Alleged Inducement to Suborn a Jury.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 781, 27 March 1905, Page 3

Alleged Inducement to Suborn a Jury.

MELBOURNE, Feb. 8. An extraordinary development in a criminal tiial look place at the Melbourne General Sessi o ns recently, when Abraham Winder, M.l'., of Fitzroy, atUii'kd the Court awl made a statement that he had been approached on the previous evening bs' two men, who asked him to try to inllueuce a juryman in favour of an accmca person under trial. The cas» is one in which a woman, Annie Iv.iwlings, is oh ug;.'d with; having feloniously received a reward for recovering stolen property without ming due diligence to bring the thief to justice. The allegations on the part cf the Crown are that a man, Edward HeaJy, was on December 15 drinking at (he Palace Hotel, l'ourke Street, wl'.e.e the accused was employed as barmaid, nntfl as he left the place he was set upon and robbed of his watch and chain 1 . Next day he loVl accusal he would give £2 reward to recover it, and she said that if any of the fellows came in she would ask about •it. He called later, but was told to leave the £2 and come back at eight o'clock, and she would impure of the boys in the meantime. When he veturnVd' tlm tOiiixl time she gave him the "watch and thiin,. and a few minutes afterwards, when Detective Hawkins asked whom sihe had got the articles from, dn replied she did not know.

Mr Wheeler made a statement that shortly before nine o'clock on Tuesday night two men, Sherritt and George Steers called at his place in Fitzroy to see 'him, and the former mentioned the name oi Mr Frederick Chapman one of the jurors in the case, who he understood was a fellow member of the Fitzroy Council with Mr Wiheeter. H was explained shat the visitors were interested in the case in which Chapman was a juror, that the woman was not guilty of the offence, and they wanted him to speak to Chapman l . lie said he would have nothing to do with the matter. Afterwards, Steers having gone out of the room, Therritt said he had got £1 .for bringing the other, man up, and offered him ball' a sovereign for taking up his time. He replied that he did not want to have, anything to do with it al u'ilSherritt \vanl'?d him to say that it would be all right ; but he refused to say anything but " Good nigh'.,." Sherriet then said to the other nan Ste?rs, that he had told him that it would be no good, and told him to ask, the doctor himself. Steers asked Wm >)' he would s.-e Chapman, and he said he would not. After the two men had gone he went to Detective Howard, and net Constable H-afTozoni, who advised him to attend thj Court and state what hud taken place. JiuKfe (.iatiiit said he would di>.charge the jury under tin; extraordinary circumstances that had arisen. It would certain'ly be unfair to the jurors and to the woman to proceed with the trial before him. It was very much to -Ik regretted. The jure were then discharged, and the accused was again released on bail..