Q. The gentleman in the light coat apparently did not know where the deceased lived?

A. No; he said it was either in Ackland Street or Grey Street.

Q. Did you not think that curious?

A. No; I thought he might be a club friend of the deceased.

Q. For how long did the man in the light coat talk to you?

A. About five minutes.

Q. And during that time you heard no noise in the cab?

A. No; I thought the deceased had gone to sleep.

Q. And after the man in the light coat said “good-night” to the deceased, what happened?

A. He lit a cigarette, gave me a half-sovereign, and walked off towards
Melbourne.

Q. Did you observe if the gentleman in the light coat had his handkerchief with him?

A. Oh, yes; because he dusted his boots with it.  The road was very dusty.

Q. Did you notice any striking peculiarity about him?

A. Well, no; except that he wore a diamond ring.

Q. What was there peculiar about that?

A. He wore it on the forefinger of the right hand, and I never saw it that way before.

Q. When did you notice this?

A. When he was lighting his cigarette.

Q. How often did you call to the deceased when you got to the
Junction?

A. Three or four times.  I then got down, and found he was quite dead.

Q. How was he lying?

A. He was doubled up in the far corner of the cab, very much. in the same position as I left him when I put him in.  His head was hanging on one side, and there was a handkerchief across his mouth.  When I touched him he fell into the other corner of the cab, and then I found out he was dead.  I immediately drove to the St. Kilda police station and told the police.

At the conclusion of Royston’s evidence, during which Gorby had been continually taking notes, Robert Chinston was called.  He deposed:—­

I am a duly qualified medical practitioner, residing in Collins Street East.  I made a post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased on Friday.

Q. That was within a few hours of his death?

A. Yes, judging from the position of the handkerchief and the presence of chloroform that the deceased had died from the effects of anaesthesia, and knowing how rapidly the poison evaporates I made the examination at once.

Coroner:  Go on, sir.

Dr. Chinston:  Externally, the body was healthy-looking and well nourished.  There were no marks of violence.  The staining apparent at the back of the legs and trunk was due to post-mortem congestion.  Internally, the brain was hyperaemic, and there was a considerable amount of congestion, especially apparent in the superficial vessels.  There was no brain disease.  The lungs were healthy, but slightly congested.  On opening the thorax there was a faint spirituous odour discernible.  The stomach contained about a pint of completely digested food.  The heart was flaccid.  The right-heart contained a considerable quantity of dark, fluid blood.  There was a tendency to fatty degeneration of that organ.