Herbert Rowse Armstrong.

Cfafcf Inspector Alfred Cratchett

Chief Inspector ALFRED CRUTCHETT—examination continued—
After he had read it he signed it in my presence. I then said to
him, " Mr. Weaver has something to say to you," and Mr. Weaver
then cautioned him and formally arrested him on a charge of
attempting to murder Mr, Martin by administering the arsenic
to him on the 26th October, 1921. To that charge Mr, Arm-
strong said, " I am quite innocent." I then said to Mr. Arm-
strong, " I suggest that you empty your pockets and put the
contents on to your desk, and that property we can take away
with us and examine later. "We are now going to search your
office/' He emptied his pockets on to a blotting pad on his desk.
The whole of the property was then put by Superintendent Weaver
into a piece of brown paper that we found in the room, and
the brown paper was then put on to the desk, and I
turned the sides over and put a hand blotter over it to keep it
together. It was not tied, The ends were open. Mr. Weaver
then searched the prisoner, and afterwards we examined the
contents of his desk and the letters that were on the desk, and the
cupboard on the back of the desk. After the prisoner had boon
searched I requested him to sit in the middle of the room on a
chair in the centre. He was sitting on the chair while wo were
searching the desk. After we had examined the letters that. woi'o
on his desk and the contents of his desk and the cupboard at the
back of his desk Mr. Armstrong asked if he might sit at his clcwk
and examine some business letters that were there. I had ween the
contents of some of these letters, and, realising that they ini^ht
need immediate attention, and having no desire to obstruct hift
business more than was necessary, I told him he might do ao. I
called in Sergeant Worthing and told him to sit on the opposite
side of the desk to see that he did not interfere with anything
else but business letters, which I pointed out to him, and I also
told defendant that he was not to touch anything else but the
letters. The superintendent and I then continued our search of
the office, and after a few minutes I heard a cracking of paper.
I immediately turned round and found the defendant had reinoved
the blotter from the top of the property, had got the brown paper

from the desk, and he did so. Sergeant Worthing assured nto
that he had taken nothing out of the parcel, and I then suggested
to Mr. Weaver that he should tie it up and put it in his pocket,
which he did; and soon afterwards the prisoner was jiemoved to
the police station.
I saw the contents of his pockets on the 4th January.
Sergeant Williams, the officer in charge at Hay Police Station,
h*d them at that time. It was at Hay Police Station
that I saw them. I examined *the contents in the presence of
120