THE ORPEN CASE.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 342, 17 September 1898, Page 2

THE ORPEN CASE.

On Thursday afternoon the jury in the. Orpen case returned a verdict of not guilty. This, no doubt, was due in a very great degree to the Judge having ruled that the dying depositions of the girl McCallum were not admissable on more or less technical grounds. The exact words used by her as detailed by witnesses at the tims of making her depositions, or those included iu the depositions themselves, were not considered by the Judge as sufficiently definite to allow of their being used as evidence against the accused. The counsel for the Crown had, therefore, only very strong circumstantial evidence to depend upon to secure a conviction. The jury were of opinion that this was not sufficient to justify a verdict of guilty, and acted accordingly. Under their oaths as jurymen they were bound to give the accused the benefit of any doubt that may have existed in their minds as to whether the evidence produced was conclusive of guilt. There is little room to question but that the crime of which Dr, Orpen was acquitted is now very prevalent, not ouly in New Zealand, but also in the Mother Country, the other colonies and all the continental nations. We have no desire to criticise the verdict of the jury either favourably or adversely. It is to be hoped, however, that the ruling of the Judge in this ease will be a lesson to Justices when called upon to perform a similar duty to that which Mr Allom failed to carry out effectively. __