The constable, Renier, on the same afternoon, made his appearance at the house of Captain Douglas. There is much controversy as to the import of the question which he put to Captain Douglas; whether, when he asked him, “If he knew anything about it?”—he referred to the shooting of the bullock, or the firing on the battery. It is plain, from the circumstances of the case, that both these matters were inextricably mixed up _in the mind of the constable_; for he came to inquire of the shooting of the bullock because of the firing on the battery; and into the firing on the battery, because of the supposed shooting of the bullock. There is no wonder, therefore, that a man, not accustomed to analyse his own ideas, should, in giving his evidence before the court, sometimes state one, and sometimes the other, as the object of his inquiry. But it is equally plain, from the very nature of the case, that whatever was stirring in the mind of the constable, his first question to the Captain would be, whether he knew anything about the death of the bullock. He would never have thought of coming to the barracks to ask an officer whether he had been practising with his pistol, without showing in the first place that he had grounds for making what otherwise would be a very impertinent inquiry. We feel ourselves, therefore, quite justified in adopting here the statement of Captain Douglas. According to that statement, Renier asked him “if he knew anything about shooting the bullock?” He answered “No,” as he well might. For it is to be understood at once, and distinctly, that Captain Douglas had nothing whatever to do with the death of the bullock, and knew nothing about it. But, unfortunately, the dialogue between them did not stop here. It will be remembered that Captain Douglas had made use of a piece of a newspaper, the _Times_, to form his target. This newspaper bore his own name and address on it. The constable added—“That a _Times_ paper had been found near the spot, with Captain Douglas’s name upon it.” _This_ remark could have reference only to the question—who had been firing on the battery? And to this remark Captain Douglas replied—“Possibly so; there were plenty of his papers about; they went all through the barracks and into the town, and he had five or six a-week.” With this answer the constable departed.