The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-09-12


All of the white men on the platform
fired shots at us from their revolvers."
This was the testimony of both of the
two witnesses who were on the stand
yesterday in the Police Court in the
preliminary examination of Captain
Joseph Spencer, charged with murder
began in the morning about 10 o'clock
before Judge Wilcox. Attorneys Kin
ney and Chillingworth appeared for the
defendant and Attorney General Dole
scented the prosecution.
A CROWD PRESENT.
The court room was crowded, many
old waterfronters and shipping men
were present and friends and acquain-
tances of Captain Spencer and members
of the Pacific Guano and Fertilizer
Company were also on hand
Captain Spencer, calm and in the best
of spirits, paid the sirictest attention
to every word of testimony, given by
the two Japanese who, had their an
nings. Now and then, in a strong,
| deep voice which was almost impossi-
BILE to confine to whisper, he answer
ed some question put to him by his
attorneys during the examination of
the witnesses and often his placid coln-
tenance broke into broad smiles at some
subtle question of the lawyers or some
tangle of assertions unwittingly gotten
into by the long winded little japanese
Occasionally he mopped his brow for
| it was exceedingly warm in the court
| room and every once in a while he
would look up to smile a greeting to
some acquaintance who would drop in
| to listen a while to the stories of the
Japanese.
PHOTOGRAPHS OF LAYSAN.
On the table, in front of Captain
Spencer and his attorneys, were spread
photographs of the buildings on Lay
san Island in which Captain Spencer
and his wife used to live, the laborers'
quarters, the guano house, the plat
form and so forth. A map of the place
was also handy together with the Off
cial log-book of the American bark
/
Captain Spinner, the carpenter and thir-
ty-eight japanese guano laborers back
from Laysan Island a few days ago.
On the floor, near to the hand of At
torney Chillingworth, lay a carefully
wrapped bundle containing assorted
hoop-iron weapons, something of the
nature of cutlasses, with which the
Japanese We're armed, according to
~ n in
and the carpenter when questioned
aboard the Ceylon as she was coming
into port the other day.
THE CHARGE READ.
Stenographer Davis was sworn in as
the official recorder of what everybody
had to say, after which the charge OF
wilful and premeditated murder of one
Goto, on Laysan Island, within the
Jurisdiction of the court" on August
IL, was read. The defendant was mott
ned that as this was only a preliminary
examination he need not plead. At.
torney Kinney, however said that the
prisoner would take his privilege Of
pleading and entered plea of moi
guilty.
Then the first witness for the prose
cution was called. This man was Hi
guchf Shire, who, according to his ties
timony, stood close by Goto when tina
person fell after the shooting had TAX
en- place.
} HIGUCHI SHIRO TESTIFIES.
High Sheriff Brown kept the witness
considerable time, making him e.
over carefully in detail every event O
the day on which the shooting occur
red, Saturday, August II. Interprete
Gibbs translated for the Japanese wit
nesses.
Hlguchi Shire, who is pictured in tn,
witness box In the illustration, testified
In substance as follows:
The japanese on Laysan Island wen
to work at o'clock on the morning O
Saturday, August IL. the day on which
Goto fell. AT o'clock in the mornin,
number of the japanese, representa-,
the whole number, went to Captai,
Spencer for the purpose of arrangin.
with him, If possible, for the men t,
alternate in working ashore and on TIL
water. 1t was their desire, said tn
witness, to work one day on land an,
the next day afloat.
The reason of this was that the guam,