SUPREME COURT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1097, 26 April 1883, Page 1

SUPREME COURT.

Wanganui, April 2L

The halt-yearly session of ths Supreme o®urfc was opened this morning before the Chief Justice, who, in charging the Grand Jury, of which Mr Bal lance was elected foreman, reierred with regret to the numerous and sertous charges in the calendar. His Honor made special at!ueion to the charge of child murder against Phoebe Veitch, of manslaughter against Richard Thomas to two Jcases of perjury ,and two of assaults on girls of tender veare. The Grand Jury returned true bills against all thirteen prisoners on the calendar, and His Honor discharged the jury with the thanks of tho colony. The Maori jury panel was called, and 44 out of 56 natives answered to their names, notvtitstanding this is the first time such procedure has been adopted. ihere are two Maori prisoners to be tried by native juries, and the proceedings in connection with the procedure excite special interest here. Tui Matabi pleaded guilty to hor»estealitfg at Fielding and was sentenced to twelve months. Herai, for- stealing a watch and chain from the person of a half-caste at Foxton, was found guilty and sentence was postponed, John O'Donnell, a lad, for stealing from » dwelling-house at Otaki, was acquitted on the ground of insanity. The case of manslaughter against Thomas for killing a fellow workman named Boes, in a quarrel, will be tried to-morrow. The criminal session will probably last the whole week. One special and four common jury civil actions are to be tried also. j Inveroargill, April 24. The Grand Jury found true bills in all the casea laid before them, with the exception of i. S. Haynes tor arson. John Gardiner pleaded guilty to house-breahing at Otama, and was sentenced to six months' imprisonment with hard labor. John Hines, a young lad,

for uttering » forged cheque at Wyi ham, wag found guilty and timmended to leniency bj the ju He was sentenced to one mont imprisonment. Patrick Carer plea< to stealing from the pocket a fellow worker in the harvest field purse and ±,20 13s, and was sentem to twelve months' hard labor, Char Suliivan, charged Jyrjth rape on a you girl of thirteen year* at Waimatul pleaded not guilty. The proof i clear and conclusive, and he was fou guilty. His Honor, in passing s tence, said the prisoner had been c< v ; cted of a most brutal offence—of t most brutal rape he had ever had deal with in his experience. A se tence of twelve years' penal servitt with fifteen la?hes with the ' cat' Monday next, the 25th and a moi hence, was passed, the audience applau ing. Sullivan gave Lis age ai 48, a said he had been in an asylum in N York four years ago and was discharg before ho was cured ot insanity. professed to remember nothing abc the offence, having been drunk. 1 Clegg, charged with an unnatu offence on the person of a Chinaman Dome station, was found guilty on second count of indecent assault, ai sentence deferred. , This disposed the criminal business, except Masse] case, which will ; come on in the mor ing. The Crown Prosecutor intimat that counsel for the prosecution did n as previously stated, intend to prefer further indictment charging the accusl with stealing debentures other th those previously charged.