CLEARED BY JURY

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 48, 25 August 1931, Page 9

CLEARED BY JURY

THEODORE COMMENTS

PART IN MUNGANA CASE

VICTIM OF CALUMNY (United l'rcsa Association— By Bleclric Telegraph—Copyright.) BRISBANE, 24th August. Cleared by the jury in its verdict in the Muugana case, the Federal Treasurer and the former Prime Minister of Queensland left the Supreme Court triumphantly followed by a crowd of 5000 men and women, who cheered wildly and threw their hats in the air making a remarkable demonstration in the city's most congested area. The jury found in effect that therehad been no conspiracy among the defendants for the purchase of the Muugana mines by the Queensland Government for £40,000, which the Crown claimed far exceeded their value, and there had been no conspiracy by any of the defendants whereby either Theodore or M'Cormack were to use their influence in furtherance of a common design, to defraud the Government. Tho jury's answers to all questions exonerated the four defendants, and judgment was entered accordingly. GOOD OLD TED. Mr. Theodore was greeted everywhere with, "Good old Ted." Girls at windows were equally demonstrative. Mr. M'Cormack, always smiling, exchanged a few cheery words with newspapermen as he strode proudly from the Court precincts. An. hour later Mr. Theodore broke his silence and commented on the verdict. He said: "It marks the end of a very unpleasant chapter in the histoy of Queensland. Tho Nationalists for a very long time carried on a campaign of calumny against me. They tried to humiliate and destroy me, but have succeeded only in. dishonouring themselves." Mr. M'Cormack contended himself with saying: "I am now out of public life, and I have no desire to make any statement." SCULLIN~PLEASED FAITH IN INTEGRITY MELBOURNE, 24th August. The Prime Minister, Mr. J. H. Seullin, is greatly pleased that the longdelayed case has ended. "My confidence in Mr. Theodore's integrity has never wavered," he said. "In this tjme of serious difficulty Australia wants the wholehearted services of all her Ministers, particularly that of the Treasurer. Therefore I extend to him my congratulations upon his honour being cleared."