163

LOCAL NEWS.

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THURSDAY.

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Wearily Drags Along.

The cheerful, sunny weather seemed to extert a favorable impression upon the spirits of Mrs. Sheedy, and upon entering court this morning her face bore a bouyant expression, in marked contrast to the look of settled gloom that mantled her features yesterday. She was not only composed, but visibly in excellent spirits, which manifested themselves in self-satisfied smiles that warmed her face into a wreath of radiance. She conversed animatodly with her sister, Mrs. Dean, who as during the previous days of the trial, occupied a seat at the right of the hand some prisoner. While herself and Mrs. Dean were convassing a mutually interesting subject, Col. Biggerstaff and Mrs. Morgan, the other sister, were holding a whispered conference upon some topic obviously of serious import, as their faces wore a grave aspect unrelieved during the entire conversation by the appearance of a smile, while the purport of the subject under discussion was kept a dead secret between the two concerned.

Judge Weir, the eminent counsel from Idaho, who was conspicuous by his absence yesterday, was on hand this morning, and sat next to Col. Biggerstaff.

Some sage has remarked that the eyes are the windows to the soul, but it must be confessed there are exceptions to this, as to all rules. This applies in a marked degree to the opalescent eyes of Mrs. Sheedy, whose features and deep orbs one searches in vain for the slightest clude as to the character of her secret thoughts. It is a shield which successfully parries all visual javelins shot against her inpenetrable armor.

When the judicial tribunal had resumed its grind, the clerk drearily sand out the names of those drawn on the special panel. A few only responded, and all these confessed to having daliled with the evidence or leisurely waded through the alleged confession of Monday McFarland. This had established a bias in their minds, which would require considerable evidence to remove, and they were accordingly challenged and cut off at first base.

Following the exhaustion of the first special panel, the clerk began calling the names of those citizens who had been summoned upon the second panel.

At this stage of the proceedings, counsel Strode, who had taken no part in the examination of witnesses up to this time during the morning, but who had confined himself to the preparation of a formidable looking document, bobbed up and sprung another of his large supply of stalwart objections upon the court. This time the astute attorney imagined he had caught a fleeting glance of a senegambian in the fuel pile, and entered a lengthy protest against the manner in which the venire had been drawn. Counsel insisted the county commissioners had not chosen the veniremen in the proportion established by law, in that a larger number were drawn from some precints and a less number from others than provided by statute.

Defense also objected to the second special panel because the members had been summoned by registered letter. Both objections were overruled and excused from further attendance until that time.

A blooded young man, a clerk in the employ of a local clothing firm, created a ripple of amusement in which Mrs. Sheedy and Col. Biggerstaff joined, by naively stating with evident earnestness, that what he had read in the papers was true, he was emphatically of the opinion that defendant should be made to suffer the penalty of a most atrocious crime. Challenged and excused.

An interesting feature of the rial as developed by the examination of veniremen, is the disclosure of the fact that fully four-fifths of those examined candidly confess having formed an opinion--presumably prejudicial to the innocence of defendants--and the further discovery that at least one-half of those summoned are opposed to capital punishment under any circumstances, while two-thirds are unalterably prejudiced against imposing the death penalty when based, as it must be in the present case, upon purely circumstantial evidence. Many do not hesitate to acknowledge mroal scruples upon this point, which they would refuse to sacrifice even if to do so, they would find it incumbent to ignore the instructions of court and deny the obligation of law.

The usual row between Col. Billingsley and Col. Lambertson bobbed up on time, and served to enliven the distressing ennul that had settled down upon the court and audience. A. W. Gale, who was called to the stand for examination, in making answer to questions ossed at him by Lambertson, excited suspicion that he very largely discredited the published confession of Monday McFarland, but claimed to have formed no definite opinion. Lmbertson quickly grasped the disagreeable conclusion that Gale was not a desirable juror and sought to entangle him with questions which would admit of dual answers. Billingsley saw his opportunity and at once rushed to the relief of the juror, when a hot exhchange of words ensued between the ever willing combatants of the legal arena. The court finally brought the wardance to an abrupt close, and ordered Mr. Gale to elevate himself upon a perch in the box. Billingsley was correspondingly elated and shot a glance of haughty triumph at his defeated opponent.

Another lively passage occurred between Col. Billingsley and Judge Hall, the latter of whom had relieved Col. Lambertson on the inquisitorial stand.

A man named Males, who it appears had instituted suit against Sheedy to recover money lost at the gambling rooms kept by deceased during his lifetime, was called to the stand. Information of Males' trouble with deceased was conveyed to Judge Hall, who thereupon began to interrogate the juror with reference to the alleged trouble. His answers, while apparently favorable, did not satisfy the judge that Males might not entertain a mental reservation, and he sought to entrap him into a confession of hostility to deceased, and that the difficulty between them would biss his mind to an extent that would render him objectionable as a juror. Males cleverly warded all direct thrusts, and was fast becoming a figure about which the halo of a decided interest was centering, when Judge Field excused him, much of the visible regret of Billingsley and Strode.

THE AFTERNOON SESSION.

Despite the disappointment of the ladies who had previously visited the court room only to find the dry routine of selecting jurors the only feast served for them, the fair sex continue to live in hope if it dies in despair, and continue to lend the grace of their presence to the scene notwithstanding the lack of present attractions. Their new spring hats, trimmed with a profusion of elegant floral designs enhanced by bright colored ribbons stand out in bright relief against the less attractive costumes of the male attendants. They are attentive auditors and are not at all backward in seeking out and locating in the best possible points for seeing and hearing, from which [coigns?] of vantage they scan every move made, and garner all the information possible. Their interest appears to center in Mrs. Sheedy, upon whom the force of their glances is bent. The next object that claims feminine attention is the Mr. Biggerstaff, the [oistinguished?] appearing uncle of Mrs. Sheedy, and about whom they delight to speculate.

The candor and rugged honesty of a man named Taylor brought to the stand, claims admiration. He stated that he had formed a decided opinion, the result of reading the newspapers and from canvassing the crime with neighbors.

"Could you," asked Mr. Hall, who was examing him, "notwithstanding that opinion, render an impartial verdict, after hearing the evidence?"

"I might."

"Are you not sure?"

"I can't say. At present I believe both defendants guilty, and it would require evidence to convince me to the contrary."

Mrs. Sheedy, whose bearing had been of the confident order, dropped her eyes and a shade of annoyance, not to say despair, passed over her face. The witness was excused.

At 3 o'clock p. m. the defense had exercised fourteen and the state two peremptory challenger. The dlay in getting a satisfactory jury is largely due to the tangled condition of existing law, several sections of which thought to have been repealed by the last legislature, being found to have been overlooked and therefore in force.

Compiled statutes of Nebraska 1881--was revised in 1885, and when so revised, contained the amendments made in 1882, 1883 and 1885. In the revision of 1885, is found section 468, page 838.

The statutes of the state were again compiled by Brown and Wheeler in 1889, and that compilation on page 951 contains section 669 L.

Now both of these sections provide for causes of challenge to jurors.

On the first day of the examination of jurors in the Sheedy murder case, Judge Field was governed by section 667 L, in the revision of 1889, which by the mistake of the compilers omitted section 468 of the revision of 1885, although in force.

Judge Field on the evening of the first day discovered this omission, and finding both sections in force, on the second day excused four jurors selected on the [grst?] day, who he found, upon exmaination of their evidence, had founded their opinions on reading reports of testimony taken at the coroner's inquiry and on the preliminary exmaination,

It seems that section 669 L. does not diminish the causes of challenge of jurors, but enlarges them; therefore it follows: That many jurors who could qualify under either section, can not qualify when all the causes are inquired of under both sections; hence the necessity to call in to the jury panel so many jurors.

It is probably that the results of the selection of jurors in the case of the State vs. McFarland and Sheedy may cause a revision of the two sections at the next session of the legislature.

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From District Court.

Judge Hall is engaged in hearing testimony as to whether Lydia V. Kay or Abel H. Kay, or neither of them, shall be entitled to a divorce. The parties have been living in the vicinity of Eighteenth and L streets, and are elderly peopl with a grown-up family of boys and girls. Life with them, however, appears to have been rather rocky in late years, the husband charging cruelty and that she was in the habit of repairing the to the banks of the Antelope, before that region was so thickly settled, where she met some man, with whom she would rather swing in the hammock or some such affair. The woman also charges cruelty, and various other matrimonial misdemeanors. The principal fight, however, appears to be over who shall get the property amassed during their married life. There is a host of witnesses, male and female, and the case is being hotly contested.

The damage case of the Misses Blair against the city was given to a jury this morning. The next case taken up in law court was that of William Watt vs. Patrick Dore. It is an action to recover $35 commission for acting as agent of defendant in trading a stock of goods in Davey for several lots in Havelock. The defense is that Watt acted as agent for Doak, owner of the lots, and got his commission from him. R. J. Green was awareded $35 for defending Bart Beck, and F. J. Kelly $15 for acting as a friend and attorney to Frank Davis.

In the case of Drummer vs. Rodden, for damages caused by defendant's brutally beating plaintiff, the defendant this morning filed his answer. He says that on the 25th of last November he was driving home his pet bull, which had strayed into an adjoining pasture, when Drummer, with anger in his face, and a warlike club in his hand, rushed out and made a pass at him. He avoided the blow, but took the club away from Drummer. That pugilistic gentleman immediately grabbed another club, and the defendant, after warding off several blows with the club he had taken from Drummer, got hot himself and waded in to disarm the other fellow. He asserts vehemently that he used no more force than was necessary in self-defence and he (Rodden) should not be held responsible.

In the case wherein the Ballou state banking company seeks to enforce a mortgage on the Oppenheimer block on north Tenth street, the defendants, Ross