THE CHARGES AGAINST COLONEL HILL.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 118, 7 May 1880, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE CHARGES AGAINST COLONEL HILL.

The ‘ Cornwall Chronicle,’ 25th March, gives the following parti cuiare concerning certain rumors respecting the commandant of volunteers in Tasmania, Lieut-Colonel St. Hill. When Colonel St. Hill asumed the position of private secetary to his Excellency an account was opened at the Commercial Bank, Hobart Town, which was known as No. 2 account. It was in Colonel St. Hill’s name, and was operated upon solely by him. The moneys paid to the credit of that account comprised sums for the maintenance of the Governor’s establishment, Colonel St. Hill’s salary as Commandant of Volunteers and as private secretary, and other private maneys of the Colonel’s, besides sundry official sums. This account was allowed to become considerably overdrawn without t ie knowledge of his Excellency, and when Colonel St. Hill was on a visit to Melbourne, we believe in November last, the manager of the bank apprised the Governor of the fact that it was debtor to the amount of nearly £ISOO. The Governor was much surprised at this, and at once communicated in person with the banker, the result being that he made good the amount of the deficiency and almost immediately suspended Colonel St. Hill. An investigation took place, and, we are informed the Colonel demanded an audit of his accounts ; an officer of the Audit department was appointed to go through them, and although we have no means of knowing the result accurately, we believe it is a fact, as reported, that the debit’against Colonel St. Hill was found to be about £I4OO. To the negotiations which followed it would be improper to refer without more precise information than we at present have ; suffice it to say that Colonel St. Hill was dismissed from his office of private secetary, and Mr. George Browne was afterwards appointed in his stead. But Colonel St. Hill remained Commandant of Volunteers, and it was generally understood that some satisfactory arrangement had been arrived at for the liquidation of his liability to the Governor. At all events. Colonel St. Hill has since held his position with the tacit consent of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief, and of the Executive. What may have since [transpired to disturb this arrangement we cannot pretend to say, but it appears that his Excellency has recently reported the matter to the Horse Guards, and that on the lOinst. he made formal charges against Colonel St. Hill to the Executive Council,

THE CHARGE OF WIFE MURDER IN DEVONSHIRE.

At the Exeter Assizes, before Mr. Baron Pollock, Francis William West, described in the calendar as of no occupation, 27 years of age, was charged with the wilful murder of his wife, at Wear Gifford, in December last. —West, who is a fair young man, pleaded in a loud voice, ‘Not Guilty.’—Mr. Collins, Q. C., opened the case for the prosecution. He said the accused was a man possessing an independency of several hundreds a year. He married his cousin, who was two years younger than himself, and was a very prepossessing lady. Both belonged to a wellknown Cornish family. About three years ago they took at Wear Gifford, near Bideford, a villa, and resided there with their infant son and three servants. At times Mr. West indulged in excessive drinking. During the periods of excess the prisoner behaved with much violence, and his threats caused great alarm. On one occasion he drove a man servant into a corner and threatened to shoot him if he dared to move. On another, his wife ran out of the house and took refuge at a neighbour’s, but the husband imagined that she was concealed in the garden, and fired several shots into the bushes with the view of discovering her retreat. Twelve months since, when Mrs. West was expecting to be confined, the prisoner told her he would shoot her, and on leaving the room told her she had but twenty minutes to live. Mrs. West jumped from the bed-room window to the verandah, and having thus escaped, she went to her parents’ home in Cornwall. On the Thursday preceding some things were got in for Christmas, and the prisoner drank a good deal between that time and Saturday. On Saturday, the day of the alleged murder, although under the influence of drink, he was lively and good tempered, and about midnight retired to the bed-room with his wife. For some time afterwards they appeared to be engaged in good-humoured conversation, but half an hour after mid-night Mrs. West was heard to exclaim, ‘ Oh! don’t, Frank,’ and immediately afterwards there was a report of a rifle. The servants having been warned never to leave their bedrooms unless thefr master called them, remained in bed, and although they were frightened, yet as this was not the first time they had heard firearms at night, they did not think that their mistress had been shot. Two hours afterwards Mr. 'West called the girls, and told them to be sure and get up at six o’clock in the morning, and at the same time he went down stairs with a glass and a key in his hand, as if he intended to draw some beer. He afterwards returned to the bed-room and remained there until half-past seven, when he went into a workroom and locked the door. On the nurse girl going to her mistress’s bed-room with a cup of tea she found Mrs. West half reclining on a chair, with her head on the window sill. She had a bullet hole through her neck, and was quite dead. Mary Knight said she had been in the service of the prisoner as nursemaid for sixteen months. On the day in question the prisoner came into the kitchen about nine o’clock, and remained with the servants drinking beer and rum. Shortly after eleven o’clock he told witness to fetch his wife, who ■was in the drawing-room, and the unfortunate lady came "in. The prisoner then said:

‘Nanny, dear, this is the first time you have been in the kitchen with me and the girls ; yon must stand treat. ’ The unfortunate lady thereupon went back to the drawing-room, and returned shortly afterwards with a bottle of brandy, of which they all partook, with the exception of Mrs West. Shorlty after twelve the prisoner and his wife retired to rest, and about twenty minutes after witness heard her mistress twice cry out, ‘Oh ! Frank, don’t.’ Immediately after this she heard the report of a gun. On the following morning she went up to her mistresses room and found her quite dead.—Cross-examined :—‘l never saw the slightest trace of quarrel or ill-feeling between my master and mistress. He used to drink a great deal at times. Great preparations were being made for Christmas.—Re-examined : I have seen my master and mistress scuffle together. He was very disagreeable and quarrelsome under the influence of drink.—Elizabeth Parr, the cook, corroborated the evidence of the last witness.—Superintendent Rousham and Police-constable Harvey also gave evidence, and repeated in effect the statement which they made before the coroner.— Charles Richard Jones, surgeon, stated the position in which he found the body, and considered that death was instantaneous. — This witness was cross-examined at some length for the purpose of showing that a man who had a sunstroke and taken to drink would, under the influence of liquor be unanswerable for his actions, and for the time being, in a state of insanity. —Sir H. James addressed the Court on behalf of the prisoner. He said the prisoner was not charged merely with taking the life of his wife; he was charged that he unlawfully, wilfully, and with malice aforethought, took her life, and before conviction could ensue, the jury must be sure that the prisoner, knowingly, and with malice aforethought, too away the life of his wife. Several years ago the prisoner had received a sunstroke, and afterwards a blow from a sabre by a Spaniard, since which time he had never been, when under the influence of drink, responsible for his actions. He submitted that his hnbit of drinking was not acquired, but hereditary. Several witnesses were called for the defence, who stated that the prisoner had recejeved injuries to the head from which he had never recovered.—The jury found the prisoner Guilty of Manslaughter.—His Lordship remarked that although he had given full effect to all that had been said in favour of the drunkenness he might have inherited, yet drunkenness could not be accepted as an excuse for crime, and he sentenced him to penal servitude for eight years.

When Greek joined Non-Greek.— Houdin the conjurer, passing through a Continental watering-place, and visiting the Casino, found a ‘ sharper’ at the ecarte table. He waited until there was a vacant seat at the table, and took his place silently opposite the swindler. The latter dealt and turned a king from the bottom of the pack with neatness and despatch. Houdin betrayed no emotion, but when it came to his turn to deal, said affably to his opponent, ‘ When I turn kings from the bottom of the pack, I always do it with one hand instead of two —it is quite as easy and much more showy. See—here comes his majesty of diamonds !’ And the conjurer calmly produced the card. The cheat stared at him for an instant, and then, bounding from his chair, rushed out of the room without going through the formality of waiting for his hat, coat, and stakes.