There was a place on the fence of the oat yaddock where a man could get through, and it was a part of the fence on the other Bide of the road, just about opposite the opening referred to, that he saw the man jumti over. Witness hail often seen railway navvies going through the paddock, -where the oat Btooka were—they did so to tike a shovfc.cut to a store Tbo only man witness saw was the' man already mentions*!, going across the pad dock. Witness did jjot look about specially to

f-eaif there1 was any "other stranger around tlie place—there might have been a man concealed in the paddock for all witness knew.—Cor nelius Downey, who was a labourer with Calder, on the 31st January last, remembered prmoner coming to Calder's, and Calder turning him away, Witness, when he ran to tlie burning stook, saw the man who w s in the paddock on the other side of | the road, noticed him stoop dow ti on his kness for a minute or less and look towiuds the party i d.t the burning stook. Then the man resumed ■ his way. The man in the paddock hud grey clothes.- Witness and the others supposed that the nian crossing tlie paddock was the same man who came to the house, but he could not identify him.-^Sergesnt Smith, of Tokomai riro, deposed that prisoner, when he arrested , him and charged him with settings fire to the oats, said, "I know I was dmnis yesterday and if I did it I'll pay for it." He said he might have done so while lighting his pipe, and ,ii he had he would pay for it.—Mr Reid ad •h-essed the ;Jury,for the defence, contending that the evidence was not sufficiently strong or. conclusive to warrant the Jury in bringing in a verdict against the-.prisoner. The evidence was purely circumstantial, and it was not, he con tended, sufficiently strong to convict the ac ciued.. It was not so conclusive as not to ad mit of a reasonable probability of th& prisoner's innocence, and if it did not altogether clear him it raised a doubt sufficient to acquit him. 