CRIMINAL SESSION.

Evening Star, Issue 3487, 27 April 1874, Page 2

CRIMINAL SESSION.

ALLEGED MURDER AT GREEK ISLAND. . Patrick Long was placed in the dock on an indictment charging him with having, at Green island, on the 28th of February, killed n °J Sl » ho l as M ‘P ona & He was defended Barton and Mr James Smith. ’ Mr Barton: I have a matter to mention to your Honor before the jury is called. We nave subpoenaed a great number of wit**36B. 1 mentioned the other day that we had had considerable difficulty with some of the witnesses, owing to the thoroughly unscrupulous manner in which they told [falsehoods. Several of them—especially the witnesses living at Green* Island, where larrikinism prevails—seemed very anxious to get ouc of it. What i want your Honor to do is to have the names of the witnesses read eut and their names called, to see who are in attendance. My object is that I mav be afterwards abls. if requisite, to ask yo\xt Honor to commit for contempt those who do not attend, and have them ‘ kept in caoL from where I can call them one by one m t want them. J ■ •

Honor ; You can have them com* mitted, without calling their names. .. Mr Bartou; If that is hot done I shall apply that the case* stand' over until next SiSL ® r wrong, I must havetheS ’ witnesses. I cannot defend' kn importhat ’ c%se, ip winch a minis life is inVolv«£tf:«h4 witnesses are not forthcoming. - . ' " ’ )'ii LSI?!®? 1 dohbtVfiiat the i Witnesses, having beep subpoenaed, ought’iie'J

attend. You say you cannot go to trial ia, the absence of certain witnesses 2 Mr Barton replied that he could not.' Some of the witnesses he would force the truth from, whether they liked it or not, to do which he would have to place himself in a position of hostility towards them. Some of them had said they would not attend. The learned counsel then went through a list of 46 names, and of that number Edward Carroll, Francis Townsend, John Pagan, John Andrew, Wm. Thompson, Wuiiam Blackwood, and Denald M‘Sweeney

did not answer. toe j“ry panel being called over, Messrs Charles Flexman, David Grant, and 1. 0. Grahm did hot answer to their names, and his Hdßor fined them L2 2s each. , •* I wk your Honor to inflict the heaviest fine you possibly can. Two guineas to gentlemen in the position of Mr Flexman and Mr Graham, is Jittle'*or no punishment.

His Honor ; Who are they ? Mr Barton ; Mr Graham is of the firm of Bing, .Harris, and Co.; and Mr Flexman is a fellmoager, making a rapid fortune, as I understand.—(Laughter.) His Honor ; This is an important case. In oases generally, I am very lenient about fines, and on the whole, common jurors attend very well indeed; indeed, as well as 1 have - known them in any other country, lam sorry to say that special jurors think that from their station in life they ought to be exempt. Mr Barton ; It is a great shafhei that these gentlemen should take advantage of. the laws, and shirk the responsibilities of’a free

country, and ! hope yoiir Honor will punish them to the utmost extent of your power, besides the disgrace of their not coming to do their duty like Englishmen. Honor; I don’t like to increase the ® ne .. ??, special case, but I will give notice tbal in future I shall fine , special jurors, for not attending, five guineas,. I cannot help saying that, for persons in the station of life of Mr Flexman and Mr Graham, it is a gross negieot of public duty, and shows a want of sense of public duty to abstain from attending. No doubt it is inconvenient to attend as jurors, but it is one of the prices which Englishmen pay for a free constitution.-

Mr John Mitchell asked to be excused because he had served bn the case of White v. M'Kellar, but Mr Barton peremptorily challenged him, which reduced the list to eleven. At Mr Barton’s suggestion his Horn r sent tixe police after Messrs Graham and Flexman. The latter was, fortunately for himself, out of' town; but Mr Graham was secured. Mr Barton’ then challenged the arraign On the ground that bis Honor had illegally excused some of the Sanel. After argument, Mr Barton withrew his objection, which his Honor said' did not contain anything. -The judge had clearly power. As it was an important Pohd, ho would, however, consult bin brother judges. The jury were then , sworu as follows Messrs Graham (foreman), A. H. Burton,' Tewaley, L. O, Beal, W. B. pgilvie, John M'Neil, R. N. Reid, A. Bartleman, Jas. : ■"odcrson, Mendarshausen, W. Hepburn, and J. Kincaid.

[At the’ suggestion of the Couijt the evihold over.]