THE MOUNT AND MOREIS CASE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 252, 20 October 1873, Page 4

THE MOUNT AND MORE IS CASE.

Our Australian telegrams have for the last two or three weeks contained frequent references to the miscarriage of justice in reference to these two men of Carl notoriety, although the grounds upon which they have been released irom imprisonment have never been clearly stated. In its summary for home readers, the Australasian puts the case clearly as follows:—

The public history of the month almost wholly tarns on an incident connected with the case of the notorious Carl massacre in the South Seas. It will be remembered that two men, named Mount and Morris, who were implicated iv these atrocities, were arrested in this colony, tried in Melbourne, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced, under an Imperial Act, to 15 years' penal servitude. These men were well connected, and persistent effort 8 hav9 been lnude by their friends to effect their release. These efforts at length took the form of an application en habeas for their release, on the ground that their detention was illegal. The contention was that, inasmuch as the prisoners were sentenced to " penal servitude," a form of punishment not recognised by the law of the colony, they could not legally bo punished by the ordinary " imprisonment with hard labor,'' which, in sentences here, takes the place of penal servitude, and that, as the place of detention had not been .appointed by one of Her Majesty's Secretaries of State as the place where they were to undergo punishment, they could nJt be held in custody. The case came before the Banco Court, and was duly argued, the Attorney-General appearing on behalf of the Crown. The Court held that the Act under which the prisoners were convicted and sentenced left two alternatives to the Executive in carrying oat their sentence. It could either send the prisoners to England to undergo their sentence of penal servitude there, or could request the Secretary of State to assign a place for their detention here. But as neither of thtse courses had been adopted, the return to the writ was bad, and the prisoners must be discharged. They were accordingly released, amidst the applause of the crowded audience in the court. On getting outside they were at once re-arrested by the police, ami next day were brought up before the police court on the charge of being illegally at large before the expiration of their sentence. The Bench, however, held that the order of release of the Supreme Court Was an answer to this charge, aud again set the prisoners at liberty, whf n the scene of the previous day was re peate.J, and the ill-conditioned crowd who were in attendance greeted their release by rowdy applause.