial was that Mr.. Wren asked Mr..
Dodson to look into the waste-basket
or box for the note; that he did so,
found it, and turned it over to Mr..
Wren. If the Mayor can succeed in
discrediting the witnesses for the Com
monwealth, the prisoner would, upon
new trial, owe him a debt of gratitude.
The next remarkable statement made
by the Mayor is as to the discovery
that Joel had fixed the key. From
whom he received his account | do not
know. Justice Richardson says that
he never authorized such statement.
He states that be told the Mayor that
Mr.. Wren did not receive any rnforma-
ton about Joel from him, nor, so far
as he knew, from the same informant;
that Mr. Wren was working that point
on different line and deserved the
credit Of having found Joel. ! have
the following reasons for believing that
whoever so told the Mayor was mis-
taken:
Mr.. Thomas Nolan had informed Mr..
Wren that the work on the key had
been done in rough way, probably by
some jeweller in the country. The
evening before Joel was ascertained to
be the man. in talking over the matter,
Mr.. Wren suggested that it would be
well TO learn what jeweller had been
working in King and Queen county in
the last year or SO. He tried to ascer-
tain that fact that evening by looking
into the State directory. That gave no
information. So it was decided that he
should try to get the information from
some one from that neighborhood. The
next day he informed me that he had
learnt from one Of the conductors ON
the York-Riyer railroad that man
named Joel had been working in that
neighbOIhood. Then it was that we
went to see Joel, and learned by ques-
tioning him that he thought he had fixed
the key. Such is my knowledge of the
matter.
The Mayor then states that the
watch-key was carried to Policeman
Tyler's house, but not delivered be-
cause he was asleep.
None Of the Williams family, who
had possession Of the key, so stated on
the trial. On the contrary, Mrs. Will
liams testified that the key had been
put away, and had been kept there I'M
til she gave it to Mr.. Hill to carry to
Mr.. Wren. Mr.. Williams having seen
the statement as to Mr.. Tyler as pub
lished in the Dispatch, called to see
me and said that it was not true. 1t
will be seen that this is the second time
that the statements of the Mayor tend
to discredit the witnesses for the Com
monwealth.
Perhaps the Mayor does not know
how important it was for that key to
have been in the hands Of the Com
monwealth on Tuesday. For on the
next morning Captain Epps and Mr..
Robins went down to make the arrest.
If they had not known beforehand of
the key, they perhaps would never have
noticed the pendant-chain Of the prison.
er. If he had worked it off before it
had been noticed, the Commonwealth
would have been deprived of most mate
rial evidence. Such is the Importance
of the testimony furnished by Mr..
Wren on Tuesday before the arrest.
The conflicting statements Of Cluve-
rius as to how the scratches came to be
on his hands were not ascertaned
by Sergeant Tomlinson alone, but by
him and Mr.. Nolan, as Sergeant Tom
linson says.
The Mayor then says: "Thc fact
that Cluverius was said to have been
with a woman resembling Miss Madison
on Fifteenth street at house Of i'll
fame the day of the murder was made
known by a citizen" The Mayor
might have added that although an
effort was made nothing could be got
ten out of the occupants Of the house
until Mr.. Wren tried, because such is
the fact.
The Mayor, in undertaking to explain
my ignorance, says: 4" 1t was only
necessary for Mr.. Meredith to know the
facts and the witnesses by whom to
prove them; it was not necessary for
him to know who discovered the evil
dence," &c. have only to say that |
assert positively that | do know what
evidence Mr.. Wren furnished after |
came into the case, and | put my state
ment against the theory of the Mayor.
The Mayor states that the informa-
tion left for me at Mr.. Wren's office by
police officers and others was given me
by Mr.. Wren without saying who fur
nished it. Such a statement, without
giving the information alluded to or
the names of the parties, can hardly
strike any mind as fair. Justice Rich