The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-14
TART'STRIAL FOR ARSON.
A HEARING BEGUN IN JUSTICE
RUSSELE5 COURT.


Lee T. Mann the Principal Witness
Against Tart and What He ewors
To-The Evidence of Other Wit
nesses-Negroes Who Saw a Fire in
Tart's Room at Midnight the Night
the House Was Burned-Tart's Wit
nesses Not Yet Examined.
/ The preliminary examination of James
s. Tart, charged by Lee I. Mann with
setting fire to house at the corner Of East
Broad and New Houston streets, was begun
yesterday morning in Justice Russell's court
The entire day was consumed in hearing
evidence. w. W. Osborne, Esq, prosecuted
the case. and T. P Ravenel, r. r. Richards
and W. E. Morrison appeared for Tart.
| Up to the hour of adjournment, at 6 o'clock
last night, all of tue states evidence was
not in. The examination will be resumed
this morning at 10 o'clock.
Lee 7. Mann. the prosecutor, was the first
witness introduced. He was kept on the
stand nearly all Of the forenoon. An i'm
/ portant part of his testimony was his con-
versation with Tart the morning after the
fire.
THE STORY OF THE FIRE.
According to Msnn's story, Tart came to
Mann and Malpheus' house and told them
| about the fire. He said that he feared, as
the fire originated in his room, that people
would say that be started it. They told him
that it looked as if he had started the fire,
and it would be safer for him to leave the
| city. Mann said that Tart did not
say anything about the set of harness which
was burned He did not believe that Tart
had $500 worth of clothing. He bought
| Tart's interest in the wood yard business
| hpQanca Tarf nd Malrho,1G Ar1of
c. M. Malpheus, the other member of the
wood firm besides Mann and Tart, upon
being questioned, said that he was friend
of Tart up to the time of the fire. When
asked why he was not now, he replied that
he did not care to have anything to do with
a criminal.
Malpheus said that he saw Tart carving
an umbrella and valise out of the house the
day before the fire, and he did not see him
| return them. Malpheus admitted that he
had been arrested several times On one
occasion while be was in difficulty on the
car he broke a pair of eyeglasses belonging
to Tart and the owner would not accept
pay for them.
A WITNESS WHO WAS AT THE FIRE.
John +. Phinzy, who lived in the house.
| was put on the stand. He was awakened,
be said, by knocking at his door, aud get
| ting up he saw smoke in Tart's room. He
got water to put out the fire, but Tart, he
said, threw the water in the fireplace,
where there was no fire. He seemed to be
excited. He complained of being sick the
day before the fire, and the witne did not
know whether it was sickness that made
him nervous or not. Tart, he said, assisted
Phinizy i'll removing the witness furni-
ture out of the house, and did all that
the witness asked him to do.
He seemed reluctant about putting out the
fire, though. When a coloredlman offered
to hand him water to throw on the fire, he
stood still and kept saying, "Where is he"
There was an explosion in Tart's room,
Phinizy said, while the fire was burning.
Tart said that it was a cartridge, but Phin-
Ivy did not believe that it was All the time
that Tart was assisting to remove Phinizv's
furniture from the house, Tart was in his
underclothing. When PhinizY was told that
Tart had been arrested, he said that he was
not surprised, but he asked what he was ar
rested for.
| THE MIGHT WATCHMANS STORY.
]. w. Martin, the Waterman at the wood
yard, went up to the burning house, but
did not assist in removing any of the furni-
ture, as nobody asked him to help. G. W.
Williams, an employee of the Belt Line rail-
road at the time of the fire, said that Tart
told him that he supposed the fire had its
origin in lamp explosion in Tart's room.
Paul Walford, a colored man living next
door to the house in which the fire started,
said that Tart moved some of Phinizy's
furniture out of the burning building. No
body would come to get water that he drew
up in his yard and he began to remove the
furniture out of his own house.
Joe Daily (colored) testified that as he
was returning from a serenade at 10 o'clock
he saw light in Tart's room. He went to
the house and saw Tart putting box un-
der the house.
THE DAILY BOYS STORY.
Tart asked him who was there, and DAILY
replied "Joe,n and Tart told him he had no
business there at that hour Of night. DAILY,
upon being cross-examined, said that he
was not acquainted with the boys who went
with him and he did not know the girl.they
serena led He said that he worked for
Mann & Malpheus whenever they had any,
thing for him to do. Tart, he said, put
him off a car on one occasion when Tart
was conductor, because Tart charged him
with running the car into dray.
The last witness before the hour of ad-
journment was colored boy, who had been
serenading and returned home at late
hour. His name was Brown. He saw
bright light in Tart's room, and
upon going to see what it was he saw
Tart sitting in the room in his under
clothing looking at knot burning When
the boy knocked on the window Tart asked
who it was, and told him that he had no
business around there at that hour of the
night.
The counsel for Tart has dozen wit
nesses to introduce this morning. Capt. J.
b. Withers and Supt Cobb of the Tybee
day. The former is volunteer witness for
Tart.
CITY BREvITIRs.