THE CHILD MURDER CASE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 10198, 1 May 1883, Page 2

THE CHILD MURDER CASE.

TRIAL OF PH(EBE;VEITPH. I

VERDICT OF GUILTY. j ■ •■■-■ SENTENCE OF DEATH! : ' | JUEYOF MATEONS/ ! ' ' At the Supreme Court yesterday morning, before His Honor the Chief .Justice and a common jury, the trial of Phojbe Veitohforthe murder of her child by drowning it in the Wanganui Eiver was commenced. There was a large attendance of the general public, and the proceedings evidently excited deep interest. — Phoebe Veitch was indicted for having, on the 26th February last, -wilfully and maliciously and of malice aforethought killed her child Phoebe Veitch, a girl of about the age of four years.— 1 The prisoner had "previously pleaded; not guilty to this indictment. — Mr Fitz-j herbert acted as Crown Prosecutor, and Mr Hutchison defended the prisoner. — ' The unfortunate female, who bore the cool and unconcerned aspect she haß had, since the time she was arrested, appeared in the dock closely muffled up, 1 and with the centre of her face bandaged. — The following were empaa-: nelled as the jury :— Jessie Cannons, A.. H. Stringer, Benjamin Wrightson, Edward Hackett, J, P. Watt, Joseph Brown, Arthur Wakelin, Peter Loftus, W. H. Q-. Foster, John Alexander, G. Kitson, W. Barr. Mr J. P. Watt was eleoted foreman. The following were, challenged by the Crown: — Kichard Piper, John Jamss, and Thomas Price. The following were challenged by the prisoner: — John Bates, T, B. Taylor, Henry Bush, and Henry Potto. — Mr Fitzherbert, in opening the case for the Crown, pointed out the gravity of the painful duty thrown upon the jury, who had to try a mother for the murder of her child, and urged them to dismiss from their minds everything they might have heard against the prisoner, and to jud»^ her entirely from the facts which would be adduced before them. Mr Fitzherbert then explained the nature of the testimony which would be brought to prove that the prisoner drowned her child in the Wanganui River on the night of Monday, the 26th February, when there was a great fresh in the river. He also mentioned that there would be laid before the j ury a letter written by the prisoner to a Mrs Worsfold, in which she gave an account of what had become of the child; and there would also be put in a long statement made by the prisoner before the committing .Justice, besides the other conflicting accounts of the matter given by the prisoner to several of the witnesses who would be called. Mr Fitzj herbert added that, with submission to His Honor's ruling, -he should ask the jury to find that the woman was guilty of murder or nothing, as the circumstances did not admit of a verdict of manslaughter or of any other intermediate offence. The duty of the jury, howeyer painful „to their feelings it might be, was to. judge the facts honestly and without bias, remembering that the prisoner was now standing her trial . for the highest offence known to the law, and reinembeiing also their duty to the public, between whom and the prisoner the jury now stood. Of course there was no intention cr wish on the part of the Crown to press the case unduly against the unhappy woman in the dock, and if the jury could honestly and conscientiously discover a doubt of her guilt, they ought, after carefully weighing the evidence, to give her the benefit of it. The Crown Prosecutor then called the following' witnesses, the majority of whom gave evidence at the inquest, and now simply repeated their former testimony : — Arthur Fitchett, telegraph linesman, proved finding the child's body lying on the beach beyond the Heads, near the cablehouse, on the afternoon of the 27th February. Dr Earle proved that the body was that of a well-nourished and cared-for girl of between three and four years of age- There were no marks of violence, except ft few bruises about the face and temple, whioh might have been caused by a passing log, but which were not sufficient to cause death. Witness did not make a j/ost morion examination, but, from the appearance of v the body, death resulted from drowning. Dr Earle's opinion was that the child was a half-caste and (judging from the shape of the eyes), the offspring probably of a Chinaman and a European. The body was very fresh, and had been in the water but n, short time, from six to twelvo hours, and certainly not more than twenty-four. Wilnoss know thfl woman Veitoh, who had been in tho Wanganui

Hospital for six or nine months under his care. She was suffering from a disease called " lupus," >vhich had taken away her nose. — By Mr Hutchison : If the body had been drowned in fresh water there would have been found in the lungs and stomach fresh water, even if the body had been carried to sea. The skin of the body was rather con« tracted, which implied that the body was alive when immersed. The shape of the face and the colour of the skin led witness to think it was of Chiue3o blood, but the skin- might not' haWbeen such a colour in life. The father of the child might not have been a : Chinaman, but might have been himself a halfbreed. The prisoner's statement..that she went into the Hospital in"9otohor, 1881, and came out just before the next March faces, .might' have'. jbeehli correct. She suffered then, and still suffers, from deafness, and witness thought .that she had a wound ou .the lip when shevwent in the Hospital,' which wound; affected her articulation; She was an intelligent person when in the- Hospital,' and could express herself dearlyi^By Mr Fitzherbert: There was nothing ito'iri&icate whether the body was drowned in freshor salt water. The appearances in each case would be the'same'' r ' !l!? ' Mrs Eliza Blight' repeated the evidence given at the inquest, as'to^'the jjrisp'ner living at Kfiblett-street, and having two children, a boy of 7 years namedlßertie, and a girl of i. yeafs named Flossie. On. the ; Monday in question the prisoner told witness that Bhe was going^tp send Flossie away to an aunt at Feilding/who intended afterwards to. take it to Christchurch. On the evening of the .'same day the prisoner, who said that she had run from Aramoho, and who looked very much excited, came to witness's 1 house, and said that, she had taken the child to Aramoho and had handed it over to. the aunt, and was never to see it any .more. The following midday; prisoner came ' again to witness^; 'house, and saiditiiat Bhe had' dreamt -that the .'child was drowned and picked up • on -the-rbeach dead. ' She added that 1 the people who had taken' the child were vjJry likely to drown it; in '.order to haye'revenge'&a her (the pnspher^because /th'eVw'o'man at Christchurch, ' whVwiiß going to take the child, ought 'tp'h'aydjhaid'heif'fp'risone'r's) husband, anS^'ifi^h'e^ gofc/ft chance, wbuld^e'revenged'.'.r^.. ' "' ' Dr Earle, was recalled at this.stage^to prove tbe dates of., the .prisoner's adcpiasion and discharge to and,'frqni,:tue ' Hospitftli They wfire .as f.oUo.wi irrAdrnitted, 23rd October,. 1881 ; discharged, 28tk January, 1882; ..readmitted^ Ist February, 1882 ;i fiually discharged, 6th March,. 1882. ; The .Jockey) .'Club's autumn meeting took place' last year on the 9th 1 and 10th' of -March. .'■'- - ■■: ■' U Mr Hutchison explained ' that he was eliciting this information. in order to test the truth of the statemenfma'de by the prisoner in the Court below; 2 ,' '" " . Mrs Blight continued, her. evidence, and said, that she never saw. the prisoner after .midday, on .Tuesday, until bhe .was in custody. At the inquest, witness identified the body as that of the child. Flossie. Mr'Hutchisbn cross-examined the witness itp showy that certain state - { inentsi made byj the prisoner: as. to, events which.happened. -prior .' to ,the drowning of the child were correct, and the witness admitted that : some of the statements ■were. so. - The witness, said thattthe pAsoner was very, fond of the ' little i boy, but ; did not keep the girl nice' and tidy. She 'did not care for the ohrld : Tvell enough even to put proper clothes on it, though prisoner, had such clothes by her. The child had plenty of food. - [Witness admitted that, ; when -before the Coroner she-said that the prisoner was very kind to her children, and always .kept tthe girl Flossie nice and tidy', and ' well dressed.]— B y' the_ Chief ' Justice : ' Prisoner never said that, she new, the person Christchurch who' was- going'to/take the child. Witness "did not EiiowVho was \ the aunt alluded to. Prisoner did not give the aunt's name, and said that all she knew of the Christohurch person was that she was a " dark lady. 1 '.., ; C. H. Borlase, Coroner, was called, and identified ;the information sworn before him, as Justice, of the- Peace, against' the prisoner for murder., .The information was read over to. her at the inquest, and after the evidence taken ; at the inquest had been read to her,, he administered the usual., caution. Prisoner thereupon made the statement produced. , ; -, Mr Fitzherbert said that he intended to put iu-the statement, though he did not, propose to read, it at that stage of tlie trial. Mary Ann Emma Gardiner, milliner and, dressmaker, Guy ton-street, stated that about .-midday on Monday; the prisoner called at witness's house, asked for work, and stated that one of> her. children was not her own. She said she was going to send the little girl away, and that she must hurry home to get the child's things ready, aha. would miss her very much.— By Mr Hutchison: Prisoner said that she had a little? jjirl minding for a Feilding lady. Herbert Bertram' Veitch,' the'prisb'ner's little boy of . seven years of age, was theuekt;witnos3 called. (On seaing the little 1 fellow, the prisoner, for the first time.in.the trial, became visibly affected). — His Honor questioned the boy. . as to,»hiscomprehensiori of an oath, hut ilie" answers not being altogether satisfactory, > His Honor inled rtkat he was to young" to be examined".— Mr Fitzherbert said that lie was quite willing to put in'th'e original depositions^ which included the': boy's evidence. — Tile Chief Justice remarked that that was of course not cvi-;. denee in itself. — Air Hutchison wished it to go to the jury that the prisoner had no objection to the child tolling alLhe' knew. — Thera was after all notbiug.of. importance in his evidence. , _ Inspector James was the next witness, and described the visit paid to the" prisoner's house in Niblett • street by Sergeant Bissett and himself.' Pr{sbrier<told them -on that' occasion first of all that she did not know where the qhild was, and afterwards, that -it 'fall ovbr-j hoard 'from the wharf J ab6ut half-ptfsc' seven on Monday night (26th February )l fr She said that she did not call out forassistance, because there was no one' about. The Sergeant left the room V< a few minutes, and in his absence, thft prisoner asked if the child had bien found, and on witness saying that, th i body of a child hail been found on the beach, she said that she was very wrong in not telling all about it at the timeThe prisoner went down with the Id, spector and Sergeant to Forder's Hotel, where the body was lying, and, oa seeing it, burst into tears and admitted that it was Flossie, and that the child had on the dress she wore when she fell into tho water. The Sergeant told' her that he should arrest her for killing the child, whereupon she said that she did not kill it and that it fell overboard accidentally. —By Mr Hutchison: Sinoe the occurrence witness had ascertained that Flossie's baptismal name was Phoebe. There was no warrant out against the prisoner when witness went to Niblett-street. The child's body was well nourished and well dressed.— By the Chief Justice : The police had made every possible inquiry about the coloured man named Sam Timaru, mentioned in the prisoner's statement at the inquest, and a special notice had been inserted iuj the Police gazette directing every constable in the force to use efforts to discover the man. (Mr James produced a largo bundle of" correspondence which the police had hucT uu Ihe subject of this mau). The

last that witness heard of Sam Timuru was that he was supposed to be cook on board a ship in September. last, at Napier, and he had also been traced to Nelson, but the "police were , ( unable., to produce him.r-j-Mi ;.Hjit,bb.is'op.._r.ead jtiie.;, potice ,i^ert^d.inthe!P.QliceGe|zette > ii»"9jederito .cgjdpare 1 jit.w^tb. „the 'description-, of the .W^f- as /l gi-VQP'i by 1 ,,.tn i e, I .pris*Qner,'!i:and pojutea^putitnat „the -two';, descriptions idiffere,4l ■ j in v several- : • pir ticulars'. 1 — Inapeotor .-James added that' five yearaago -the man in> question- was cooking, at- the Customhouse Hotel, Nelson;- 'Witness did not know that a man named Richard Harper kept it- Mr Hutchison asked Inspector' James if he was responsible! for the assertion in ' the gazette, at ' the , foot of the description, that the ,state-i ment'made by the prisoner at thein-i quest was;" not generally believed." — ■ Inspector ;James said that the informa-' 'lion in the' Police Gazette was private, \ jand for circulation in the Police Force! only) and he must decline to answer Mrj Hutchison's- question, unless ordered toi do .sopby: the Court. . The Inspector! added that the police bad traced a man' named. Johnson, who had been by some supposed ta be Sam Timaru, but .he was' foundi not 'to -tally at all- with the-pri-i Boher'ai description.^ ■'- ■ •■■■'■•'_■• \ -'■< Bergeahf-'Bia'sett corrobbia.ted In- ■■ ape.ctor James's account of the interview at 'iSflbiett'- sfre'etj ' and the visit to Fprder's. „.He also described a conversaiapn'[With.,fhe prisoner in the lock-up, yhen she.said that the child's name was l , ( bu,t.it was not Veitch's. The p±isojier I ,made..a. long statement, -to the fiffecMhat she had gone for a walk with the, child's father on. the Monday night, And .-that he wanted her to give up the child. -, ' On her refusing to do ao he threw it- off the .wharf into the river, threatening- to murder her if she said anything aboutut.' ■ She added that the child's father 'waß a half-caste from India, named Sain Timaru', 'but going by that of Frank, &ncl that he ' was a waiter about hotels. Slfealsp'saidr^hat' she thought he, was a Scotchman. ''Prisoner 'added' that she ifoldja^iieon. the ipreyidus day, (referring icj'-.the' statement ".made* to 'ttie! Inspector, |Bd.sergeant),.', and,; that, she „a lso told Mr.s'l3&gfi£ > a| lie,^because she was afraid pf iimi(meaning the man whom she had / .;T7TBy,,Mr., Hutchison :■ The statement" made '■ by her . iiii the 1 lockup was^nqtiMuaterially the same; as that given-by. her at '.the - inquest; > She said j for example, in -the first statement that the^'man.'hadya 1 black wig 1 and "curly •frhislcers;'. 'whereas in the' statement at the inquest, she said that his hair ; was ?ut closSk— At.this, stage it'waa thought destfable'that the pris6ner's''Btatemeh't at tße'.mquest' should be ','read', 'and .the jPeputy-"Regißtrar'jpead it a'ceordingiy^-r; (jt, 'ia.'a'yhty, long doeumentj..and,,waß publisliea in\cxiicnso in our report of the inqneßt.X'./,THe . prisoner detailed- her career past, and repeated her assertion that the father, pf; the child threwtit,intp ithe'. river,..,.. She. described •yie. nianiisopjewhat' differently.from rthe account -of- him whiclr- she gave'to Sergeant 'Bissett ;•* and;'in, : aeyeraL "other respects -the 1 two.' I ' statements did not a!gr'eet'T i Sergeaiitßisßett'B ; cross-examin'-' atio'n'by Mr '-'Hiitohison' was continued : Th'e 1 ' witness ' wad l ' that practically " the statement just read amplified that made by the' prisoner at" the lockup." Her statementthat 1 she lived at Feilding for sqme.iime |wa& 'quite ( cerrect,, and there. waS every, reason .to belihve that, she was righi in.saying she had formerly. made ah application "to M^. Ward in connecfi'pnwitii the children. " "Witness. did not understand that .the prisoner referred to the man's .religion when she said he was Scotch. ,The prisoner, afterwards said that tho man was a half-caste Chinaman. The.police.'made inquiries about a Fijian who formerly was cook for Mr Evans, and whowent by the name of " Frank," and was supposed to have known Mrs Veitch either at Feuding or Marton. It ■fy'Ss found "that this nian was in'D'Ur-. ville'6 Island in February last, for whichjplace he left two years ago. Wit-. nesS .'.nad. : ' not ' made inquiries about steam'ens "which left Wanganui on the Monday or Tuesday in question, nor had he insp.ectedjthe,end of the nattle wharf w.here...tjjej man "was supposed .to have thrown"" the 'child in, so as to discover traces of clothing or any other evidence of a stiuggle. — By Mr Fitzherbert : Witness had a photograph of *he Fijian, and produced it to the prisoner, who said that it was not the man. Inquiries had been made about two other photographs, each representing a man who th.c,: pjisoner said; conldi tell something about Sam Timarn, but the police could not discover him. - ; . ' .' Mrs Ellen Worsfold, residing at Feildin'gV'an'd wife of a, gardener; stated that she knew cho prisoner, and received a letter" 'froui'h'er, 'Tvhich'witness' gave over'-to the police. (Letter and envelope pSt^in).- It was received on the lst March, and bore the postmark of the 2?tti February:— The letter stated' that thelpirisoner had let Flossie go,tc the. lad^ arid that she (meaning the'ehild) was by that time on. her way to Wellington. -Thelet'tcr "was" signed, "Mrs I&'V^iteh, Dublin-street, Wanganui."—^ Mt l Hutchison- cross>- examined ■ Mrs ■Worsfold; and 1 elicited that.some ;,of , the statements-made by 'the prisoner at' the inquest as to her life at Feilding were, corr&Jt.— By the Chief Justice: The prisoner left Feilding a for.tnight.before the, ' and a week previous to leawng she told witness that 6he had. a. lady .'to "take the child, but she said noting mpre about it. , : Mrs Isabel Pointon, wife of the Gaoler;, stated that: the prisoner, whilst in'g&ol; : said that 'she hoped -that' man 1 . would- be 1 ' found '; ■ that ' she , was not' afraid, for- they .could not prove !hergnilty,.as no. one could say they saw her do it, and there was not a soul about when : it was- done.—^By Mr Hutchison : Prisoner did- not-sriy that elie wished' th^re 1 - had' been someone about. On a pre^vi6us"dccasioii' she said, "'There' is no' orieto 1 say a T word fpr.ine." " 1 . ". ' .Constable, l*rice proved the receipt, of the-letter,and envelope from MrssWorsfoia: - ' Mr Fitzherbert summed up the case for the Crown, and pointed out that the evidence mainly consisted pf statements made by the prisoner herself verbally and by letter, and it was for the jury to compare them and say whether they wef B' consistent with guilt or innocence. The suggestion of the prosecution was that these statements were intentionally made to accouiit for the sudden disuppearance of the child; and that tbe prisoner took advantage of the fresh in the— river and- drowned it. She had no doubt made several statements that the child was drowned by a man variously described, and called Sam Timaru, but the jury must consider whether it was probable that this man would have suddenly appeared and just as suddenly disappeared, leaving not a trace behind, or ! whether it. was not consistent with the tlieqry of the prosecution. The jury must take" into account the prisoner's own conduct, and the surrounding circuinstances.g . ajld weigh all the evidence,; and if they came to a conciusioh, without any reasonable doubt, that the child came to its death at the hands of the prisoner, it would be their duty, however painful, to : find her guilfy of murder. Tho Crown did not wish to weigh unduly on the' prisoner, and he had not tne least doifbt that the jury, who were sworn to nrotect-both the public and the prisoner, would do their duty according to their oatliund their conscience. Tji'e Court thea adjourn ed till 1 Q'clOCl". .• _;

i The jury were taken to the Albion ■| Hotel for Refreshment, His Honoi ; directing, that special precautions should i be taken to keep tho public from comj municatirigfwitn them. — On resuming Jin tbj) "evening, : llr Hutchison addressed I the jury for' the^defenee; and said. that j Ae.^ase was -.extraordinary in that the I majn” : "evid.ence_:.pn . which the Crown •'• asked" the 'jury", to convict were the pri- : soner's own ■ statements, and that the j (~!rb"wn was also; unable to prove that any ' part of those statements involved a confession of guilt. The prosecution relied upon the contradictory nature of those t statements, but could point to no one of j them as distinctly admitting that the i prisoner was guilty. Even the evidence j of Mrs Pointon, assuming it to ha ye been I brought to prove a confession, simply ; meant that prisoner", adhered to her '. story. that she was, not a perpetrator of : -.but tlie, .only- surviving eye- | witness of ' what occurred. The actions i of the prisoner before "and after had : been alluded to as tending to criminality, ; but he thought tho 'jury 1 would believe ' that~her conduct' was "just what a i woman under her. circumstances would ; natiyally'do* No one present could put i themselves in the position of a mother i (whose child had been murdered, or do : ;iupre than imagine what her feelings '.would be. Supposing that the woman had been trapped by the man she spoke of, and supposing that she had been an eyerwitness of the murder, and had been threatened with death if she spoke of it, then her conduct at Mrs Blight's and elsewhere was more reconcilable with a person who had been a spectator rather .than-fe perpetrator of the deed. The conflicting emotions.'of -a "woman who had spen the father of her child deliberately take its life were- terrible to imagine. Assuming, again,.' that her story was correct ; that y the father had indicated his intention, to.take the child I away ; and had suggested in a letter to the prisoner that -that -child should go a.way from her to Tiirokiria or elsewhere, tKen the prisoner's conversations on the Monday were not only natural but consistent with arrangements sug~: ges^ed. Anil when the .father, instead of litaKiug!;.th'e'I i taKiug ! ;.th'e' child' f , away, ' toot' its. life;" wh'at more natural than that the prisoner should still continue to talk to Mrs Blight as^ though .the, arrangement had been carried ; outj a'nd'as though shewere a person.' overwhelmed, with' the', crime she had witnessed. Mr Hutchiaojrthen argued: thaYevJjisuppbsitig the prisoner told Mrs Blight a lie on the night,, in question, it was not an" unnatural lie, supposing the- prisoner's story to be correct, and he pointed but that the tone of Mrs Blight's evidence-showed-'-tier; toibe-a. witness prejudiced against the iprisoner, ' and ' a .voluble receptacle \ for " 'till •■■ sorts ' of gbssip.. Coming then to tlie. inter view in Niblettstreet, Mr Hutchison said that the" prisoner, in admitting to the Inspector and Sergeant ■tHatrffi'e.bbild wa'a 1 accidentally drowned, was gradually coming round to the conviction that murder will out and the truth must be told, though she still screens the father of .the, childShe is taken into cusioiy? and'thatryery afternoon she tells the Sergeant, a long story, to which she afterwards siibstoatiajly adheres in -the more lengthy, andi^farmal statement 'at the inquest, and in which, confession she at -last comes round to the whole truth. Lr every point that that confession' could be proved it had been ahown to be true, although it extended over years. There wa*s : not one of the events she mentioned as happening at Nelson, Feilding, or elsewhere, but. had been proved to be tjue,by .witnesses- palled by the prosecution. ' It was remarkable, also, that her statement about the time she was in the. Hospital fitted in exactly with the dates given in evidence by Dr Earle, and the' events described by the prisoner on the Monday were proved to have happened by the evidence o£ Mrs Blight herself. Mr Hutchison then oontended that the prisoner had had no time or opportunity to devise, the' tale Bbo told before the Coroner, which tale harmonised in all essential particulars with that'sho had. previously told to Sergeant Bissett, arid ' many particulars of which were consistent with the prisoner's treatment of tho child, while others wero confirmed by evidence given incidentally by the witnesses for the prosecution. If tho tale weuo a fabrication, it stamped- the prisoner as one of the most imaginative persons ever met with, and it was so circumstantial and dramatic that it was incredible to believe it tmtrue. Her vivid description .on the Tuesday of the dream she had had, in which she saw her child drowned and washed ashore on the ocean beach, was very striking, though whether- fit 'was prophecy or intuition lie" could not say. That such a man as the prisoner described wa3in existence no one could doubt, for be had been heard Tof even so recently as a few months ago -at Napier. , It was evident tbjat the wretch still polluted the eartttpand itrwas to be regretted that the police hatfirdt been able-to have done their_cbvious duty by finding him. The remark of the~prisoner, that there was no one-to speak-a word for her, was pathetic, '[and he regretted that some disinterested and finbiassed person had not earlier investigated tho matter in Her interest".' Buf for tho consideration shown by : the department of justice, the prisoner would not that day r .have had the benefit of his (Mr Hutchison's) poor advocacy, >>nd it was a great pity that that the action had come so "late. Mr Hutchison'then strongly commented on the fact of fthe police not having followed up the inquiries properly, and of their not having* realised that a crime had ,been committed, and taken ivejy precaution to 'bring the offendiag man to Justice. The police had mad e" no in, quiries on -the spot where the crime was ■alleged to-have been committed, and ■ had contented themselves with -merely ;'ciruulating-%amongst the constables a greatly misleading delusive description of the man. .Mr Hutchison went through the description in the gazette (under the head of "Missing Friends,") and showed that not only was the man termed a negro (which neither the prisoner nor anybody else ever represented him to be), but an alias was given him, which had never been mentioned in the case at all. The police also damned the effort to obtain information by appending to tho description a statement that the prisoner's tale was not believed. That was the sort of assistance which she had received in . 'endeavouring to prove her innocence, and he confessed that the matter called up feelings far stronger than astonishment. It reflected seriously'on the Police Force of the colony — not indeed on the detective department, for there had been no effort at detection. The. theory of the prosecution'SvaSithat the prisoner had. exhibited a fiendish spirit in setting tales afloat as a preparation for the murder of her child, and then bolstered them up by telling contradictory stories . afterwards, but it was not safe for the jury to accept so much of the statement as would inculpate the woman, and reject all that would exculpate her.. It had been said the prisoner was not able to prove that the man Sam Timaru had been in Wanganui on tho ., day in question, but it must be remembered thnfc • fhc had 'been in gaol over since, -anfl only within the lust fnw ilays had the chsmce of being defended, or of doing anything. to supplement tho uiis- , leadiug and insufficient steps taken by the police. He sincarsly believed that that uiaiu. would yefc be brougb t to light , ant he JaskQiX the jury, why stood on

n that trial between tlio living and the r dead, to remember that the river had not 3 been bridged over by' the prosecution. - "What would be the foelings of the juryj I Hereafter ■if they found' that'-that rivei| 1 had only been cleared, and the 'mystery t removed, by tha sacrinc'e J .of,anbyier life.! s The Court, the' Grown' Prospoutpr. andl a himself had done all they, coui,q -to bring! - the matter fairly. before therri:* Thej c woman might not have ''much ofj y "sweetness and light " about her,, butl - the drowning of her child haM not been 1 1 brought home to her, and he asked the, b jury, who had'the issue in their hands,! 1 f to give the prisoner the benefit of every] a doubt, and decide in favour of life and a not of death.— Mr Hutchison's address 1 i lasted exactly an hour, and there was> j ' some applause.in Court when the learned 1 r gentleman sat down. f His Honor, summed up the case, and ; -.- read, the principal parts of; the evidence. 1 i ' Beforereadingthepris'onei ;s statement at, 1 the inquest,' His : Hoii6x° ; pointed out thati , it was quite competent for the jury to 1 i believe part and reject, tho^remainder, 1 i after talcing into consideration the cir-| [ cuinstances in connection. with'it;. Hisi fc Honor said that it was also.'for the jury : to say whether, as the great number of | ) facts (either not material or only fe- ! motely material) in tlio statement were i proved to be correct it wns a fair inferi ence that those given by her as to the t drowning of the child were correct i also. With regard to the conduct of , the police, it was no doubt their duty to have endeavoured to discover the man, i but a jury would probably say that, • where a child was last seen in the cusi tody of the mother, it was for that i mother to give some reasonable explanation of how that child ceased to be in her i possession. If the explanation were not reasonable, the jury would probably [ infer that she had something to do with '. the manner in which the child came to i its end. No doubt the onus was thrown i on the prosecution to show that tlio statement was not reasonable, and it i was for the jury to say, upon the whole, whether the account was reasonable on ! the face of it';.' whether lifaiei police had .succeeded in displacing ,.sucb . account ; L and whether ,. the , 'prisoner', .ought,' to ]t>e held, guilty becausej l the / ppli.ce had not succeeded in finding the rnan]-i-Mr Hutchispn, asked HiSjHonpr to, draw tho ■ jury's attention to the 1 notice in the '. Poh'ce'Gazette.— lnspe'otor'tTames wished to explain that, in addition to the notice 'in' the Ga'zette,;c6p ( ies ofithe jCpiibtJibi^E : containing the woman's statement were sent to every police, station in the district.—His'Hbrio'r,'continuing, said that in the- Gazette description the police had ■ evidently not inquired for a, man answer, ing the description gi'v&rr' by the'prisbn'er,, while it was also .'evident 'that there was in existence some Buclipersbn a") sliij had described. — His' Honor's summing'' up' occupied two hours in delivery. — The jury retired,, at. lp, o'clock to consider their verdict'. 5 / - ■ l/ii a'J.VJ J-A VERDICT. At 11.15 the jury returned into Court with a verdict of " Guilty, with a recommendation fo mercy. '"T^ The verdict was received with dead "silence in a densely crowded Court. The prisoner remained as imnassive and collected as ever, . , „ ., ■ • ■ , : -'A JOEY OF MATRONS. 1 " 'J ! The Chief Justice; - after conferring N with Mr iHutchison, said, Mr Hutchison informs me, Mr Fitzherbert, that he has reason to believe — in fact, he has the prisoner's authority for saying so — that , prisoner is pregnant. That being the \ case, the law is that the judgment of the Court cannot be, executed pending the birth of the child,- and the practice is that, where that matter is alleged, the , fact has to be tried. I regret that I received no intimation before, for at' this hour of the night it is almost impossible to proceed. ." The practice, also, is'that' judgment is pronounced at .once, and again I say that I very much regret that I was not informed of this matter until this moment, otherwise I would have directed the Sheriff to have women here for the purpose of being cmpannelled as ; a jury. — Mr Fitzherbert: I apprehend, Your Honor, that the proper plan is . for the prisoner to make a statement of her pregnancy when she is called on to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon her. — The Chief Justice : It is the practice that the seLtence of death is immediately* pronounoed, yet it is necessary here that the prisoner- should be tried before a jury of matrons.' — Mr Fitzberbert : I apprehend that means that there must bfi sufficient time to get a jury of matrons. — Mr Hutchison: It would have been somewhat irrelevant and premature to have suggestod the pregnancy before.— Mr Fitzherbert : So far as I am concerned, 1 leave the matter to the Court. — His Honor, after referring again to the authorities,' said : lam not sure that sentence must' be passed immediately,, or whether the old Act is still in force. —Mr Fit zherbert : ~ The Act in force in ,this colony does not make it essential that sentence should be,_passed direotly, and in that follows the section of 24 and 25 "Victoria exactly. — His-Honor called the Gaoler and conferred witll him. — Mr Fitzlierbert : I Bubmit tliat the 1 question only.'arises when the prisoner is called on to^say why sentence should not be passod. — The Chief Justice : I am not sure that that is so. However, J. am informed, by the gaoler that the matron says that there is reason to believe, quite irrespective of wEat the 1 prisoner says, that she is pregnant. — His Honor referred again to the /books, and continued : ". I-think the better course will he to postpone calling upon Eer till to-morrow morning. Our statute— the existing law — dees not say immediately, though the statute of George II. v (which is not law here)-says that sentence must bo passed immediately, and th"is no doubt has given rise to the supposition. Under all the "circumstances I think it would be manifestly improper^that sentence shousd be passed immediately. After further reference, His Honor said : I find now that the best authorities say that this proceeding (the jury of matrons) must take place after judgment. , As a general rule, where there is no point of law involved, sentence is passed at once, but I am very much indisposed to do this, and it would bo more convenient not to pass sentence till to-morrow morning, when a jury of matrons could be empannelled to try tho matter. — After further legal discussion with the C'rowu Prosecutor, {His Honor thought it better to go on with the. sontence. SENTENCE OF DEATH. Tho usual question, whether sha had anything to say why sentence of death should not bo passed-, was put to the , prisoner, who was perfectly unmoved. — ; She stated that (she did not hear what , was said.' ' The 1 question "was repeated, but thpre was still no answer. Mr 1 Hutchison confered with, her, and explained that the matter of preg- , nancy would bo investigated this raorn- . ing. The prisoner replied, " I have • nothing to say." Solemn silenco was i called in Court, and tho Chief Justice : assumed the black cap, and passed sen- [ tonce of death as follows:— I think it i unnecessary to say anything to the I prisoner, as it seems she cannot very . well hear. I may say that the jury Lnvo [ arrived at tho only conclusion to which, :- upon the evidence, tlisy could have 3 ariivod. The sentence of tlio Court is f that you, Pbcube Yeitcb, bo takc-n from . here to tho placo whence you came, and from there to tho plaen of execution, ' and tUcro bo iuuu.rc.il }>j fun uf-uk un.'il " j you am dead. lie-moTe the prisoner, , ' mil let her !)C b''O"Ji'hi lip 10-inoriov* ac ,1 l(; o'clock, tor «au iuvesw^uion oi

THE OTANjGAJTOIS CHRONI€IiE-Mi4,Y 1; 18^. &**