LINCOLN SHEEP.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 818, 13 July 1881, Page 2

LINCOLN SHEEP.

"... » (To the Editor of the Daily.) Brancepetli, July 8,1881.,

Sik, —Thinldug the following extract of -a letter just received from Robert Wright, Esq., of Nocton Heath, Lincolnshire, England—a . breeder of Lincoln sUfebp who has gaiijed more prizes at shows in the Old Country than any other breeder living,-might he interesting to breeders of Lincolns amongst yournumeous readers, likewise judges at our next year's show at Carterton, where nothing was a Lincoln last yeai: unless, it earned a big top-knot on his head, I send you j;he''fqll(Hfii)g I "'The . sheep I: sent out to Messrs "iii 1874 were as pure Ijincolns as ever lor I'nijypr iise'd anything : 'else : nqir lijy tfatheii'Before' me, and that is oy@r geyepty ygavs qq tlid same plaoe, ■ As regards having topv knots, it is ridiculous talking about it p a distinguishing mark of a Lincoln ; several will show a bit more; or , less, in a Hock." . ( Homing our judges will show a'heltei' acquaintanceship with Lincoln-sheep, ■ I am, &c., Robert Cade.

SOMMING UP OF THE WBITEUW ,!J \OASB. - | N.Z. Times.) • mdresaed the jury for the defence,-""lie alluded to the grave r'epou* sibility whiohrestedupon, the defendant v 'pointing out that it was .his placebo use.: every'orae to .prdvent i the * of all lunatics committed.tochwgeJill^they^ M'lntoah'sescapeand recapture byj Constable Stewart, the forhier had effected ' hia escapd on a previous .occaaipn.-Then vieWfOf stopping future! attempts 'at* escape, placed M'lntosh in ; the .bath,l,his Ijobject maintain a-7'' better : discipline in;,-the -Jfuture. The defend ah t'a. actigiC; was Je<Jl j 7> a.n indiscreet 'pfob&bly ,ha|; Wh|fc;iw lawhad more"experietiCß, : Wot 1 have.doneiffh'at he'did'.iiiThSidfe'findantp.'i however, had suffered,fpr-his iudisoretjgn by being deprived' of! -his ißi'tuai^n,;lhd by being placed in;gaol &o, ;He hadMSen : the keeper of the ABylum for a period of ■ : fouryeara, and nothing; till'tKe matter bf pllicing M'ln toah: iii; ;the\bath;. Jiad. been • ■ ui'ged against him I'The affairs connected vitb the Asylum had caused great excitement in the public mind, nec'essitatitig thei Government ;takiuK. ofjSome kilid; but tlTe only thing could rake up against, the defendant ?as -the giving a shower-bath to M'lntosh,! althoijgli; tile .... State possessed everything in their favor as regards the use of the: most elaborate materials which were at their tlispcijkl.' ' offence was :not so very graye nftCT all, For years after it-occurred ( nothing . had beeiYsaid about 1 tlie niattwj' arid' for '' years M'lntosh had.: held ;his': peace, : and bad nsglected to take action - with a vie.\t "jtpi punishing the defendant, .but ,waa silent; and left the-matter to deveiope . itself by the inquiry before the Commission some, time ; since. ■ It should. borne in mind that the occurrence was witnessed by men who were how officers of justice, who did not deem the action o£ h Whitelaw gross enough to call for their. , : in terfoi'erice. Constable Stewart knew of " what was going on, yet-he did not report the matter to his "superiors. : The whole affair had: been : unduly extggerated'and' ''' ' too| much importance; had been attached ' : to the (natter. The account given ..by. De f ( Norvillei was preposterous and improbable. The evidence of the-witness 'Mhnniii'g ■! was incorrect, fur the records of the > ,: - Asylum showed distinctly that he was ribt; in:.the Asylum at-the time of the . alleged assault. His story pointed to the| existance of animus towards the . defendant, A mail ; of his character was not fit to hold a position in the police force .and he left him'to bo dealt with' 1 by his f / officers. Then, a«am,-the witnesses were : ' enable to fix the time with any degree of, certainty. Cook told them the man was in the bath for four minutes, while the other witnesses stated, the time as being > longer. Supposing Cook's statement to . be the correct one,, only some 15. gallons . . could have gone over him which would not have had a refrigerating effect upon the :; inpatient. The versions given of the affair -f /. hadibeen grossly exaggerated, .but even taking the accounts into consideration,.lt did not appear that Mcintosh had suffered either in his mental or his physical health from the bath. No malice had been Bhown on the defendant's part, and he had aoted as he had done meroly ti) maintain discipline. He left the case confidently in their hands, believing as lie,did that they would exonerate his client, ,who had, even if the Worst construction were placad jp upon his actions, been only guilty of anWB undue exercise of authority. W Mr Izard briefly replied, and after re. viewing the evidence piost " carefully, he; submitted that the jury' possessed sufficient grounds to convict the accused,-The , > mere fact that Dr France had stated that / Mclnloah hud not complained to him of the treatment lie had, ; received from Whitelaw when he visited him the morning after the bath, should go for nothing, The man might have complained, ai.d, thinking it the mere babbling of a lunatic, the matter might have been passed over by the .medical uttendant. This, however, was a matter of small moment, and the jury, in arriving at a decision, should be entirely guided by the evidence of those persons who had witnessed the occurrence; and upon this evidence they , should either convict or discharge the de- , fendaut, , . . . ; His Honor summed up. It was their duty to say whether the assault had been , or had not been committed, for with the question of the relative gravity of the offende they lnid nothing to do. Oh the first :uid second counts, the points raised by the counsel foV -tjio defence— vijs.'T that the Asyluiuh'ad nyt*benn proplajpiefl an Asylum under the Act—were exceed: ■ ingly grave,, and were, in his opinion,, fatal. Tljere remained, however, the third count--tliat of common assault, and 1 it wasjor them to say whether the i allego'd assault had been,committed, If. ! the, bath had been given through the - exorcise of .an authority not warranted by the mere act of having escaped frbm the . Asylum, it would be their duty to find a verdict nf guilty. The evidence of the witness Cuok fixed the duration of tho time M'lntosh'waH in the bath at five or six minutes. This-was the-minimum* time stated by' the' witnesses; and this' . should bo considered in conjunction with, ■ ' tho medical evidence; und it would then' be for; them to decide if the; duration of the shower-bath, taking into considera- r . tion the fact that the patient ■ come off a tiring journey, was or was not excessive. -Eveh 'if no' malice word shown; but merely au excesß of authority it woulji be' for them to x find a'verdicl of guilty 1 on 'tile'thtifl. iSouhf. Their 'jiuti was a very simple one, find ponsislpjl merely of deciding whether a common assault had been committed,and if it had, ■ , had the assault been an excessive act of authority or not. : v