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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 f : -aquiry under r. s, c. cap. ,./ K E P O R T OF THE COMMISSIONER, (The Honorable IViUuiin iVhite, Judge of the Superior Court _ Province of Quebec.) % f Ottawa, October 6th, 1900. >«Mil«MB«MilM>HBdMi ■ I ■■ml niiM» '^■■I'lifWlfvr'.i'^^ """".■■ ■■'-■*- "-=-' ^ -^'t.r/a'-rurrri'V^i^'^^'K^-'r'i*^''^^:^^^*'"^ q06 cfgav^ V J SlIKRimOOKK, OCTOHKR 5TII, I9C/O. To the Honorable^ the Post mauler General^ Ottawa : IN RE. Enqitiiy ordvrcd under R. S. C. Cap. 1/4, as to an al!i\i^cd abslraclion of $200.00 from letter mailed at Kintiear's Mills Post Office on the 6th December, i8<)c), by Rev. J. M. lVhi>el.i'ji) addressed'to the Rev. Dr. IVarden, To/onto. Sir, — I have the honor to report that in accordauce with ord<;r in Council of the 26th of July last, and your letters of instruction of the 27th and 31st of the same month, and also yours of the 4th of Aug. last, and after taking communication of copies of the record of the previous investigations in this matter, held by Inspector Bolduc and Inspector Hawken, I gave notice to those persons, whose atten- dance I considered necessary as witnesses, that I would commence the enquiry at Inverness — the Chef Lieu of the County of Megantic, on Tuesday, the 21st of Aug., at 9 a m. INTRODUCTION. Judging from the record and papers sent to me, the persons to whom I issued summon;; on the 8th of Aug. were the following : Rev. J. M. Whitelaw, Kinnear's Mills. Jas. Kinnear, jr , Ex-Postmaster. David Frizzel, Kinnear's Mills. Rev. Dr. Warden, Toronto, Miss King, Toronto. - Jas. Kinnear, sr , of Kinnear's Mills Miss M. M. Kinnear, Ex- Assistant Postmaster. Inspector Bolduc, and Assistant Inspector Green. Intending to limit the enquiry to the examination of those whose evidence appeared to me material. A day or two later I learned that Ex-Postmaster Kinnear and his daughter, had moved to Toronto, and upon their being summon- ed, I received an application from J. J. McLaren, QC, for permission to attend the enquiry on their behalf. This application I granted conditionally, restricting the counsel, to such limitations, as are usually attached thereto on obtaining leave to attend a coronet's inquest Late in the evening of the Z7th of August, I received a similar application from J. A. Lane, Esq., Advocate of Quebec, for leave to '■ I J rr appear on behalf of the Rev. Mr. Whitchiw. Mr. Lane's letter will be fonnd attached to the papers in .\ppenclix '*!)," acconij)anying this report. It contained a list of 20 witnesses, whom he desired to be snni- nioned; and this lis. contained the names of only three, who had already been summoned, thus making an additional number of 17. Ii was impossible to siimmon these witnesses, for the 21st, as Subpoenas could not be issued until Saturday the i8th, and could not arrive by mail in Inverness before the 20th, which would not give a sufficient delay for attendance on the 2ist. I therefore did not sum- mon them, desiring before doing so t(' be informed in some measure as to what it was desired to show by them, intending, siiould I con- sider it necessary in the interest of tl e enquiry, to adjourn to a later date. On Monday, the 20th, I received a telegram from Mr. Lane (also annexed, Appendix *'D") requesting me to postpone for 10 days This I could not consent to, as a 1 arrangements had been made for the 2 1 St, and at least 5 persons were expected from Toronto, be- sides the Inspectors from Quebec, ami those witnesses who had been summoned from the locality. I therefore left Sherbrooke on t le 20th, taking with me Sten- ographer Gatien. On arriving at Inverness on the morning of the 21st, I was sur- prised to find the Court roam thronged with a large number of per- sons who were evidently taking a deep interest, in the proceedings. A large number of these were apparently members of the Rev. Mr. Whitelaw's congregation at Kinnear's Mills, At the opening of the investigation, Mr. Whitelaw desired to know if he was to have the privilege of counsel, stating that there were really two parties to the investigation ; that the Ex-Postmaster was one, and that he was the other : — that the Postmaster was re- presented by counsel, Mr. McLaren ; and that he was without coun- sel, and made an earnest appeal for what he styled "British Fair Play." This appeal appeared to be somewhat vociferously seconded by a number of persons present, whose demonstration indicated that they were strongly sympathising with Mr. Whitelaw. We informed Mr. Whitelaw that it was impossible to postpone the enquiry, but we would do our utmost to see that the fullest opportunity should be accorded to him to adduce such evidence as we considered to be material to the enquiry, but that we must proceed at once with the examination of those witnesses who were present ; particularly with himself and those from Toronto. It then appeared that nearly all the witnesses, whom Mr. Lane had requested should be summoned, were present. Their names ' were called, and those who answered, were ordered to remain in at- tendance until they were discharged. / ) i It soon became .ipparcnl that if tlic invcstij^'ation was to be jmo- the mail, enclosing^the three / ); '1 Si ■* ft % 1 •; :m ^^^"^^ 5 ■I 3 ^r 5 rcj^islorod letters, along with a fourth, in a rcp^istcrc'l letter bill, (Exhibit No. 25) which shows that the fourth rc^MsLered letter was onv; aiklressed to tiv' Montreal Rank, Ottawa; and aft^r making up his mail, deposited the whole in his mail bag, ready to be despalelied He then enquired of Mr. Kriz/de what he could do for him. After a few moments Mr. Frizzle left Mr, Kinnear then took !iis mail bag and placed it carefully av/ay in its usual place in a clo.set in a room of his house adjoining, and followed Mr. Whitelaw back to Dr. Thompson's Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Kinnear, jr., and Mr. Albert Kinnear remained at Dr Thompson's for some liours, and returned home together at about II p.m On their return they all immediately retired to their apartments upjStairs. Duilng the evening their son, Alexander, was lying upon the bed in a room adjoining the room in which the mail ba,^ had been placed, being confined by a broken leg, — an accident having occurred to him sometime previously. From where he lay he had a view of the place where the mail bag had been placed, and lie is able to str*^2 positively that no person had access to it from the tims it was placed there by his father up to the tims when it was delivered to the mail carrier the following morning Miss Kinnear did not go to Dr. Thompson's that evening, as she was absent at Inverness, about 12 miles away, aid did not return until about 7 p.m. When she returned her father, mother and au^t (Mrs Albert Kinnear) were at Dr. Thompson's. She did not know • what took place in the Post Office that evening, nor of the mail bag being put in the closet, as she was, during that time, in another room playing the piano, while her younger sister, Effie, was playing with her cousin, a lad about 4 years of age They remained there for some time, but retiree early. .About quarter past 8.00 Miss Kinnear went up-stairs with he.* sister and little cousin. They remained in h!-' room until he fell asleep, and then retired into their own room and went to bed. As Mrs. Albert Kinnear and her child were leaving the following mornirg, the family were up somewhat early to get breakfast for her. Miss Kinnear did not come down stairs until after the mail carrier had taken away the bag. Thes'. are the events which took place at the residence of the Postmaster during that evening and night, and are proved by all the members of the family, whose credibility on these points I have seen no rea.son to doubt. Exhibit No. 1 is. the letter in question. " " 2 •• envelope. The letter states that the writer is enclosirg $200 from Mr. Jas. Kinnear, sr., &nd bow it is to be distributed. / r I I Dcccnihcr 7lh-2olh, The letter left Kiiuicar's Mills on the moniiuj:,'' of the 7th of December, and arrived in Toronto in dne conrse on the evening of the 8th. Qn the luorning of the 9th, the letter carrier bronglit it to Dr. Warden's oflice and delivered it to Miss Kinp^, his lady steno,:^rapher ; she receipted for it in the onter office and ininicdiitely took it to Dr. Warden, who was in the inner oflice. He opened it immediately in her presence. It contained the letter from Mr Whitelaw, a Quebec Bank statement, and a piece of cardboard, bnt neither money nor private note. Dr. Warden says, from the manner in which he had previonsly received money, both from Mr. Kinnear and Mr. White- law, he expected the money wonld be in dividend cheqnes. As there were none in thd letter, he thought of telegraphing ; but upon ascer- taining there was no telegraph office at Kinnear's Mills, he wrote io Mr Whitelaw the lef^er (exhibit 3) dated the 9th, and, before he re- ceived any reply wrote a second one (exhibit Ne. 6), dated the 13th. In the first of these letters, Dr Warden informs Mr Whitelaw that the envelope contained nothing but the letter, the Quebec Bank statement, and //le p/'^c^ of canihoard, and expresses the hope that . the money was in the form of a cheque or draft, and that in some way it was omitted to be enclosed He further states in it that from the shape of the envelope it does not seem that it could have contained much more than what he actually found in it. He say.-i " it is flat and not bulged ont at all." The second letter expresses anxiety at not having received a re- ply to the first. It appears that, when the first letter arrived at Kin- near's Mills, Mr. Whitelaw was absent from home, but received the first letter on or before the 14th, on which day he sent the telegram (exhibit No. 5), "Sent bills, Quebec, American, Hochelaga, fifties, two twenties, one ten. Writing." And on the same day wrote the letter (exhibit No 6.) This letter, of course, is important, as it contains Mr. Whitelaw's first formal statement. It is as follows : "Dear Dr. Warden, — I have just returned from meeting of Pres- bytery at Richmond to be shocked by receipt of your letter. At the same time I mailed three registered letters, and the other two arrived all right. ' I cannot understand it, otherwise than it is a matter of extracting money from the letter, for I assure you the money was sent all right. In that case you would naturally suppose there would be some evidence of the envelope being opened. I have wired you that I sent bills, — one American fifty, one Hochelaga fifty, and one Quebec fifty. I think the two twenties were Quebec, and also the ten. I generally note the numbers of large bills, but as we had to attend a social ftmction that evening, I did not take that precau* tion. Was the envelope sealed with wax when ft reached you ? I did not put on any wax, but closed it securely, and remember remark- / ) ing to the Postmaster to use every precaution as I was sending' quite a sum. The Postuiaster weighed it to ascertain if it were f that month, having been endorsed by Mr. VVIiitclaw to R. VVilson Smith, Meldrnm & Co , brokers, and sent by him on the 4th of December to cover purchase of 300 shares, Montreal and L<^n- don mining stock purchased for him on the ist of December. (See exhibit No. 43). The next m )rning, Mr Green left Kinncar's Mills and went to Tlictford Mines, where the Quebec Bank has a branch office, f.)r the ptirpose there of fretting further i' 'ornutiou in regard to Oncbec Bank statements, similar to the one found in the envelope He had ascertained before leaving Quebec, that they had not been sent out from the head office. Mr Jones, the manager, informed him that tiiey had been generally distributed ; that he had given instructions to scud out some to names which appear in Bradstreets and Dun, \Vy- inan's publications, and to underline with red pencil, the words "Tlict- ford Mines" on such as were ssnt out by mail to special addresses. Those distributed geuerslly from the office, did not have the words "Thetford Mines" so underlined, (see the evidence of Mr. Jones.) These facts are of some significence, because it is satisfactorily shown that if one came to the post-office, addressed to Jas Kinnear, he thought it was meant for his father, and sent it to him, as he was a Quebec Bank Stock Holder The old man says he saw such a one, but it was lost or destroyed. It undoubtedly would have had a red line, as one has been produced (exhibit No. 28) received in a letter by Ed. Bracken, and it has a red mark. The exhibit 12 a, has no red mark, and is therefore cue that has been picked up from those iu general circula- tion (page 140). Mr. Green then returned to Quebec to report to Mr. Bolduc, obtain all the correspondence for Toronto, and push fu: ther enquiries. December 27th. On this day Mr. Green returned to Kinnear's Mills, accompanied by Inspector Bolduc. What then took place I consider quite import- ant, as determining the weight and degree of credibility to be given to the testimony of the witnesses respectively. In the morning, learning that Mr. Whitelaw was absent and would not return until the evening, they called at the Post Office for the purpose of testing Mr. Kinnear again. They rather assumed, in conversation with him, that he was the guilty party, or had some knowledge of the matter, and about noon, left the fan.ily under the impression they so considered. In the afternoon, they went to the iesidence of David Frizzle, and there ascertained from him positively that the envelope had been stauijied and oostMuarked iu his presence at the time it was received from the hamis of Mr. Whitelaw. ■ A care- * ■I ) »l uld appear it was about 6.30 p.m when they met Mr. Whitelaw ; and their interview must have occupied sometime. After they left, Mr. Whitelaw went to see Mr. Kinuear, and it could not then have been earlier than 7.30 p ni. There is great contradiction between Mr. Whitelaw and 4 members of the Kinuear family, as to what took place that evening and that night ; and either Mr. Whitelaw swears falsely, or the four members of the Kinuear family do. Pie says he went and met Mr. Kinuear in the Post Office, and there had a lengthy conversation with him, before going into the house. Thoy all swear positively that the Post Office was closed before that hour; that Mr. Khinear had come into the house and that Mr. Whitelaw came to the house, and had no interview with Mr. Kiunear in the Post Office ; and the four meml>- ers of Mr. Kinuear's family declare that they heard all that took place that evening, between Mr. Kinuear and Mr. Whitelaw. Mr. Whitelaw says that at the lengthy interview in the Post Office, be- fore going into the house, various propositions were made by Mr. Kiunear ; that on Mr. Whitelaw's informing him the Inspectors were to call next morning and that if he should say he had placed the money in the letter, Mr. Kiunear would certainly be arrested and taken to the jail in Arthabaska on a criminal charge of having abs- tracted the money ; that these varit>us ])ropositions were discussed between them in the Post Office : that Mr. Kinuear expressed his willingness to pay $5,500, rather than be arrested or have the matter go any further ; that Mr. Whitelaw informed him that he believed that if the $200 was provided, or that the Inspectors were told it would be provided, the matter wenld end there ; that Mr. Whitelaw consented to assume the responsibility of saying to the Inspectors the money wimld be forwarded, provided Mr. Kiunear would furnish the money ank give liim a note tor $5,300, to protect him from the responsibility of so acting and which, he said, might cause hi -\ "im- mediate trouble" ; that he would not take a note for $5,500, as the $200 must be provided in cash ; that after considerable discussion, / ) . ' ■> ■ m'- >A - I "A I ? i I ■ft t r I it Si 1 1 this ;irr:\n^cinoul was cousciUcd to by Mr. Rinuc.ir, hut lu, Mr. W'hilcliuv, wished liim not to act upon it hastily, but to consider tlm mailer carefully, atul talk it over with his wife, and that if it was decid- ed upon, the note and the money might be furnished to him later during the eveninj; or night, but that it must be arranged before the morning; that he and Mr. Kinnear then went into the liouse to dis- cuss the arrangement with Mrs. Kinnear. Mr. Whitclaw adnjits that all that took place in the house, was heard by Mr, and Mrs. Kinnear, Miss Kinnear and Alexander Kinnear. All four of these swear positively, that there had been no intcivicw in the Post Office; thr.t there had been no talk whatever about the note of $5,000 or $5,300, or any amount ; that the only talk was of providing $200 : that after consickrablc discussion Mrs. Kinnear, in her agitation and her alarm, promised to provide $200 rather than have her husband arrested ; that in their discussion about it they suggested Mr. While- law ought to provide one half the amount, as they were innocent, and were not responsible for the loss of the money, and that Mr. Whitclaw ought to suffer half of the loss ; tl'.at he refused to do so, on the ground that he was in no danger, (as the letter was his and he could put anything he liked into it), and it was quite sufficient for him to assume the responsibility of telling the Inspectors the money would be forwarded, which might bring him into "immediate trouble''; that the matter of providing the money was discussed ; that Mr. Kinnear refused to provide the money, but Mrs. Kinnear promised she would do so liter; that Mr. Whitelav/ stated he had about $150 of his own, and to make up the amount Mr. Kinner.' let hira have from his cash box S60 or $65, and gave it to Mr. Whitelaw to be re- turned about the ist of January, as Mr. Kinnear desired to use it at that time; that .Mr. Whitelaw then lett. Both parties swear that after his departure, and during the night, Mr. Kinnear made three visits to Mr. Whitelaw's house. Mr. Whitelaw's version of the first visit is to the following effect, (page 8) : "I found all my family in bed but my wife, to be followed very shortly by Mr. Kinnear. He brought with him $60 or $65, asked me if I could make up the balance of the $200, that he would give it to me later on. He then asked me to draw the prom- issory note. I drew it in my study, but asked him not to sign it yet. I said to him it was a serious matter and don't sign it just now. I told him to take it to his house, aud he could sign it in the morning, which he did." His version of the second visit is to the following effect : "About midnight, Mr. Kinnear returned, "^tatter was talked over. I do not know whether it >yas at that visit at which he banded me the note. I rather think it was at the second visit. He went back home." His version of the third visit is to the following effect : "About 4 o'clock ill the morning, he called again. At this time. I certainly / ) \^ ft- 4ft 12 was in ])os.scssion of the promissory note for $5,30o.sij;iic(l l)y liim. \Vc talked the matter over, and our understanding' was, tliat tliis note was not to he collected unless I was put to a certain amount of expense, if an ijivcstl^rttion was to he made; and when everythinj; was over, I was to take wh. tcver expense I was put to out of this document. lie then left and went hack home." The evidence of the Kinrear family, as to these three visits is quite dilTcrcnt. They state that the 56o or S65 had been given to Mr. White/aw before he le^t their house. That immediately after his leaving they discussed iht arrangement and considered it quite imprudent; tliat it was suggested aduongst them, Mr. Whitelaw would get himself into trouble, particulr^rly as he would not be able to account to the Inspectors for the envelope iiaving been cut at the end and remucil- aged ; and that Mr. Kinnear was immediately despatched after Mr. Whitelaw for the purpose of drawing his attention to the matter, and to dissuade him from any attempt to carry out the arrangement ; that this first visit was so soon after Mr. Whitelaw's leaving, that Mr. Kinnear almost expected to overtake him before he reached his house; that Mr. Kinnear returned saying that Mr. Whitelaw felt convinced the nrrangcincnt could be cnrricd out without any great difficulty, and persisted in it ; that the matter was again discussed among themselves, and it then occurred to them Mr. Kinnear might be compromised, if Mr. Whitelaw handed over the $60 to the In- spectors, inasmuch as they had examined his cash-box, and might have taken the numbers or denomination of the bills and might re- cognize them as Mr. Kinnear's, where upon Mrs. Kinnear went to her son's room and obtained from him a similar amount out of a sum of $iOo which the son had provided himself with a short time before he broke his leg: as money he would require when he went to Mont- real to college ; that the second visit was for the purpose of exchang- ing the money with Mr. Whitelaw and that the second visit was made expressly for that purpose and that the money was then ex- changed ; that Mr. Kiunear brought back to his house the money which he was afraid the Inspector would recognize, and left with Mr. Whitelaw the other bins he had obtained from the son's money ; that, later in the night, they continued to be quite disturbed and dis- satisfied with the whole arrangement, and feared that thej too might be compromised, that they finally resolved that he personally would have nothing more to do with it ; and that Mr. Kinnear's third visit during the night, was for the purpose of getting back the son's money, and telling Mr. Whitelaw, that he would not consent to the arrangement ; that Mr. Kinnear did get back the money, and made known his determination to Mr. Whitelaw to have nothing to dc with it. These are the opposite versions of what took place that night. It is clear they differ most materially, and whichever is accepted as true must stamj* the opposite version as untrue. / ) f « ^ My cUM*»wWifc — <»il ' f ! I L ^l 'igatt^ i ^Lc_LiU£'.iii.c.' . ( ! L 1 •• 19 "and three hundred dollars for value received, interest payable half "yearly." Mr. VVhitelaw's evidence as to this nole was that it was given simply to secure him against expenses which he apprelicndcd would be caused through his actions of the morning of tiic 28th of De- cember. He says that the note was taken simply as security. Tliis pretension is scarcely consistent with the fact that tlic note was writ- ten by hiuKself, and that the term of it is two years, or with the fact that what he apprehended, was 'immediate trouble.'' A note payable in two years could hardly be security against "immediate trouble." The enquiry of the legal editor of the Witness was as to how a note not payable to order could be negotiated. The answer which the legal editor pjave to this enquiry was satisfactory enough, as he stated as fallows : "The note may be negotiated in the ordinary manner by "endorsement and delivery, notwithstanding the omission of the words * or order.' " About this time Mr. Whitelaw exhibited the note to Dr. Thomp- son and Mr. Warcup ; and that he was the holder of such a note be- gan to be rumored about the locality. It reached the ears of Mr. Kinnear, who at once declared that he had never knowingly signed such a note. It is dated the 27th of December, and as already stated, Mr. Whitelaw swears it was signed by Mr. Kinnear, and brought and delivered to iiim either on the second or third visit made by Mr. Kinnear during that night. Mr. Kinnear consulted Mr. John Whyte, and began to contem- plate proceedings fo; the recovery of the note. He first stated he had never signed any document ; but. Upon reflection, said he re- membered having been requested by Mr. Whitelaw on one occasion to attach his signature to a paper, which Mr. Whitelaw represented - as being an application to take a girl out of the Knowlton Home, ^nd upon this representation Mr. Kinnear attached his signature without examining what he was signing. While this strtemeut is certainly extraordinary, it is not improbable, when one considers how clearly all the proof establishes that Mr. Kinnear and his family placed the utmost confidence in Mr. Whitelaw, up to the 20th of January at least, and how greatly they were under his influence. Certain, it is, that Mr. Kinnear resolutely repudiated the note, and contemplated legal proceedings to coni'>el its surrender before it would be negotiat- ed. It was the di.sclosure of this matter which appears to have broken up and put an end to friendly relations between the parties and their respective friends. It was this also which lead to the second investigation, which took place at Kinnear's Mills by In- spector Hawken, of Ottawa, on the 25th of May. It is satisfactorily established that Mr. Hawken was willing to make the investigation a public one, f f both parties consented. That Mr. Kinnear was not only willing, but was anxious that it should be public ; but that Mr. Whitelaw would not consent, and it was there- ' ■I • I ■I 20 fore held as a private investif^'aliou. Mr. John Wliytc desired to be present as a friend of Mr. Kinnear, and suggeslcd that Dr. Tlionip- sou might also be present as a friend of Mr. Wliilelaw. This pro- posal, however, was declined bj' Mr. VVhilelaw, and the investigation was held as a private one. After it was terminated, Mr. Whyte, at Mr. Kiunear's reqnest, in ihe presence of two witnes.ses, and ahso of the Inspectors, made a formal demand on Mr. Whitelaw for the sur- render of the $5,300 note. This demand was complied with, although there was at that time indications, quite apparent, that further trouble would iu all probability follow the investigation. It is difficult to understaud why Mr. Whitelaw should, under such circumstances, surrcuder the note, if it had been honorably obtained. CONCLUSION. After a careful consideration of all the evidence, it appears that there are four theories possible in connection with this sum of S200, which it was pretended was enclosed ou the 6th of December in the envelope (exhibit No. 1) : ist. That it was absttacted while in transit between Kiunear's Mills and Toronto. 2nd. That it was abstracted by Postmaster Kinnear. 3rd. That it was abstracted by Miss Kinnear. 4th. That it never was enclosed by Mr, Whitelaw. There is no evidence whatever in support of the first of these theories, and indeed it is scarcely pretended by any one. The fact that the letter arrived in due course is almost sufficient of itself to destroy such a theory. The manner in which the end of the enve- lope had been cut, and the neat way in which it had been mucilaged, would necessarily have taken considerable time, and such care as could not have been given without delaying it over at least one mail. Hesides that, any one who intended to purloin the money would have ar'opted a safer metho.d by withdrawing and destroying the letter self; and, moreover, to a stranger the registered letter which accompanied it addressed to the Montreal Bank, Ottawa, and which arrived safely, would have presented equal, if not superior attractions. There is no evidence whatever in support of this theory, and it may at once be set aside. The second, as to the probability of the money having been abstracted by Postmaster Kinnear, is almost equally untenable. He is shown to be a man of means, worth about $35,000 in his own right, and not at all likely to have committed so serious an offence, or having been in any way a party to It. All his subsequent actions indicate that he was innocent of it He was the first to wish to report the matter to Mr, Bolduc, the Quebec Inspector. During all the period of time he had been the postmaster, upwards of 1 2 years, no such occurence had taken place in regard to a registered letter mail- ed at his office, and the proof as to what was done by him on the evening and night of the 6th of December completely rebuts any / ) li: 21 presumption tint he personally could have tampered with this letter. During tlic invcstijTfation indeed Mr. Whitclaw would rather appear to havo discarded this theory ; and the suspicions he desired to create rather absolve Mr. Ivinnear, and point towards his dauj^hter. 'I'he second theory must therefore he discarded. As to the third theory, that it was probable Miss Kinnear might have abstracted the money. .\s stated, the principal evidence offered in reference to irregularities in the post office in preceding years was nearh' all directed against Miss Kinnear. The pretended motive, so far as she was concerned, was a desire on her part to attend the Paris Exhibition. A large number of the witnesses produced were for the purpose of showing that, a year or so before, letters had been re- ceived at the (Jffice which had the appearance of 'i.aving been tampered with in a somewhat similar manner , and that the recipients suspected her, as she was somewhat interested in the letters. This evidence was admitted lest its exclusion might give occasion for an impression that the enquiry was not being impartially conducted ; but it really has no bearing upon the subject under investigation. There was in reality no evidence that Miss Kinnear had ever meddled with any letters ; and indeed she was never suspected of having interfered with money letters ; and as to the letter in question there is not a particle of evidence that she had any access to the mail bag on the night of the 6th of December. On che contrary it is established b;- the circumstances which transpired on that night, and fully confirm- ed by her brother Alexander, that no person had acce.i to the bag after it was placed in the dining room, or could have had without his knowledge; — that any one desiring to commit the offence woutd liave been obliged to iake *he mail bag from the cupboard, carry it into the Post Office where the key of the mail bag was attached by a string to the desk, light a lamp« examine the contents of the bag, and perform the delicate operation which this envelope had undergone ; acts which were utterly impossible for any one in the house to have committed without their being known to, or detected by the others. This theory I have no hesitation in pronouncing to be absolutely unsupported by any evidence. This reduces the couclusiou of the enquiry purely and simply to the fourth theory. In pronouncing upon it I do not deem it my duty to assume the functions of a jury aud-decide as to whether a man is guilty or not guilty, particularly when he is not before me, charged 'vith an offense. But, acting under my appointment, I am obliged to say that the investigation completely, in ray judgment, absolves the Post Office department, and everyone at that time connected with it, including all the members of the Kinnear family, from any imputa- tion of having committed any wrong in counection with this letter. There is to my miad no evidence whatever in support of the pretension that bank bills were ever enclosed in the letter, except the evidence of Mr. Whitelaw. • ' _ ?- - / ) t f i c p fl b I( a; h 22 I am reluctantly •ol)lij;c(l to say that I cannot attach to his evidence any degree of wciglit. That which under ordinary circum- stances it ought to have, owing to his position in the community, is completely destroyed by the facts and circumstances disclosed on the enquiry. Some of these are slight ; others arc more serious. His having received as a trustee, money from old Mr. Kinncar early in November in large part composed of dividend cheques, pa}'- .\blo at jiar in Toronto, and needlessly delaying its transmission : his having diverted these cheques from the purpose for which the donor intended them ; — his having sent them before the 6th of December to his brokers in Montreal to be invested iu mining stock : his un- explained preference for sending bank bills in their stead, when it is shown that he usually sent cheques on previous occasions : the time and manner of mailing this letter ou the 6th of December, after regular hours, and when he had reason to believe that the Postmaster would be alone, accompanying its delivery with a needless remark as to its contents, evidently intended to compromise the Postmaster : his ui igiual statements that he had not enclosed a piece of card- board, — A circumstance he could not have forgotten inasmuch as he pretends to remember all the other details : his lame attempts to change these statements when he discovered that it bore evidence against their truth, and his prevarication as to what his original mean- ing was: his false statement to Mr. Green on the 20th of Decem- ber that the Gas Consumers cheque was still in his possession : his hesitation on the evening of the 27th to make a statement to the Inspectors : the fact that he is positively contradicted as to what too'' place later that evening and during that night, by four wit- nesjes, whose evidence is supported and confirmed by what took place during the night, while his versions are not : his practical abandonment and withdrawal of charges against the Post Office on the morning of the 28th, when during the previous night Mr. Kin- near, at his third visit, had withdrawn all offer of assistance, and even the small sum of money which he had advanced, leaving Mr. White- law dependent only upon the vague promises of Mrs. Kinncar : his having extorted from her, through her fears of the arrest of her husband, a promise to furnish $200, when tie husband and all the family were protesting their innocence : his determined efforts on the I St of January to obtain a renewal of her promise in spite of her father's prohibition : his wrongfully influencing a misapplication of $200 from the mission fund of the church : his persistent and suc- cessful efforts on the 20th of January to hold Mrs. Kinnear to the payment of the $200 iu order that it miglrt be replaced in the mission fuud of the church : his being the principal party to the shameful bond of secrecy executed in duplicate on that occasion: his fraudu- lently obtaining the note for $5,300 : his pretence that it was giveu as security against immediate trouble apprehended, when he himself had made it payable in two years from its date : his admitted desire / ) U « *«^ MavAltM • ■ *<**«fc M i;r^; I > ; ;„ I tin '.i> •ij- J-&- "//-r orucr, proMi g that he wos coiitciiiplaiJiH' ncgotiatinir the note hi i ., ,?. f i^ ■• »"<' .""'"^■••""e •-' corrupt iiuclltioli to try a.l.l obfiin L M° ^^u-*^ '" ■■"'''','"" '" ""•• *=°° ^^'"<^l> '■= ''»<1 already reccvcS froiuMrs. k.unear: l„s voluntary surrender of this note when de- Xf,trr""'",n^"™"S.^'"' •^"' d^'^miaed purpose at a t,me ^ Z nf ^1 "" «™""^ '° »PP'-<^'''"1av<> « iV.'*'.*..* -. . »*•-. t ,„ _ J