HUMANITARIANIAM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 44, 11 February 1908, Page 3

HUMANITARIANIAM.

THE I'KISUN EsCAI'EE BEEUIiK Till* COL'KT. A UtaiT Tin' linal M-iMii. i„ th c •■(.• Bt -.n„. 1 ." c n|„. i-ily wii, (■iiiii-tcil vi'Stt-nl .y iitliTinwn.

I Joseph Thompson, the man who broke ' [ gaol tin Tuesday hml, and who was rei captured on Thur-dav m-ai- .Manaia. w.i. brought before tin- renin i„ an-wer !■> j the charge ol' hiving left his keeper* I During Ins Ili-lil. it nil! he remembered. I Thompson ciiinc across a -\laoii who hud evidently fallen ~,„„ hi.s hoi-e and was badly injur. ,1. .\t con-idrrabl,. risk ' to himself, and ceriainlv entailing eon • sid.-ruhlc delay, he «,■„{ i„ t| u . Vim^ ■• | -tore, and brought assistance. The ' j .Maori died. At tin- inquest the jnrv ■ i commended the escaped prisoner for id's 1 J action in furnishing assistance to the ' ! uonnded and dying native. Jlnviie. no desire for "theatricals." th c gaol authorities had thc prisoner presented before ■ thc Court at three o'clock, an hour win n ' Ih« precincts of the hall „f justice Ilr not likely to be thronged. The Stipendiary Magi-trate, ilr. 11. S. I'ilzhei herl. presided, mill thc information was laid by Mr. ilillington, gaoler. ! The ehargu was read to the prisoner. and he pleaded ■guilty." - His Worship, addressing tin- pri-oncr. remarked that this w .ia not his tir,t attempt to obtain his lilicrty before his sentence had expired, and said that under" ordinary circumstances he might to inflict severe punishment. Were it not tor something that he (ifr.*Fitzherbeit) would mention presently, he would be justified in giving the prisoner separate treatment in addition to fining liiisi nine or twelve months' work. "When in prison," lie said, "you must conform to the rules of the prison. Escaping or at* tempting to escipe from custody are looked upon as aggravated oll'enccs uir der the Prisons Act, and if offenders in this way arc not severely dealt with that fact may encourage others to try to escape, lint 1 have before me the rider of the jury at Saturday's inquest, and I intend to take cognisance of that rider. There is no doubt in my mind that one good and humane action overrides very many bad ones, and that action of yours in regard to the unfortunate native warrants mc in giving you a lighter punishment than 1 would otherwise have imposed. You were lleeing from justice, or rather from the gaol. You were being pursued just as hounds pursue a hare, and it was to your interest to place as much distance as possible between yourself and your pursuers. Nevertheless, you were humane enough to go out of your way to inform a settler of the accident, and you brought assistance s 0 that something could be done for the man that was lying there, injured. V consider that a very praiseworthy action on your part, and 1 think very few men would have done it- Under the circumstances 1 will order that you forfeit 35:2 marks, or as nearly as possible three months'. But 1 wish you to ivmlcrslaml that 1 am dealing lightly with you. and why I am doin" it. It must not be taken us a. precedent, and 1 would not adopt tins course except under the very exceptional circumstances. This must not bet taken as a precedent to encourage otheis to break gaol." . The prisoner was then returned to hw quarters on ilarsland Hill.

Chatting with a police ofheer, * "Xews" reporter gleaned that Thompson was in a very dangerous position when he stayed by the wounded man. In the first place, he was a fugitive from justice, a man hunted from road to road. In such a position it could iculily be believed that he might, become desperate and attempt to seize a horse. An escaped prisoner alone with a wounded land dying man! The countryside immediately jumped to conclusions that spoke but little for their sense of justice. Had the police not ordered an inquest and a post mortem examination, it is very probable that steps would have been taken to have the body exhumed and an inquest held later, with a view of connecting Thompson with iho accident in an unpleasant maimer. It was lucky for him that he did not borrow the Maori's hat or coat, or any other part of his clothing. Circumstantial evidence is a terrible thing. Connect the facts. An escaped prisoner in convict garb; a Maori on horseback, found dying by the roadside, wounded in the head: and the escaped prisoner found miles further away wearing some. of the wounded man's clothing! Hut that was not the aspect that influenced the Coroner. It was simply that tins man should have delayed so long in doing a humane action when he knew that any any moment a policeman might gallop along and apprehend him.