The Great Pearl Case.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 6 February 1892, Page 3

The Great Pearl Case.

» — The last English papers have contained long reports of the five day.' trial of what is termed the great pearl case, and which, by latest cablegrams appears to have assumed a more serious aspect. Towards the latter end of December Mrs Osborne, the wife of Captain Osborne, sued Mrs Hargreaves and her husband for slander, in the Queen's Bench Division. The general charge was that between Sunday evening, the Bth of February, and the 20th of February, 1891, the plaintiff stole from out of the custody of Mrs Hargreave certain valuable pearls; that on the 19th she sold these pearls, receiving in payment 'a crossed cheque for £550; that four days afterwards she took the cheque to the Bank for payment ; that, finding it could, not be cashed across the counter on account of it? being crossed, she returned to the person to whom she had sold the pearls, and that the person compliantly altered it to one payable to bearer ; and that she then, returned to the Bank and had the cheque cashed in sovereigns, which she took away with her. Mrs Osborne, as she now was, but then a Miss Elliott, was the second cousin of Mrs Hargreave. ' Jjt appeared from the evidence for defence that Mrs Hargreave was possessed of jewels of the value of £5000, which she kept in a secret drawer in a cabinet, which was known only to Mr Hargreave, a Mr Engleheart, an old servant, and Miss Elliott. On the 9th February Miss Elliott stayed at her house. Two days after Miss Elliott had left, the secret draw was found partly open,, and a box containing diamonds and pearls gone. Of course a search was made, and owing to a fact that a. Mr Spinka had purchased iewels and given a cheque to a lady identified as Miss Elliott, by Spinka and his assistants, and the Bank clerk who had cashed the cheque, Miss Elliott was suspected of having stolen them. The jewels were returned and probably no further steps would have been taken, had not Mrs Osborne oommenced this action for slander. At the conclusion of Mrs Hargreave's evidence the Court was adjourned for a few days owing to an incident which had cropped up during the hearing of that day, and which counsel on both sides agreed might be important and afford a complete solution of the matter. Our cablegrams infprm us that Captain Osborne has bad to visit the Continent to bring back his wife to answer the charge of having stolen these same jewels,