The owners of the Aden made full inquiry into the cause of the disaster, and attributed it to the storm, and not to any carelessness on the part of captain or crew.
There will have to be a new trial of the case against the Tobacco Trust, the jury having been discharged by the court.
We told you, in reference to the Laurada trial, that it was necessary for all the twelve jurymen to agree before a verdict could be secured.
When a trial is finished and the case is given to the jury, the jurymen in the charge of the sheriff are locked up in the jury-room and kept there until they arrive at a decision or the judge dismisses them.
When the jurors arrive in their own room, a ballot is taken, and if the vote is not unanimous they begin a regular discussion of the case. A foreman of the jury is chosen at the beginning of the trial, and serves as chairman of the jury while the case is in their hands.
After he thinks the matter has been well weighed, the foreman asks the jurymen if they are ready to vote. Another ballot is then taken, each man registering his opinion.
The foreman counts the votes.
If the jury is not all of the same way of thinking, the matter is again discussed and a new ballot taken.
In the Tobacco Trust trial the jury was "out," as it is called, twenty-one hours. During that time forty ballots were taken, ten of the jury voting "guilty" and two "not guilty."