The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1880.

Temuka Leader, Issue 259, 20 April 1880, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1880.

So the notorious Butler, who was approhanded upon suspicion of being the murderer of Mr and Mrs Dewar, while asleep in "their house, in Cumberland street, Dunedin, has got off Few will be surprised at this; anyone reading the evidence taken before the R.M. must have come to the conclusion that, if no more evidence was forthcoming,the prisoner couhinotbo found guilty. On Saturday last, after a speech by the prisoner (who employed no solicitor to defend him), the Judgo summed up —' 'lt is in favor of prisoner,'' and the jury, after a short retirement, returned a verdict. Not Guilty. This is tl>o only term that can bo used whon the prisoner is not found Kuilty. Ln Scotland the law differ - from England in this respect, or did si till very lately. In a ca,st> such as Bu'Ut's, in Scotland, tho jury, if they had a conviction upon their mind

that ti.e prisoner had committed the crime, but that there ff.m not suffici"nt evidence, or rather if there was any shadow of a doubt, brought io a verdict, Not Proven. This verJict may ba considered by some as a diatincUon without a diiferenee, a» if not proven some may say we have no right U, 3ay the accuse<l is guilty. In reply to such, wo point to several cases of j fomns escaping justice, when the jury nre satisfied that the accused is guilty.bttt by some flaw in the law or in the indictment f ey to bring in a verdict in his favor, and so tho prisoner escapes, to sponge upon society, and without a blemish upon his character. Wo think, therefore, that the Scotch system of law is the best, a 3 the verdict Not Proven leaves tho impression upon the mind of the accused that ha ia condemned, and gives to tho public a verdict according to the evidence taken. This verdict plainly convoys tho impression that is guilty, but that a flaw in the evidence prevented the case being clearly made out. A verdict of Not Guilty conveys the impression to the accused, and also, to the mind of the public, that tho prisoner is an innocent ma.i The evidence against Butler is strong and presumptive, but nothing more. The address of the prisoner and the si aid attitude which he assumed from the very beginning of his trial, never once losing his presence of mind, or seeming to get the ler.st agitated or excited under the hearing of the most harrowing statements, would naturally lead one to think he is a.'i innocent man, or one of tho most hardened criminals on tho face of the earth. Had there been nothing known of Butler's previous history, the publicwould have almost universally exclaimed: •' The police have got hold of the wrong man." The absence of any motive is strong in his favor. It is Been that he in povert v and desirous of employin ):.'. ; he had ambition enough to behove himself possessed of ability to qualify him for an editor or sub editor of a newspaper, a situation which requireß a considerable amount of brains. He had pride enough to lead him to aim at a higher occupation than a.day laborer. He even had some acquaintance with the fine arts, and <:ould acquit himself in refined society. What then was the inducement to this crime, wo say ? 1/ the police had not disclosed his former history, and tho Inspector of Police not unwarrantably drawn out and made uso of statements made to him along wiih the substance of a former conversation, there would have been a flood of sympathy with Butler in his troubles, therefore wo say most advisably, that Inspector Mallard's, as well as Detective Bain's, conduct is most condemnable, and although the heniousness of the crime in question palliates the excuse, yet we must condemn it as a most dangerous precedent. Any policeman, in excuse for dereliction of duty might find it convenient to rake up, it maybe foundatipnless conversation, and by so doing prejudice a jury, or evon a Judge, and niako it go hard with even an innocent man. In tho case referred to, Butler is believed to bo the murderer. It is possible but not probable, that he is innocent, and as he most likely will get off in the other case of fire raising, as there is nothing but an opera glass to givo an account of, tho chances are ton to •. no that ho is again cast loose upon society. Under police snrvieillance,of course;Burveillance forsooth! What a sham and mockery! Here wo have the account of a private conversation between a detective and his protego, wherein the latter freely discloses his evil propensities, and these o so barbarous a nature as to make it plain to any one that the least temptation would lead him to the commission of the most horriblw crimes. "X et, what do we find ? That this detective could not tell where this notorious character, who was put under his charge, put in his time, either by night or by day. Now, this is a derelic tion of duty, which ought to be most severely punished. Were we the head of the Police Department we would have no second thoughts about summary dismissal of such an unfaithful servant. Dunedin Is disgracefully behind the times in its detective force, and Detective Bain is evidently not possessed of the requisite qualifications for a detective. If he had known his'duty right he would never have lot.this man out of his sight, or the sight of some one in his stoad, until ho was proved fast asleep. It is vory clear that if this public officer had faithfully discharged his duty he would have been able to detect him in the very act. Dunedin is now notorious for the crimes cammitted in if. Why should it be so ? A few policemon should bo abb to guard that little town, cut off as it is by one Btreet \ which runs along tho foot of the hills. The beat of any one policeman would be Buch ns that ho would not bo many minutes away from one place. Nevertheless, here is a murder committed within a few hundred yards off a main street, and no policeman knows anything about if. We do not even find that they took steps to find out the whereabouts of this notorious The -4§teclive business is a special one, and requires special qualifications, which the New Zealand detectives do not seem to possess. The case of the Octagon fire, so soon followed by the most brutal murder ever committed in the colony, calls loudly for greater vigilance on the part of those who have the charge of the people's lives. Anyone who has read the life of .a detective of the Home Country, or an account of the marvellously small clue to the crime some of them had at times, and those who have seen how skilfully they have brought homo the crime to the perpetrator thereof, must at once come to the conclusion that, in this department, New Zealand is very deficient. Something must be done at once, as crime is not likely to decrease. Various reasons can be given in support of this statement. The attention of tho other colonies is now directed to New Zealand, This has for ns disadvantages as well as advantages, and this leads into anothor track which will explain this. Every sporting man who takes an interest in tho turf, studies carefully the pedigree of the sire or dam of tho horse which he backs unreserved ly." And why? Simply because tiko producos like. To prove this theory one has only to read tho history of that grand horso, Traducer. Wo woro, some ton years back, offered this hoifo for Ll5O, but we did not consider it a bargain. Ah time woro on, however, his utock turned out to be m.-ulo of the right mettle, and soon after anything that had the Tmducer blood in it was sought after ; and why ] Because tho produce inherited the ixood points of tho wire. Now let us soe if there is not an good reason for believing that tho sumf< rule npplies to tho human race'. How ofteu do vw a*KJ the

s,>v; fuliow his father's footsteps ] If the hire is a miser,'so often is the son ;if the siro is a reckless gambler, so often is the Ron; if the sire is a man of loose habits and degrading pnKsions, bo often is the nan • if a thief, the son often fcllowß the ! example. Many instances- are on record of tho progeny having fearful struggles to resist the temptation to commit crimes which their parents were addicted to. History repeats many strange tales of the Rlips of even ladies who have inherited their parents' criminal propensities. So does history tell us of the origin and spread of the grosser crimes which decent people turn from. It may be asked by our readers^-"What has all this to do with the ease of Butler 1 Let us explain New Zealand is in close pr< xiicity to two countries, which our British Government, nt one time, converted into penal settlements.. New South Wales with its Botany Bay, sounded in everyone's ears as the depot for all the criminals, showed itself in the British Isle Van Diemans Land was another off-shoot for the name rubbsh. These two beautiful colonies have long ago ceased to be the receptacles of criminals, and mostly all the criminals havo left the world, and we would be gl»d to be able to say all crime from these countries with them ; but we fear it ia net so. Tho Bame strain of blood has been handed down from father to son, and from sonto grandson, hence the frequency of crime in these colonies, hence the progeny of bushrangers.robbers, and murderers. Like Traducer,the blood of tho siro flows in the vains of tho son. Now, it is well-known that many of the moat desperate criminals were landed on these shores, to propogate crime and criminals; Phrenologists and other scientists now confidently affirm that crime runs in the blood ; recent events confirm this opinion; doubtless education goes far to counteract the evil influences at work, but it is not always successful Take the case of Butler: ho is evidently a man with a very fair education and considerable ability and strength of mind, yet it is not sufficient to restrain him or onable him to resist the inward impelling force. We may, as in duty bound, sympathise with, and pity such as may have inherited wicked inclinations, but we fear it must be admitted as an axiom completely proved. Tiro rapid commu .ication between the differont centres of population in these colonies makes it easy for any one to come from a country which they must hate, to a now country, such as New Zealand, with a hope of buiying the past, and living a virtuous life. Indeed, Butler seoms to have had this deeire,andmorethan likely had many struggles with himself, but clearly allowed himself to be over-' borr.o. Tho influx of N. S- Wales and Tasmanian settlers to New Zealand may thus be tho cause of an increase of crime amongst us and calls foi greater vigilance on the part of our police, more to prevent crime than to discover the pepetrators, although this is necessary also. < In a future article we may review our police force and point out a fow instances where justice has been miscarried through their want of vigilenco and discernment. Since writing tho above, we have been Informed that an individual here states that ho was acquainted with Mrs Dowar from a child, and that she was married previously to anoihor man, who was not proved to be dead. If these are facts, there ia a possibility,.that tho first husband committed the murder ; thero is, at any rate, room for a motive.