SUPREME COURT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2116, 9 October 1885, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

THE HUTT TARRING CASE. This case came on for trial in the Supreme Court before Mr Justice Richmond yesterday, when James Walden was placed in the dock, charged with the offence. Mr Travers prosecuted, and Messrs Gully and E. B. Brown defended. On the first charge of felony, Mr Travers asked that a nolle prosequi be entered, but the other side objecting, a jury was formally empanelled, and a verdict of " Hot Guilty" returned.

On the charge of assault on Sydney Nimmo Muir, prisoner pleaded " Not Guilty."

Mr Travers, in opening the case, said tho act stood as a motiveless, wanton, and exceedingly violent and disgraceful one. He also intimated that it' was his intention to call Mr Gillon, who had refused to give evidence in the Resident Magistrate's Court.

We take the following evidence from tie Evening Press

Sydney Nimmo Muir, the principal witness, was called and examined, and repeated, in substance, the evidence tendered by him in the lower Court, He was not able to distinguish his assailants; one of them, however, wore light clothes. He purposely noted their voices, None of the voices struck him at the time as being familiar. The voice afterwards struck lum as being familiar when he heard accused speak" Cross-examined by Mr Gully: Had been in Wellington district' about iij years, living privately at the Hutt a good part of the time. His career had not brought jijn) ii) contact with accused in any peculinv \vay, ljad no special authority frpm Mr W,'Fitz|erberfc to go on his premises, where the' assault took place, but on the other hand he had not been forbidden to do so. He was not on goflij terms with Mr W. Fitzherbert, but had always been qn excellent terms with Mr H. Fitzherbert, He was not on very good terms with the whole of the connection. His difference with Mr W. Fitzherbert was of a very trifling character, Witness was a solicitor of the Suprenje Coijrt. He assigned no motive to for making the attack, He recognised accused's voice at the Exhibition on the Friday week following ! the assault. He laid the information on the 2nd Sept. ftcjflok po formal step in the meantime. He Ijad, however, already laid an information in this matter, but not against accuse,d'; it was against •' persons unknown," put ti)e police in motion. He employed Mr Travers to assist him to unravel the affair. Ho did not speak to any of the witnesses himself, because the moment he did so they held their tongues, Petective Henderson was also employed by the police. Nq public reward was offered. Witness authorised Mr Travers to offer a rewarcj of £SO. Nothing was said by witness about the occurrence till the Saturday following the assault. He had since ascertained that it was talked about on the preceding Thursday at the Hutt. Witness was not asked any about it, Witness destroyed the tarred clothes on the second day afterwards, He hat} "made up his mind at that time to take proceedings against the offenders, TJIO practical withdrawal of the charge of felony had not come from him. He wantod to " go" for the offender in the strongest way he could, William Fitzherbert, engineer, of the Hutt, describee! his linuse and its surroundings where the attack was committed. Witness gavo accused permission to go through his grounds. On the day following the assault accused told him that Muir had been tarred the previous night, He gaid lie had heard it from Mr Wild, who was staying at the Hotel at the Lower Hutt. On examining his premises he noticed a lot of tar spilt about on the paths.

W. J, Scott, hotel keeper, formerly commission agent, said he was down at the Hutt on the night of the assault, and missed the return train to Wellington, He saw a cab which he tried to hire, but it was going at a very fast pace and drove on. Cross, examinedHe saw the cab about half past 10 p.m.

John Edward Connor, employed at Mr Dawson's ironmongery warehouse, remembered accused visiting the shop in August and obtaining a pair of handcuffs, which were bought on credit to the order of Mr Samuel Waters.

Samuel Water?, employed by Levin & Co., remembered authorising Dawson's people to supply accused with a pair of handcuffs, Witness was not crossexamined.

Charles Millward, messenger at the Legislative Council, remembered seeing accused with a pair of handcuffs in his possession in August last. No remark was made about them so far as lie heard. Accused tried them on another messenger named Capper.

Henry Argyle, gardener, said a couple of tinß and a brush were pointed out to him by Mrs Buckley at the back of the summer-house in the latter's garden at the Lower Hutt. He also noticed marks of a tarred hand .on the gate. The camellias were in bloom at this time; they were chiefly white ones, Constable Hartnett said he was told off to make enquiries in tho matter, and on the day subsequent to the occurrence observed the marks of a four-wheeled coach and two horses in the vicinity of the Hutt Courthouse, He produced the tar-pot and brush amid great excitement. Several other witnesses were examined.

For the defence it was sought to prove an alibi, and several witnesses swore to seeing Walden in Wellington on the evening in question.

The jury retired at a quarter past seven, and at ten o'clock had not agreed on their verdict. At twenty-five minutes past ten they returned with a verdict of "not guilty" and prisoner was discharged,