ACQUITTAL OF MRS. REID.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 431, 19 July 1877, Page 3

ACQUITTAL OF MRS. REID.

The Special Jury empanelled to.try Mrs. G. P. lie id upon the charge of manslaughter, and who wtfro locked up on JA'idny niifiif:, the 13th, at 0 o clock, to consider tlnur vortlict, did not agrco until after 0 oVlak on Uaturdny morning, under'tho f'uJoWinr. circumstances

At a qaurter pr.st 0 the Foioman of the jury Ciuus into thy C.iurfc, and irjiVirmcd iiis Honor that t!if?re was no hope of the jury agreeing, and applied that thay should be dwehargnd. His Honor replied that although the Act gave the Judge po?/cr to ui:;cb/srgc a jury after they wore locked up for twelve hours. tho power was ono that must be es;i;rciri''d.'with c.t-iUcn. If juries were lo v A to understand that after twelve hours; they would bo liberated, it v.as possible that they might very frequently disagree. Ho must, therefore decline the request. Tho Foreman tlicrt asked that they might bo allowed to confer for o feW minutes.

After a lapse bf a quarter of an hour, they returned with a verdict of "Not Gmlty," and the prisoner was therefore discharged.

His Honor in discharging the prisoner fcaitf, " I lirtpb this will be a warning to the community at large."—' Guardian.'

Mrs. llcid's 'caJo (says tho same paper) terminated on Saturday morning, at y o'clock, iu an acquittal of the prisoner, to Iho great surprise of tho citizens, if not also of fcho Judge. Tho jury had Lccn locked up all night and could not agree, but on being informed by tho Judge that lie would not then discharge them, although ho had tho power, the agreement they could not come to in twelve hours was, satisfactorily to themselves, arranged in a fcw minutes. Tho following are the names of the jurymen : —Messrs Coleman Burko (foreman), Thomas Beveridgo, W. S. Douglas, J. O. Eva, G: P. Farquhar, J". Mitchell, 11. North,4Wm. Hackworth, Alexnndcr Bartleman, George Brown, J. F. Watson, and J. T. Chaplin.