—— possession of property belonging to the missing men. His stories had sounded plaus- ible at the start but they now had a sinister ring that shattered forever any suggestions that they might be pure fabrications. No, there was little doubt that Moss had killed these men, but there was, as yet, no ade- quate proof. There was, as a matter of fact, no real proof that the property found in his possession had ever rightly belonged to the men who were now missing. True, the missing men had been in possession of it, but that did not constitute real ownership in a court of law. Phone 69 Licensed Premises P.O. Box 71 VENEZIA HOTEL SAM DELUCA, Proprietor MODERN BRICK BUILDING HOT AND COLD WATER IN EACH ROOM Bowling Alley in Connection Cranbrook, B.C. Dezall’s Garage Co., Ltd. DODGE — DE SOTO — STUDEBAKER Service to all makes of cars "The best way to get business is to deserve it.” Cranbrook, British Columbia MOUNT BAKER HOTEL I. CLAUSON, Proprietor Cranbrook’s Newest Hotel. All Brick, Fire- proof. Residential. No Bar in Connection. TOURIST HEADQUARTERS CRANBROOK, B.C. CITY TRANSFER COMPANY W. E. Worden, Proprietor Coal, Wood and General Transfer Furniture Moving and Storage Cranbrook, B. C. HOTEL BYNG JOHN and WHITING, Proprietors Modern Throughout CLEAN AND COMFORTABLE Reasonable Rates Fully Licensed CRANBROOK, B.C. Compliments of Cranbrook Branch, No. 24, Canadian Legion, B. E. S. L. Secretary, ARTHUR KEMBALL SUMMER EDITION The Queensland Criminal Investigation Branch threw every facility at its disposal into the case. More than five thousand miles were covered by police and volunteer investigators ferreting out relatives of the murdered men and obtaining descriptions of any property that might have been in their possession at the time of their deaths. They uncovered some startling facts. O'Shea, it was learned, did own a dapple grey mare at the time of his death. It had been bred by a man named Wade, of Ava- dale, Queensland, and was sold by him through the Charleville Saleyards until it eventually became O’Shea’s property. Three other dapple greys, all bred by the same man, lent some strength to Moss’ contention that the dapple grey found in his possession came from the same breeder as did O’Shea’s. The police seized on this as a piece of actual evidence to work. They began to track down every dapple grey ever bred by Wade. The search led them over the trackless wastes of the bush country. One mare was found at Walgett; another at Native Dog watering place and another at Collie. The fourth was traced to Robinson. Moss’ con- tention was thus shot to rags. It had been proven beyond question that the mare in his possession was owned by Robinson. Moss was sent to trial and charged with the murder of Thomas Robinson. While it would be interesting to follow the police in the scope of their investiga- tions, we can only say that owing to the widespread diversions incumbent on such an undertaking that any account of them would be a disjointed series of reports. A clear idea of the case, and of Moss’ charac- ter, can be better gained by reporting, ver- batim, the remarks of the magistrates and judges who conducted the cases when Moss appeared for trial. We would like to point out here that as a rule any criminal before the bar of justice is usually accorded some sort of leniency, or at least given the benefit of the doubt in every angle without any partiality being shown regarding his charac- ter or motives for his crimes. The law officers of Australia are noted for their fair- ness, and in reading the magistrate’s sum- ming up we can only agree that Moss must have indeed been a supermonster to occa- sion such remarks from the Bench. When Moss appeared before the magis- trate at Dubbo Police Court he heard the charge of murder read to him and then heard the various police officers give their evidence. Throughout the entire proceed- ings he sat disinterestedly. One damning blow after the other was struck at his de- fense and at last the magistrate concluded that sufficient evidence had been presented by the officers to warrant Moss being sent to appear before the Dubbo Circuit Court. In ordering Moss to appear before this court on the 19th of September, the Magis- trate commented: “Usually my addresses from this bench are short, but (1) because the accused has not been represented by counsel to watch his interests, to advise him or make submissions to the court on questions of law; and (2) because the cir- cumstances surrounding the disappearance of the old man, Robinson, are so extraordinary and have aroused such widespread public interest, I feel it incumbent to make some comment. During the past three days we have had un folded to us a wonderful story, what might be termed a ‘thriller’; a story not unique, perhaps, but certainly extraordinary in criminal history from which the inferences to be drawn are most gruesome. No body has been found, the evidence is almost entirely circumstantial, but we have the alleged contession of the accused to the police, ‘I killed him all right, but I don’t re- member what I did with the body.’ By the law of England (of Australia, too), no one is per- mitted to plead guilty to a charge of murder. The Crown must prove the charge. This does not mean that a confession is inadmissible as evidence. A confession forms part of the evi- dence, but the value thereof is governed by the circumstances. So few cases are decided on cir- cumstantial evidence alone that it is small won- der that many laymen are under the impression that a charge of murder cannot be sustained in the absence of the body, corpus delicti. There have been several cases throughout the world, not many, it is true, and very few in Australia, But what is the proper inference to draw from the facts in our possession? Robinson was un- doubtedly in Moss’ company at Brummagem Bridge on the 21st of January, 1939. He dis- appeared. We remember that Moss told many falsehoods, both as regards the ownership of property in his possession and of the whereabouts of Robinson, and we do not forget his attempts to make himself known by some other name than his correct one. It seems to me that the only reasonable conclusion here is that Thomas Rob- inson met his death by violence on that night. I find that a prima facie case has been estab- lished.” Those were the comments of the magis- trate at the preliminary hearing. They speak for themselves. They forever shatter the idea that a corpus delicti is necessary to establish evidence of murder. On the 3rd of July, Moss came before the Dubbo Police Court, charged with the mur- der of Timothy O’Shea. When the ev: dence was all in, the magistrate said: “On the 2nd of June last I committed Moss to stand trial on a charge of murdering one Thomas Robinson. Today this wretched man— I use the term wretched in a sense of being miserable or woeful, a person sunk in anxiety— I say this ‘wretched’ man is before me again charged with murder, the murder of one Tim- othy O'Shea. He is shunned by his fellow man. Apparently none of his family will aid him. He is not represented by counsel. It is to be re gretted, I think, that the law does not permit of legal assistance being granted to an indigent defendant in a Court of Petty Sessions. So far as the fairness of the prosecution in this particu- lar case is concerned, however, Moss can have NU-WAY CAFE The Best at Moderate Prices SPECIAL ATTENTION GIVEN TO TOURIST TRADE Cranbrook, B.C. QUEENS HOTEL GUNNAN SWANSON, Proprietor Good Comfortable Rooms Fully Licensed e Cranbrook, B.C. Page Sixty-one