THIS DAY.

Auckland Star, Volume VI, Issue 1529, 6 January 1875, Page 2

THIS DAY.

His Honor took his seat at 9 o'clock. . ARSON-.'"'"' "' ' '.' ... , - The girl Cecilia Allen was again brcftignfc ""' up on a charge of Betting fire to. a house belonging£o. Mr-Samuel Howard," of Taka-1 . £ puna, on the'2tth lNbvember JasK:',, Thomas Clark was* recalfedftttjd in answer to His Honor, said that he_ only raked out part of the rubbish from under -the house on ■ the first occasion, ttft'^Sfter 1 the fire, he raked out the remaining part so that nothing was.lpft to, burn. He stayed on, tjw 1 ••/'; premises * fully anhWr^affeerwards.1- There y "was a fresh breeze blowing at the time, but awayj from the'house. 'J ° ' v Grace Davis was :aisp recalled by his Honor. . and said she helped to remove the furniture but did not see Cecilia go nnder the house a , after that, but could not undertake to say that she did not gti under the house. f; - t , r5 », Mr/Rees then addressed, tjia jury for the defence, and said he felt a difficulty in dealing with this case, both in relation to the public and the extreme youth, of the prisoner. From the very period of the occurrence, it was assumed that the prisoner was guilty ; and every little incidenb was made to fit in with the assumed guilt of-the girl. He was not about to" j attempt to catch their sympathies ; and he hoped they would dismiss from their minds all - preconceived notions in respect to this affair, and look the facts fairly in the face. Mr Bees then proceeded to review the evidence of the several witnesses who had been examined, and argued that in this case there was an absence of motive. The prisoner, a child of twelve, had nothing to gain by committing

'/V i a crime. She was not actuated by re- ['• // is for Mr and Mrs Howard were exceed•/av - kind to the girl. The children were /"[%}- of her, and sac was haPpy in y. .'.-.§ "situation. There was no motive, •' J refore, and it could not be affirmedth.it ft/Ahe was seized with madness, for she had TChpwn no symptoms of madness or monoff since: The little boy of six might, ' ''with equal justice, have been charged with i• \- the commission of the crime, as he had cer--1 not arrived at years of discretion. '■ The learned counsel then proceeded-to shew, from high auihorites, such as Lord Mansfi Id Su1 "V\SUiam Blackstone, and other writers the valueless character of personal Infessions, which he regarded as the most unreliable testimohy of all. The girl bad made vague statements with reference to her tmilt: and now she says that she did not do ft The girl knew right from wrong, and was ftdly conscious of the serious nature of the crime of which she was charged. She had said that all her clothes were burnt, and it turned out that they were not burnt. There were great probabilities that the fire was the result ox accident; he would leave the case in their hands, many of whom were ' ■ fathers of families, feeling assured that the case would receive justice at their hands. >jr Brookfield then rose on the part of the Brosecution, and asked the jury to set aside whatever had been said in public in relation to the prisoner's guilt or innocence as to what his learned friend had said about motive, m i 2 ht also be cast to the winds. Be did no twishto press the case unduly against the prisoner 4 the bar, the object of the Crown was simply to present facls fairlj, and leave the jury to form their own honest conclusion from such facts. As to what bis friend had said about the imnotency of confessions, it was not nnfrequerjMy th,e case where prisoners had confessedjfneir guilt, and when brought to trial theyliad pleaded not guilty, as in the case of the man yesterday who said he would give no trouble. He did it, and then pleaded notguifty, and occupied the Court several hours in trying the case. Mr Brookfield then rrferred to the chipf points in the evidence hefore the Court, and concluded by urging npon them to do their duty conscientiously, and give that, verdict which they believe the evidence requires. His Honor then summed up with bis usual care, and prefaced his remarks by saying that the Court was very much indebted to Mr Rees, who had come forward, ag he did on a former Occasion, with his usual energy and zeal in defence of prisoner, and this relieved thte^Court of a considerable amount of anxiety : and this he had done without fee or reward. After further remarks upon the offence, his Honor read over the evidence and asked the jury to consider their verdict The jury having deliberated for thirty minutes returned a verdict of not guilty. . SHOOTING WITH INTENT. George Jackson, who was arraigned at the last sittings of the Criminal Court on an indictment charging him with shooting at Daniel Page, on the 30th September last, with intent to do him some grevious bodily harm. Mr Larshley appeared for the defence. Mr Brookfield, for the prosecution, said he should offer no evidence. His Honor explained the circumstances of the case to the jury, wfio at once returned a verdict of not guilty. Bis Honor gave prisoner a lesson on the folly of getting into drunken squabbles, and hoped the inconvenience be had suffered would be a warning to him in futureHe was discharged.

The case of Newton, a Maori', charged with murder, will be taken in the morning at nine o'clock. The Court) rose at 2.45.