SECOND EDITION. SUPREME COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 3790, 17 April 1875, Page 3

SECOND EDITION. SUPREME COURT.

CRIMINAL SESSIONS. Friday, April 16. (Before his Honor Chief Justice Prendergast MANSLAUGHTER. Dr Huime could give no positive opinion as to the cause of the perotinitis from which the death of the deceased resulted; and he described f urious "causes that, independent of a violent all, might have produced death. At this stage, his Honor said he did not think the case could he cafried farther. ,If they bad not had a post mortem examination there would have been a case for the juiy, no doubt. They might have then come to the belief th it death had been Caused by the fall; bat they had.the post mortem, examination. Mr Haggitt: Which apparently,was incomplete. But if in every case where the post mortem was incomplete—and he merely assumed this was so —the prisoner yr&a to escape, in spite of there- being other circumstantial evidence, it would be opening the door to a rather serious state of things..

His Honor pointed out to the jury that they might assume that the woman received a veiy violent shaking on being thrown over; but, to bring in a verdict against him, they would have to say that death could only have resulted from the fall, while Dr Huime and Dr Garland testified that that could not be assigned as the sole cause —their evidence showed that death might have resulted from other causes. It was still a question for ih» jury whether the peritonitis which caused death was induced by the fall over the bank, and if they so found thev could convict.

Mr Haggitt said if the jury could attribute tiie peritonitis to no other cause than the fall ovei the bank, they were bound to convict.

His Honor: No doubt.

Mr Haggitt; If your Honor thinks that under the circumstance I ought not to proceed

His Honor did not think Mr Haggitt could alsk'the jury to convict after heating the evidence of Dr Hulme.

Mr Haggitt: Of course, I will be entirely guided by the opinion of oar Honor, who has simply to direct an acquittal. His Honor, addressing the jury, said that it seethed to him from the medical evidence , that they could not attribute, without a reasonable doubt, the peritonitis of which the woman died to be duo to the fall, and that being so, they ought to acquit the prisoner. The jury, without leaving the box, returned a verdict of “ not guilty. ” His Honor (to the jury); You understand, as I said over and over again, there can be no question that he was the man that threw her over, in a violent way, and caused the bruises on her head. But, to convict, you would have had to come to an undoubted conclusion that the peritonitis of which she died was the result of the fall, and that yon could not find any other cause to which it might be attributable. The prisoner is discharged. Saturday, April 17. Air absent juror. George Bateman, -a summoned juror, not appearing, was fined 40s, unless he show good cause on Mbnday morning for Ms absence. ■ SENTENCES, - His Honor ordered that George Johnston and John Walters be brought up for sentence on Monday morning, at 11 o’clock, the Court commencing its sitting at that hoar instead of at i 0 o’clock. , 4 . Sydney Hodge "was charged, with feloniously stealing and carrying away from Drivers 1 wool store, at Dunedin; on -January 25, a quantity of wool (lewt 2qr 151b), the property of Murray, Roberta, and Co. He pleaded not guilty, and conducted his own defence.

The Crown Prosecutor opened the case, from which it appeared that before January 23 prisoner had been employed in the store by Mr M’Vicar, contractor for dumping wool On the "day in question, at 10.30 p.ni., a light was observed in the store, and on the night watchman on the jetty and Mr Driver’s groom going there, prisoner was found sitting on a fence opposite, and close to the door; while just round the comer were five bags of wool. The weight of this tallied (within five pounds) with a quantity found to have been abstracted from a-pale inside. -Prisoner .on being asked what he was doing there, repHedthat he was fishing, though, as Mr Haggitt saidit was remarked at the time, ho would have been fishing with a long line, for he was sitting about 600 yards away from any water. George (’richton Tait, clerk in the store, gave evidence as to locking up the store on the even ing of January 25. All the doors were fastened by bars from the inside except one, and' that witneaslocked when he went away. In crossexamination by the prisoner, witness said no one could have got into the store after it was locked up without breaking in, of which there were no signs the next morning; a person might be locked In overnight. There were no fastenings on the doors except the bars. Herbert Crossley, wool scourer, and lately in the employ of Mr Driver as wool expert, was the next witness. In answer to prisoner, he said he fancied there wese bolts on the doors, as well as the bars.—William RitoMe Adam, storeman, said there was a spring catch at the top of the doors and’two small bolts at the .bottom. On the morning of January 26 witness found one of the doors open, which he had seen closed the night previous. There were no signs of its having been forced.—Andrew Tong, groom, who lived at the stable adjoining the store, proved finding prisoner sitting on the ft nee close to the store with the five bags of wool near him. Alexander M’Millan, the jetty night watchman, was with witness, and prisoner told them he was fishing and knew nothing abont the wool. Prisoner had no fishing tackle him. M’Millan first called witness’ a attention to the - ' store, saying he thought he heard voices, and both fancied they saw a light moving inside. This disappeared previous to their finding prisoner. The jurjr returned a- verdict of “ not guilty,” and the prisoner was discharged.