SUPREME COURT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1578, 9 January 1884, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

THE OARTBETO^STiBBINtfOASE, (From the NiZ.Timesj, The first case tried.was that of Alex* ander Anderson, charged with stabbing with intent to hill Mary White) .9 woman | with whom he cohabited, at Carterton, The prisoner pleaded not guilty.' MrE, Shaw conducted the defenoe, The evidence showed that on the 12th December i the prisoner was striking the woman in [the street at Cartertop, where they had Iwen drinking together all day, and when Bhe- took refuge in a Bhop he followed, and said he would kill her.before they got home,' 'He lookout a pookefc knife and began sharpening it, continuing to oall her foul names. James ■•Petersj:: shoemaker, and William Greeks, laborer; heard him say he would cut her throat, She started homeward, the prisoner and their child following. A short distance outside the town the prisoner seized her,.with one hand and stabbed her in the neok, saying: :'lf yoa like anyone better thanme, take; this," She cried out, and Henry Edwards, farmer, who saw them strangling, ran to her, and tied up her bleeding neok, The prisoner told him not to mind, as she did it. herself; and the prisoner then tore up. her hat and left her" thore bleeding,-re-marking "You will not have the pleasure of weating.thia again." Dr Smith stitched up the wound, which consisted of two stab 3, probably made with a pooket knife and - close. to: the carotid, arterv. The wound was dangerous, andjif the artery had been out she would has'ej.been,-, dead in five minutes,' The pariieifhad'been oohabiting five years, and she said he was always kind to'her till he beoamo became jealous of a man named Mick. ".'■■'■'.'.' I

, Mr Bell, prosecuting counsel, told the jury it could be no excuse or mitigation to plead that tho prisoner was drunk when ho slabbed a helpless woman.-.- If so, a man who meditated a crime had only to • make'himself half drunk, and, then ho would be exoused, as not being responsible for his action,', M» Shaw, for the defence,' contended that the wounds were inflicted in a drunken passion, and not deliberately. The prisoner's mind being inflamed with drink and jealousy, could he he sensible of what he was doing ? Would he have deliberately choßen a public street,' with a witness on horseback only a few yards away, if he. really.intended to take tho woman's life? The learned'counsel quoted cases to support his contention that the prisoner could be guilty ; only of the minor offence of attempting to commit grievous bodily harm, and not of an attempt to kill. His Honor summed up, directing the the jury that they might find the prisoner guilty of Blabbing with intent to murder or of wounding with intent to do grevious bodily harm. This was evidently a crime of passion, an outrageous act of violence which the man took little oare to conceal, Drunkenness was no excuse for crime oi any degree. It was of the greatest public importance .that a man shouldnot.byintoxicatinghimselfjputhimself in a position to excuse any criminal act he might do. In this case they had to consider that a deadly weapon was used deliberately, and that he struck the woman in a part where a wound would be likely to prove fatal, As to provocation reduoing the enormity of the .crime the man's suspicions of the woman's -unfaithfulness and his protracted quarrelling with her could not be such provocation as tho law could; take notice of, Provocation did in some cases reduoe the orime of murder to one of manslaughter, but this was not such a case of provoca* tion. ' The jury then considered their verdict, and after an hour's deliberation they returned into Court with a vordict of guilty of intent to kill,' but not with deliberate malice, His Honor—That will bo a verdict- on the second count. Foreman-We took it that ho intended to commit murder, but that he did not do it with malice aforethought. _ His Hgnor—lf you are satisfied that he intended to kill the woman, although he conoeived that intention at the moment, yon have properly convicted him on the second count, Foreman-'-Yes, that was our view, The prisoner, was then ordered to be removed, for sentence to be pronounced next raornin?, and' the jury were being dismissed, when the foreman asked, apparently as an afterthought, what majority of tho jury was necessary for a verdict. His Honor: Oh, if you were not all agreed, the vordict oaiinofc bo received. Bring baok the prisoner. Now, gentlemen, you will have to retire again until you are absolutely unanimous. Let mo again explain that malace' aforethought means, in law, the intention to do a certain thing. Tou may be satisfied that ' in doing which he did, he had an intention to kill, or to do'serums harm, and ,it ddea not matter how long ; he. nourished that intention, nor whether he conceived it on the instant, lam sorry that legal phraseology raises these difficulties, and it is a pity that the word." malice" and other legal terms are not used in law in their natural sense as understood in Bommon life, Lawyers understood the w6rd " malice" in its old legal sense as used in the indictments, •The jury again retired to consider their ' verdict, and were supplied with refreshments to appease their hunger, at three p.m. At 5,30 they 'returned for further advice. Foreman—Some of the jurors object to— His Honor—l cannot near the particu* lar difficulties, but I may put the matter again to you in this way: Did he mean to stab the woman, I won't say kill her, but hurt her ? Then, if you agree that he did mean to stab, it will be no excuse to say he would not in his sober senses have meant to do it. A man is not alfqwed to inflame his passionsly drink, and then set up that as an excuse for crime. Foreraan-WV would like advice as to wounding without intent to kill, His Honor—The indictment charges, in two counts, a murderous intent, and there is a third count that he. meant to do harm less than murder. Intoxication, is an excuse whon it absolutely blinds the senses, but is no excuse for inflaming the passions, The jury retired once more, and in five minutes returned with a unanimous verdict of guilty of stabbing with intent to do grievous bodily harm, in accordance with the third count. . : Hia Honor sentenced the prisoner to three years'penal servitude, Alter several years' experience in stippiying watches for: the colonial market,'Littlejohn and Son, of Lambton Quay, Welliiigton, have observed the need for a thoroughly Bound English Lever-Watch at a lower-price than that usually paid for suoh watches; It is only bj the judicious division of labor and by the manufacture of large quantities on a uniform plan, that we are enabled to meet this want 'We have now the pleasure of introducing our Six Guinea Hunting Silver Lever, This watch, being'simple in design, 'durable, highly finished, and aocurate, fulfils all the requirements of a pocket timekeeper, :A written guarantee for two years will be given with; eaeh; watch,. ; Sent, by post, securely packed, : .on- receipt of Post Office' iorder,os cheque.'—(Ajdvt) i.; " Bucnn-PAKA'/'-Quiok," complete cure, all annoying Kidney, Bladder, and Urinary, Diseases.. Drnggiatu. Moses, Moss & Qq,,' Sydney, Genersßgents,"