LAW’S LONG ARM

Hokitika Guardian, 7 February 1931, Page 6

LAW’S LONG ARM

REMORSELESS JUSTICE. CRIMINALS BROUGHT TO BOOK. CELF.BRATED CASES. The case of Richard Buckley, wlm was sentenced to death for a murder committed seven years ago, is an example of slow-footed justice, but by no means an outstanding one in tile history of British law, says a writer in the Alelbourne "Age. ’ J lie longest period that lias elapsed between a murder in England and an execution of tile murderer is 35 years, the executed man being John Horne. who murdered ids own child. In 1875) a

■carving, homeless man named .Jonathan Gaydiiii gave himself up to a policeman at, Holt-hum (Sussex) tor the murder of .Miss Alary White at (Linford 22 years before. A more famous ease is that of Licuten.int-CLionel .Joseph Wall, fo l mol h Governor and Com-inander-in-C’iiiel on the island ol Goree a British possession oil the west coast of Africa, which now belongs to l‘ranee. On a -nowy morning in January. 1802 ex-Govei nor Wail, a mail of magnificent physique, tilt bin tail, and bo years of age. was hanged outside Newgate prison in London for.a. crime committed 20 years earlier.

Wall was a military martinet of the most brutal kind, and was totally unfitted to lie ill charge of men. On the vovage out to Goree alter his appointment as Governor he had a man named Patterson flogged until lie died, and the body was then thrown overboard*. Patterson, who was one 01-a small detachment of troops going out to reinforce the garrison at, Goree. was accused by Wall of being the ringleader in a conspiracy J*' seize the ship. Whether there was any conspiracy of tiie kind is more than douhtlul. but it is quite certain lhat Patterson, who bad formerly been a shop assistant, was not. ellt out to be tin* leader of a mutiny op the high seas.

HATED AND PEA BED. For two years Wall remained ai Corei* as Governor and Comma nder-in-Clnef. hated and feared by his men. and detested by the officers serving tinder him. He arranged to return to Kiigiaml by a vessel which called at the Island. The garrison was delighted at the news, but not so delighted when it was learned that, the paymaster. Ensign Desiring, was accompanying him. There were arrears of pay owing to the garrison, ami they appointed a deputation to wait on Ensign Desiring nml usk about llioir pay. The spokesman of this deputation was Sergeant Benjamin Armstrong, lint lie had no opportunity of stsiting tin* men’s grievance, because tin* deputation iia*i; flu* misfortune to encounter tile Governor. who. on learning its business, flew into a violent temper, ami ordered tiie men back to limit* quarters. Armstrong and liis comrades made a sec and attempt to reach Ensign Hearing, but they again encountered tin* Governor. wlio was so infuriated at flic* defiance of his commands Unit In* summoned his officers by beat oi drum, declared that the garrison had risen to revolt, and that Armstrong was the ringleader. lie gave orders that Armstrong should be lied to a guncarriage. and said to him, "Aon have been sentenced by court-martial to receive St)C> lashes for the crime of mutiny.” The offiieal caf-o’-iiiiie-tails could not lie found, and on Wall’s instructions a length of knotted rope was used. lie stood by and counted the strokes as the rope wa- laid on by two stalwart; negroes in succession. At the conclusion of the piiishment Armstrong was carried in a state of collapse to tiie military hospital, where lie did live days later.

THE LAW RELENTLESS. When Wall reached England he sa.’u nothing about the “rising ol tin* garrison and the death of Armstrong. He reported officially that "except for a shortage of.blankets," tbe eonditon of the garrison at Goree was sal isiai tory. But when officers who had served under him at Goree reached England shortly afterwards they reported the death of Armstrong. The Privy Council sumoned \A all to London to explain matters. He was staying at Bath, and as he did not comply with the summons, two Bow street i miners the forerunners of the modern police were sent to Bath to bring h.*m to London. • On tin* journey by road Wall plied the runners with liqottr. and escaped from their custody. He made Ids way to Edinburgh, where lie lived for a time, but subsequently thought he would he much safer on tin* Continent. After the lapse of 18 years lie concluded that his ease had been forgotten. and he returned to England For two years lie lived in the London suburb of Bloomsbury under the name of Thompson. He was recognised in the street by a soldier who bad sened under him. and in order to forestall any action the soldier might take, he wrote to the Home Secertary. stating where he was to he found if wanted. I-L* was confident that no action would be taken against him. in view oi the fact that 20 years had elapsed since lie had left Goree. But in England there no method by which a warrant foi arrest can he withdrawn. AA all was arrested. and placed on trial for the murder of Sergeant Armstrong, and was duly executed.

EUGENE ARAM. A still more famous case ol slowfooted justice is that of Eugene Aram who is the subject of a well-known novel by Lord Lytton, and oi a poem by Thomas Hood. Aram, who was a seif-educated man. became a schoolmaster at Knaresborough, in Yorkshire and mastered Latin. Greek, Hebrew Arabic, and French. In 1758 he was arrested at Lyme Regis, where he was a teacher in a school, on a charge or having murdered at Knaresborough a shoemaker named Daniel Clark, who had mysteriously disappeared 13 years before. The chief witness against him was a man named Houseman, who had been arrested b.v the police, and charged with the crime, and bad made a confession which implicated Aram as the actual murderer. Houseman took tin* police to a cave near Knaresborouglt. and showed them where to dig to find the body of Clark. Aram defended himself skilfully at his trial, hut lie was found guilty. Before bis execution be coiitessed to participation in the murder but put the main responsibility for the crime on Houseman.

PUBLIC EXECUTIONS. In these days executions take place inside prison walls, and only officials and a lew others whose duties compel them to he present witness the dreadful procedure but in the old days when executions took place in public they attracted vast crowds of people. At Tyburn, tbe scene of thousands of executions in London, there were wooden grandstands for people who were willing to pay tor good seats to watch the dvmg struggles <>l the uniortunate victims ol tin* law. And all along tbe throe-mile route from Newgate Gao’ to Tvbiirn there were thousands of people* assembled to watch the condemned im*ii as tin* cart in which they were conveyed to the gallows lumbered along, in those days, when tin* death penalty was inflicted for many minor offences, hangings were iroquent: ami it was seldom that tin* carl contained fewer than half a dozen victims. Tyburn tree, as the gallows were called, was a triangular structure, with accommodation for more than a dozen victims. The drop had not been introduced. The victims stood no in tin* cart while the hangman adjusted the rope, and when the latter had completed his task the curt was driven away and the bodies were left hanging.

Horace Walpole’s friend, George Selwvll, a noted wit, bad a passion lot attending executions; yet be was known to Lis friends as a man of kindly benevolent nature, lie seldom missed an execution when lie was in Lontfon. and lie went to Paris in L 57 lor the purpose oi witnessing tin* execution of Francis Damiens for attempting to assassinate Louis XAL He attended most assiduously tin* trial oi tin* rebel lords for participation in tbe Scottish rebellion of 1715. and witnessed the execution of those who wen* beheaded. Seluyn loved corpses, and attended funerals and exhumations, as well as executions. AN ben the first Lord Holland was on bis deathbed he was toln that Air Sehvyn bad called to inquire about him. and In* said to bis servant,

“The next time Mr Solwyn calls show him up. if I am alive 1 shall be delighted to see him, and if 1 am dead lie will In* glad to see me.”