STABLISHED E$k1 NEWBERRY TU1"0 O 3 1 __l W W903 0V,I'T..... mI.i I. ^ TUR<,DAY. oc' EVIDENCE ALL IN. THE CASE WILL PROBABLY G0 TO TIE JURY TOMORROW. James H. Tillman Tells His Story Graphi cally and In an Impressive Manner. The Arguments. [Special to Herald anid News] Lexington, S. C., .October i r. The taking of testimony ii the case of James H. Tillnan, charged with murder in the killing )f N. G. Gonzales, was concluded at 4 o'clock Saturday afternoon, and the record is complete so far as, under the circumstances, it could be made complete. When the last witness catne off the stal the trial had lasted through exactly two weeks. Two days will be given to the ar gunents, and His Honor judge Gary will charge the jury on Wed nesday. Thus the case will go to the jury on Wednesday morning, the third day of the third week. MR. TILLMAN'S VHRSION. The keenest public interest in the ca-ie centered in the testimony of the defendant, Colonel James H. Tillman. For the first time Ie gave his version of the affair. Col. Till man was placed on the stand an hour before the time for adjourn ment on Thursday afternoon and his testiiony was concluded a few minutes after three o'clock on Fri day. He was on the stand about six hours all together. He was col lected and bore himself with ease amounting almost to a seeming ab sence of interest. It was apparent fron his answers, however, that lie had weighed each word carefully before it was uttered. He was sub jected to a severe and skillful cross examination by Mr. Bellhinger for the State, but never once did he Jose his self- possession. THR LINE OV DEFXHNSE. A review of the State's testimony has alread.y been given in these columns, and with that side of the case the readers of this paper are entirelv familiar. The evidence for the defense was along three distinct lines: Testimony was produced to con tradict the evidence brought for ward by the State that Mr. Tilliman had made threats against Mr. Gon zales' life. Testimony was produced to prove that, on the contrary, Mr. Gonzales had long cherished bitter animosity against Mr. Tillman's family and against Mr. Tilman and had re peatedly tmade threats against Mr. Tillman's life. Testimony was brought forward to prove that at the fatal moment when Mr. Gonzales and Mr. Till man met, Mr. Gonzale;' action was such that Mr. Tillman, L..:ing it in connection with the threats which had been repeated to him as having been made by Mr. Gonzales, con sidered that action a demonstration against his own life, and fired as hie thought to p)rotect himself. "J-ad he pursued his straight course, he wvould have been safe from harm,"' testified Mr. Till man. "iuR CUT DIAGONALLY ACROSS." The str-ong point in the State's evidence,-that Mr. Gonzales, whenm he me'4 Mr. Tillmian, cut diagonally 4eross the p)avemlenlt to avoid brush ing against ii,-Mr-. Tilhuan turned to his own account. The construction p)laced on this m&ove of Mr. Gonzales, whether it was a dlentonstraitioni against Mr. Tilm ian's )jfu or an attenmpt to avoid Mr. Till. mn, has dilTerevd with the relative positions on t he pa:vemenC1t assigned Mr.. Tillhiani aid the two genitIe men with himi. All the witn;esse, for the State,,.except Senator Tal hnrl, placed Mr. Tlillman on thed piutside, Senator- TIalbird in the ceni tre, and Senator l1rownu on the in. side. Mgr. Gonzales, they said, wm~ walking dlown) the street ini the een. tre of the pavement. 'When lie ap. p)roached Mr. Tilbnani amnd Senmatori Talbird and Brown he cut diagonl ally across towards t he inside, going c.nway from Mr. Tillmnan on the out 'isle of the pavement and seeking ,toth.s through the opeing be-tweei ,The cr's.Browni and the corner o Ion the seeC r station. Therefore wee'-. Tho g, Mr. Gonzales ci on the 9th and 4-( t o avoidl brushius Mr. Haynesworthidan. lawyers of the Gr o the deCfens5 are sure willl ma:rd on the ont -udge. ,. Mr Tilbnuat - .xato)r lirOWn ov f tthe Best F.or\vyu he stree aovemenCt anm ihis coursi have passe, tor Talbird 'r, he cut di avemnent to ent toward between Seni itW tM rULIUU allui DfWjj I JULI sides agree as to the move, the State holdifig it was an attempt to avoid Mr. Tillman, the defense holding that it, taken with other circmnstances, was a demonistration against Mr. Tillmnan's life. The evidence for the State and the evidence for the defense is con tradictory at almost every pint. Both sides have been presented with consuminate skill. Which witnesscs are to be helieved? The jury must decide, and upon the answer which they give to that question must depend their verdict. COl,. IlILLMAN's TusTIMONV. James H1. Tillman, the defendant, was placed on the stand at about five o'clock Thursday afternoon. The burden of Mr. Tillman's testi mony was that for many years Mr. Gonzles has pursued him with re lentless malice; that within recent years he had repeatedly made threats against his life; that when he and Mr. Gonzales met Mr. Gon zales cut diagonally across the pave ment towards him instead of contin iing his course in order to pass, at the same time thrusting his hand deeper in his pocket as if to draw a weapon, and that these movements. taken in connection with Mr. Gon zales' bitter editorials and the threats which had been repeated to him as having come from Mr. Gon zales he considered a demonstration against his life, and shot as he thought in order to protect his own life. Mr. Tillman was examined by Col. Croft, and testified in sub stance as follows; While in Winnsboro reading law in the office of his brother-in-law, 0. W. Buchanan, he wrote an ar ticle for the Winnsboro News and Herald, replying to an article which Mr. Gonzales had written for the News and Courier (Mr. Gonzales at the time being the Columbia cor respondent of the News and Courier), in which Mr. Gonzales had misrepresented his uncle, now Senator Tillman. Mr. Gonzales wrote to ascertain the name of the writer, which was at first withheld because his friends advised him not to get into a controversy, but upon a second riuest from Mr. Gonzales his name was given. The next transaction that arose between Mr. Gonzales and himself was when he applied in 1890 for membership in the South Carolina club. Mr. Gonzales, he said, drummed up enough of his friends under the rules of the club to black ball him and he withdrew his name. Then lie challenged Mr. Gonzales to a duel to be fought over in Georgia. lie refused to reduce the challenge to writing because he was afraid it would be used against his uncle, then Governor B. R. Tillman. lie went to Georgia and waited for Mr. Gonzales a couple days, but he didn't come. In that year Mr. Gonzales made a bitter attack on him in the afternoon paper in Co lumbia and ini other papers, calling him a contempt ible scalawag and lie didn't know what else. Mr. TIilhnami said he was once thle Washington correspondent for several papers. Mr. Gonzales at that time, just after the second elec tion of Cleveland, wvas an aspirant for the position of consul general to China. Mr. Tilhn~an, upon the best information he could gather, as hie said, "all newspaper men do except in South Carolina, where they never try to hunt any facts at all,'' wrote to his papers that Mr. Gon zales would nmot be appointed. Mr. Gonzales wvas in Washington, and they met in the lobby of the Metro politan hotel, where they had sonme hot words The next (lay he wvalked up to the cigar counter andc bought s 'mje cigars A crowd was stand-. ing arotui anulibe t urned arounmd to offer- a cigar to somneb)ody. lIi did not know who was there, anid he telt he had made a mistake iri offering Mr. Gonzales one. Mr. Tlill. man saidl he came hack tq Colum.n bin, wherre lhe was Columbia cor respondcenit for the Atlanta Consti. tuitioni for some time. HeI went t< Rdgefieldl to practice law abouli 1894. When the Spanish war brok< oult he was applointe(l lieutenant colonel of the F.irst $. C. Regimenit his firjt pulic ofhice. Asked aboul the rceeence which had been mmh1(1 in art icles In the State about his try inig 10 get the regiment dilsbanded, Mr.' Tilhunan said that was true. After the war was virtually over- ht did not feel that it was just to thi. p 1rivates to go) to theC front, giviny upI htucrative~ poslt)ions for $15 40 Imnonith. Thme conucilit Of the Statt was very bitter towards huitmI duin ii) his military life, it had always hee very bitter towaruy back numbers at inding Co unties to visit D, MaVrch direct to the .e Trading Place where >i suapremne. nager.