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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 17, Issue 1013, 10 May 1871, Page 3

Captain William Percival, formerly paymaster East Coast Militia, has been committed for trial on a charge of perjury, brought against him by Mr T. S. Stewart, manager of the Bank of New Zealand, at Auckland. The Bank had debited Pereival's account with a .sum of £lO 10s, the amount of a cheque al ] e g e d to have t>een drawn by him in favor of T. Russell and duly paid. He brought an action against the Bank to recover this amount, swearing that he had never drawn such a cheque. The cheque was afterwards found, and the Bank then prosecuted for pergery.

At a meeting held in Leicester, it was resolved to establish a democratic association, which will aim, amongst other things, to secure the election of the Prime Minister by the people, the forcible sale of uncultivated lands, universal suffrage, vote by ballot, triennial parliaments, disestablishment of State churches, and the abolition of royal grants and the hereditary House of Peers. It was resolved that subscriptions should be raised *o present a testimonial to Mr Taylor, Professor Fawcett, and Sir Charles Dilke, for the course they had adopted in reference to the Princess Louise's Annuity jßill.—There was a Republican demonstration in Nottingham on Monday night. A procession marched to the Marketplace, accompanied by a band of music, and bearing banners with the inscriptions "Less taxation 1 Less starvation!" "A Republic—liberty, equality, fraternity." In the Marketplace speeches were delivered to several thousand persons, but sympathisers with the object of the demonstration were in a minority, and the speakers were pelted with packets of pepper, fl »ur, and rotten eggs.

The Mel bourne Argus says :—Most of us have read the Tale of Two Cities, and remember how Dr Maoette, during his long imprisouient in the Bastille, stowed away behind the fireplace, piece by piece, a memorial of his wrongs. In a somewhat similar mauner, the jurymen locked up from time to time iu the retiring room at the Supreme Court have inscribed the story of their wrongs upon its wails. The place is a blank and miserable one, wdi calculated to inspire the feelings of disgust which find sucli copious vent. The inscriptions are diversified with sketches in pencil or chaicoal of their honors the judges, the criers, and other personages upon whom the vacant gaze of the artist has rested. The yellow and smoky walls of the room are quite fresccfid over with scrawls by which jurymen have beguiled the tedium of the weary hours that had elapsed after they finally decided on disagreeing. One juryman, who gives his name, business, aud address, in full, " declares that this place is horrible to Study a case in." Another writes; "Ifour

hours in this cell. No meat. No drink. No fcobaceo." Then there is: " Land and others v. Victoria G. M. Co. The •jurymen in this case complain bitterly of their hard treatment. The fire smokes atrociously- This cannot be endured at the price ; 10s per dieia. Carried unanimously." A juryman, evidently a meek little man, puts it mildly, although firmly, thus ; —" Ido object to this mode of treatment." This is followed by an emphatically scored " Hear, hear"'from a sympathiser. The only inmates who have anything to say are the " Bonehaw jury," who record their satisfaction with the treatment they have received. But this may be ironical, for they add ; " The Bonshaw jury are of opinion that this room is unfit for jurymen." To this is appended : "So say we all. One doleful wag takes a graphic way of exhibiting his miseries, and has left a sketch of a double-up figure, under which is written ; "Mr Shaw, as he appeared at eleven p.m., after being locked up six hours."