SUPREME COURT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 275, 21 November 1871, Page 2

SUP RE ME COURT.

o criminal sittings. [Before his Honor Mr. Justice Richmond. J Begina versus H. N. Firth (continued). John. Edward Weld: I am a registered medical practitioner. I saw Dennis QuinlanV on 15th, September last. He had a gunshot in theside, not of a serious <nature.,, The' 'shot had evidently: entered in a slanting^direction. , This closed the case f-r the prosecution. For the defence,^ Mr. Fell called ,■•-.•':",•- --: ,_^dwin Wilson, a Maori, who stated, through the medium of Mr. A. Mackay as interpreter, as follows: I live at the Wakamamna, near Mr. Firth'shouse.""l : remember Quinlan coming to my house on the^ evening pfitlieUW September. . He asked for aw gun' and* ammunition. I said I had none, and asked him what he wanted them; for. He replied. I wahVtolihbot Fifth. T&refused 1 to .let hiin.have%f_ia^ .he l . wantea^ ( Mo|' < liw|.^B-^di tlihthe^had better go to Havelock where ■ get them. I went to Firth'* and told'hf_h%e h'tfd * better be on the look out, as Quinlan intended to

shoot him. I .then returned to my house, where I found Quinlan. "He. left, and went to Firth's ,Bgain£i_nd I followed him. I saw him piA -. .■up 5 -* .stone. | He then, called out "Firth, Murdoch^" and on receiving, no answer, threw a stone at the door, after which he picked up a larger stone and threw that.. He then threw a third, and a still • Jarger stone. While I was looking on, I saw Evans come out of another house, and conceal himself behind a stump. I struck a match and lie came to me. Quintan was all tbe time incessantly throwing stones at the house. _A_fter he had thrown a considerable number, the upper part of the door began to give way. The noise was like the continual explosion of guns.'. After thedoor began to give way I saw nothing more of Quin • lan until he came to my house afterwards, and showed me where Finh had wounded him. He sat down on a chair and. did not appear to be drunk. Cross-examined: I heard no report of a gun. My house is about a chain distant from Firth's. Kees Evans : lama road contractor living ut Wakamarina. On the 14th; September 1 was staying at Mr. Moller's house which is about two' chain from Firth's. .. In the afternoon, Mrs Murdoch came to me witlv a child in her arms, and said Quinlan wascreating a great disturbance at their house. About dusk I was going across to Wilson'- place, when I met Quinlan close to Firth's. He said, "- Is that you Kees ? " I said ye?, and advised him to go and have a lie. down. He said, We'll have a drink first, and tried to open the door. I left him then, and for some -.time after I heard- a great .rattling. at. the door. In abut ten minutes' _l wont- back to- see what was going on, and just as I got to Firth's window I heard a gun go off in the bar, and Quinlan cry out, " I'm shot through the heart,"- and then he picked up more stones. I called out to them inside to put out the lights and then bolted. After going a little distance I stopped, and stood there for a long time by a stump, to see what was going on. Quinlan kept on calling upon Murdoch to come out. I went into, Firth's once, and while I was standing at the bar a stone come in and nearly hit me. Susan Murdoch : I am the wife of David Hen--, derson Murdoch, who lives with Mr. Fhth and assists him .in his business. I was at Firth son the Hth September. Quinlan was' there. He was a little the worse for liquor and. very violent. I was very frightened and k.pt out of the way with the children While we were at tea in the evening he rushed out of the house, and Brown said, now's the time to ke-p him out. After he had been away a little time, he cime back atid hammered at the door and demanded admittauce. We put the light out for fenr of stones coming in at the window. I heard no shooting, as the stones were making such a noise, and the children were all crying. I came down stairs and found Warner sitting over the fire with his head in his hands. JJraid, isn't this dreadful ? and he replied "yes.-lrl were Firth I would shoot him like a dog." I was going to light a candle, but he asked me not to, as a stone might come in through the win-low and hit him. Quinlan had been following Mrs Finh' about in a disagreeable manner tor two or three dat s. Cross-examined: Quinlan often came down to Firth's and was always uoisy, but iu this case he was worse than usual. Charles Elliott': I am a publisher in Nelson. I have known Firth for many years. He was in my employ for some time,, and I always found him a most well behaved and peaceful person, and very unlikely to. shut a person: otic of his house and then shoot him, unless under very strong provocation. Constable Jeffries stated that Quinlan was known as one of the greatest rowdies on ■ the West Coast. This closed the evidence, and the Counsel on both sides having addressed the jury, his Honor summed up,, and in doing so, said that supposing the jury to be satisfied that Firth had fired theshot,thenext and most important question fof them to decide was, "whether he was- justified in so doing? ' The English law watched, most jealously the employment of deadly weapons in repelling trespassers, and would npt allow firearms to be used even 'against "a. 'man who was breaking into a house. The mere smashing of a door was not sufficient provocation, but if a reason able fear existed of a personal attack, or if the lives or limbs of a wife, family, or guests were in danger, then the matter was changed, ■ and the owner of a house would be justified in proceeding to extremities. Tiie means to be employed for the defence must be proportionate to the attack, and if the jury thought in this case that a powerful man maddened by drink' was' imperiling the lives of a peaceful family, then they must find that the firing of the shot was justifiable, but they must not lose sight of the question ; was the gun fired under reasonable apprehension of danger to life or limb ? The possession of firearms no doubt had the effect of placing a little man on something of an equality with a great big, turbulent ruffian. Perhaps a big man would not be justified in shooting a little, -insignificant tailor whom he might put in his pocket, whereas, if the tailor shot the giant the judgment might be reversed, He did not speak of the " tailor ", as the able-bodied man commonly known here, but as the.p'roverbial, diminutive man known, in English towns. In dealing even with a more powerful man than himself, a reasonable amount of courage as well as of prudence was required of him who was assailed, and no. man was justified by any unreasonable fear in resisting the use of firearms. With regard to. the .evidence of Wilson the Maori, he must say that he had appeared to him to have drawn somewhat upon his imagination, and, : consequently,' his statement; must be accepted with a certain ; degree of caution. Then, with reference to what had fallen from Mrs. Murdoch he' had some doubts; According to what she said, the cannonade of stones was so brisk • and, so furious that she was unable, . to detect the explosion of the gun. Stone's rattling against a weatherboard wall would certainly create a considerable noise, but his powers.;. of belief were rather largely drawn- upon when. he was asked to give credence to 'the statement" 'that it would entirely drown the sound ' of a' gun discharged inside the house. : If. Firth biid fiw, d the f! 1 ?' without any reasonable . apprehension of danger to life or linib, he was not' jusfifiotHn 'doing so. even though he had only intended to wound Quinlan. o,h tthe leg ai -the ie^dence; went taprove. That should be;! considered,: not >y. the jury an retiring' a. verdict, »but •by'- the ■' Judge iu pronouncing sentence. „,•.,, „■■,,.,*#.-. The jury 'then' retired, I 'and^aft'er an hour's j absence returned forthtfrptirpose of ascertaining | •from the^ Judged wlifAeranj? modification S)k the! verdict could ( be.f{_l_q«fea;. . r -Toj this his Honors replied in the' ttt&amf^ stating that although: the indicttnenk .TJllare^ with; « woundftjOTh*tfnt?nW toj tfel6ny, the jury might, if the^r; i thpuirHt. . fftjt » < floa > him guilty of "unlawfully and maliciously

wounding, which would only constitute a misdemeanor.^ Thpy might acqnit jhinr of felony, *but£find'__i_h guilty (^^misdemeanor. ..•1 After some consultatipin with his brother jurors, the/foreman then asked whether^ iu-rfinding a verdict, they might omit the word "-- maliciously." - His Honor replied. No, but that he might explain that tlie word to which tbey took exception did not necessarily mean that malice existed in the heart It certainly was an unfortunate expression but it must only be taken as meaning that the act was done on purpose. The adverbs " maliciously " and •- unlawfully " were essential in the description, of the offence, and could hot be omitted from the 'verdict. The jury then again retired, and after a short absence returned with a verdict of "Not Guilty." THIS DAY. , James Cook, who appeared jn the Picton prison dress, was brought up for sentence, in passing which. his Honor said : — Young iran, lam _<orry to see that; this is clearly n-tt the first offence of which you have been convicted, and it is now high time you were taught that foi- the future you must be more careful in your conduct. You are a young man, and an unusually ignorant and foolish one, as the whole circumstances of the case show ; it is quite dear that you are totally unfit" to take care of yourself, and it would be a mercy to you to sentence you to a long term of imprisonment, us you are good for nothing whatever but to wear thaf red shirt. It is a comfort to know that where I am about to send you, you will not be among any hardened 'Criminals, and that therefore you are not liEfely to be made any worse than you at present are. I cannot now give you a very long term, but mark this, if ever you appear bsfore me again in the same capacity that you now do, you shall be made a slave for half your life. 'I hink over this, and when you are doing the dirty work of a convicted felon in Picton gaol, remember the sermon I am now addressing to you, and try to make up your mind that when you are once more free, you will keep your hands from picking and stealing. The sentence of the Court is that you he imprisoned with hard labor for the term of three years. Is^ David Iferylerson Murdoch was charged with feloniously, maliciously and un'awfully assaulting Dennis Quinlan. Mr_\H. Adams appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Fell for the prisoner. Dennis Quinlan, gave evidence similar to that in the case against Firth, and went on to say that when he was rapping at the door he heard Murdoch say "let the wretch in and give him the contents of this." He saw Murdoch strike him with an axe handle, which inflicted a wound from which he had been suffering daily ever since, and for which he underwent medical treatment. Cross-examined : He did not break the door; it was broken from the inside. He went to see Warner after Kir'h's committal but did not threaten him if he .gave evidence against him. He had been convicted at Canvas Town of an assault for which he had served three months, and on another occasion for one month. Had been fined 18s. at Havelock for being drunk. : -- J. L Warner : The door was broken by Murdoch and Quinlan, Murdoch striking with the gun., This was long after the shot was fired. While talking with Murdoch, I saw him suddenly take up an axe handle and strike through the door at Quinlan. There was some blood and hair on the axe handle, and Murdoch' said 1 "-I think I have done execution now." I did not see Quinlan get any wound on the nose that eveni'njg. .After some time Quinlan was getting furious, and Murdoch got some boiling water : in a^ bowl and threw it through the door at him. Murdoch was repeatedly rushing at the door, and evidently enjoying the fun. Cross-examined : Firth admitted having fired the gun. George Brown : Murdoch asked if I would - lend a hand to tie Quinlan down. Quinlan was mad drunk. -I think that Firth, Murdoch, and Warner could have securtd him. Murdoch said to me when I was upstairs I gave him one there, and made him reel back, and putting his finder ou tbe muzzle of the gun rndshowing me how he had done it, said, " Fancy a man getting that in his, countenance." After the shot was fired, I heard Murdoch knocking the stock of the gun on the bar floor, and saying that he had another one ready for him. - Next morning I saw the broken gun lying outside hy the door. Murdoch said he wished the d d old thing had not heen so rotten, as otherwise he would have knocked.Quinlan^s brains out.. Dr. Weld remembered Qui^-an coming- to him on the 15th September, lie had a contused wound on the crown of the head, another on the bridge of tbe nose^ ahd a gunshot wound in the sidel The wound on the head was over the eye, and 1 must have been caused by some blunt instrument. It mipht have been done either with] an axe handle or gunstock. That on the nose was a circular wound, and was probably caused by the muzzle of the gun. The wound on the/bead'did not on the first day appear dangerous, but febrile symptoms set in, and the head began to swell. He then went to Picton hospital. Erysipelas is always to be feared from a ecalpwo"und. ;., . . , - Cross-examined :. The only danger to be anticipated from this wound was from erysipelas setting in. - This closed the casefor the; prosecution . Mr. Fell having opened the case forjthe defence called Horatio Nelson Firth,- who> stated;.- I .am the landlord of an Accommodation House at Canvas Town, wherei have been assisted by Murdoch, who is a married man with two children. I remember Quinlan coming to my house, on the 12th September, where he stayed until the night of the 14th. On the afternoon of that day he was partly drunk, but knew what he was

doing. As he was getting bad I refused to give him any more drink, until at last I said I would give him a nobbier to quiet him. . While I was pouring it out he snatched tbe bottle from me and helped himself to two glasses. Shortly after, I went outside the' house, and when I was there I saw Mrs Firth jumping outof the bedroom window and she ran up to me saying that Quinlan had threatened her. I went in and found him brandishing a pair of scales which he threw into the next room without seeming to care where they went. He then insisted on having more drink, which I refused, so he went info the kitchen and brought out an empty porter bottle. Seeing that he meant mischief I retired into the bedroom. Warner -went out and fetched Murdoch, who tried to get the bottle from Quinlan, but he said he would have drink, Murdock offered him some but he would not take it from him. He then smashed the bottle on the counter. I was afraid of him a?, I believe, if he had got hold of me he would have done me some injury. At tea time be was iri the kitchen where he was tearing his hair and dancing about until at last he kicked the kettles over and then bolted outside. On Warner's suggestion, we then closed and, barricaded the doors. Soon a fter Quinlan came back apd demanded entrance. I refused, and he commenced throwing stones, until at last the upper panel came in with a crash. Seeing that he was determined to come in I told him if he persisted I would defend myself. I had. a gun in my hand, and to show I was in earnest, I lowered the muzzle and fired, without,' however, any intention of hitting him, and I did not know that I had done so until hours after. Warner was sitting at the kitchen fireplace at this time, but did. not offer assistance; There ; was only one shoe fired the evening. After the shot was fired ! Quiftlan kept on hammering and smashing the door with stones, one of which weighed I4lbs Whilst this was going on, Murdoch was speaking to him through the door, and advising him to go home, when Quinlan said " You know David I have no down on you, why don't you let me^in ? " , Murdoch replied, '• It is not my house, and Mr Firth won't letyouinas he is frightened of you." They were talking in a friendly way when of a sudden Quinlan \ threw a stone with all his force at Murdock, which fortunately missed him. Murdocfc/then made a poke. at him with the muzzle of the gun and said " That's a cowardly dastardly trick." Murdoch never battered the door at all. It was svll done from outside. Had Quinlan come in that night, I am convinced damage i^ould have been done and , somebody mained if not killed. I don't think Murdoch, Warner, and myself could have secured him, as Warner, would have been of no service' as he was sitting the whole time by the kitchen fire in a most abject state of terror. I know nothing of Murdoch striking Quinlan with an axe handle, and he could not have done -it without my knowledge. I saw Warner after the first information laid awainst me, when he said he was very sorry he had to appear against me, but it was not his fault as his mates made him do so. Cross-examined: I had kept the accommodation house for .18 months. The diggers constantly called and were often rowdy when drunk. I never feared any of them but Quinlan, of whom when drunk I was always afraid. On the evening. in question, I fetched both guns out of my bedroom and gave one to Murdoch. I had loaded them on the previous afternoon, anticipating some disturbance from Quinlan. They were not loaded in Warner's presence, but in my bedroom when no one was near The only time Murdoch struck the door with his gun was when I he was making a poke at Quinlan. Later in the evening Murdoch struck h'm on the head with . the gun as he was trying to force his way in through the hole in the door. lie examined:. The only blows struck by Murdoch were the one on the head with the stock, ' and the poke with the muzzle of the gun, and it must be pure romance of Warner to talk about the bloody axe handle, and the remarks made by Murdoch. It is absolutely false that Warner saw me load the guns. While Quinlan was outside he threatened that if we did not let him in he would break in and do for some of us.

'*r' '"j__.ni ■ .ii-BfiViin i r. imt.—l_il.i.iTr.-M--rii>ii..i->ni—<iirrTi-wi n —' 'A. The Managers of the [Chinese Submarine Telegraph. Company have solved the somewhat difficult problem of how to transmit telegraph messages in Chinese. At first sight the difficulty of telegraphing in a language which is destitute of- an alphabet, and is made up of about 50,000 distinct characters, appears almost insurmountable ; but the obstacle has been overcome, and A-fat at Hong Kong encounters no more difficulty in communicating by telegraph with A-chum at Shanghai than does Brown with Jones under similar circumstances. The plan adopted is this:—Some few thousand of the more common Chinese characters are cut on wooden blocks after tbe mouuer of type, and ou the reverse eud of each is a number cut in the way. A-fat having handed in his message written in Chinese, the native clerk selects in order the corresponding blocks from the case, and prints off the numbers on the reverse. This he hands to his English colleague, who telegraphs tbe numbers to the destination required. Here the reverse pro"ceijs is gone through, and the numbers having beeu taken from the cases, the characters are--stamped on paper, and thus " A-chum is put in possession of the cherished wishes of A-fat, through the medium of his native language.

. * ■- .~ . . ■*,- .';* ■* - * . For&iven ess .-^-The 1 brave only know how to forgive. Cowards have done good "and kind actions—towards have even fought, nay, sometimes conquered ; but a coward never forgave. •> Greymouth. — We copy the following from the Grei/moth Star. — Probably the contrast' which will be perceivable between the neglected condition of the goldfields on the Nelson side of the Grey ; River, and that on the Westland side, .will he: the means of determining, in place of adding to : the Nelson Province, upon withdrawing that portion known as the \ ( So th-^West Goldfields and forming an entirely -new territory from the Karamea, or ••!< some such boundary line, on the north, to to Big Bay, or some given boundary ou the South. In such a case there might be some hope of Greymouth ultimately at- ■ -taining its proper position in respect to the new County, Province, or whatever else it might be named. A Pertinent Question. — The Greyi mouth Evening Star has the following : — A visitor to the port to-day put a pertinent question to one of our merchants when standing on the wharf, while obsering several thousand feet of timber' -measured and carted away. "How does it come," he asked, " that you are obliged to import timber from' Hokitika ?" The fact was before his eyes, that we are im- . porting timber from Hokitika and how it is. that, port can afford to pay freight and " compete with us here, is an anomaly we will leave some one better acquainted with the mysteries of the trade than ourselves to illustrate. -■':-' ■"____ *