An Obstinate Juryman.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 216, 13 March 1895, Page 2

An Obstinate Juryman.

I (Per Press Association.) ! Wellington, This Day. In the Supreme Court the case of Joseph Trayiior, charged with attempting to obtain money by false pretences from the licensee of the Club Hotel, the jury, after being locked up all night, were uuable to agree and were discharged. A new trial was ordered. The remarkable feature of the case was that eleven jurymen had decided for " guilty," and the twelfth would not convict because the offence had occurred in a hotel. If it had occurred in a mercantile instead of a public house the conscieuce of the dissentient would not have been disturbed. The foreman explained how the difficulty arose, and Judge Prendergast said he would have thought any gentleman who had sufficient moral sense to be disgusted with the drink traffic would not; allow it to interfere Avith his duty. He could not allow the dissentient juror simply to " recognise" the guilt of the prisoner as had been suggested. To get over the difficulty the jury were discharged this morning with comment from the Judge.