Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1889-03-23 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

CLOSE OF THE " TIMES " CASE.  The Times' case has closed and the Court stands adjourned until April 2, much to the Preaident's evident relief, who "readily," and he added, from his own personal point of view, "very gladly," granted Sir Charles Russell's application for this breathing. time wherein to prepare the Irish case. After Mr. Somme had been reexamined touching the correspondence and telegrams that passed between him and the man Coffey, now in prison, the last two witnesses were put forward. John Levy is a little, middleaged man, with a long baud and rather a military appearance and bearing. He told the Court with considerable sang-froid how he was a Fenian and a Supreme Councillor, and how he resigned owing to quarrels with James Carey. The evidence was of the wonted " informer " character, with which all engaged in the case have been made so familiar in the latter portion of the 83 days during which the trial has gone on. In cross-examination he admitted to Mr. Asquith that the "Home Rule Club" was but a cloak for secret organisation opposed to Home Rule; and to Mr. Devitt, he allowed that he had been prosecuted and convicted and suffered twelve months' imprisonment for embenlement ; but he stoutly denied the suggestion that he ever had anything to do with the manufacture of illicit whieky in Golden-lane, Dublin. The last witness of all was George Mulqueeny, who, it will be remembered, was the man Captain O'Shea said had told him the story of seeing the very knives that were brought over to be used in the Placenix-park murders in the possession of Frank Byrne, at the London Land 1 League officea in Palace-chambers, Bridge-street, NVestmineter. He was an excitable witness, and at first took up a restless sort of defiant attitude, standing with his feet apart, and his hands in his pockets. Mulqueeny is a young man, now a clerk in the Victoria Docks, and he seems to have known au the ins and outs of various shadee and sections of the many Irish parties. He knew several leading members of Parliament, and "had the honour "—this he emphasised—. of Mr. Parnell's acquaintance." He also knew "No. 1 " Tynan—and identified his photograph, and was on intimate terms with Mr. and Mrs. Byrne, and regarded Byrne at one time as a "jolly good fellow." The knives were surgical instruments, known as " transfixing " knives. Mr. Asquith, in crossexamination, somewhat shook the witness—who gave his whole evidence rather reluctantly, and did not seem to care for his poeition in the box—as regards his conversations with Captain O'Shea to which that gentleman had sworn. But he was firm on the point that he had seen the knives. "Unfortunately for me, as that is why I am here," he added. Mr. Davitt's auggeation waa that they could have been brought in there by some of the many visitors who had seems to the office. On the subject of the £lOO sent by Mr. Parnell he wavered. He would not say now directly that it had been sent to pay for the escape of the Phenlx-park murderers, but rather suggested that it may have come over innocently, and was used for criminal purposes by the Byrnes. A