Newspapers / Hickory Democrat (Hickory, N.C.) / Nov. 15, 1888, edition 1 / Page 2
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2 'I HI." STOKf lit !,'* I* N f » »■' Tin; MV'STKRV -OF- A HANSOM CAE B\ P LR(»I S W . 111 ML. CHAPTER XlX— foutihus,!. He would first call Albert Dendy. a watchmaker, to prove that on Thursday night, at eight o clock in the evening, he had called at the prisoner - lodgings while the landla (l v w;t. out, and while they had put tli- kit hen clock right and had reo nhited the same. He would al-o O call Felix Kolleston, a friend of the nil- uiej to prove that the prison er was not in the habit of wc.iing rings, and fr quent'y expressed hiw detestation of such a custom. Se bastian I'rowu, a waiter at the Mel boui ne Club, would bv called to prove that on Thursday night a let ter was delivered to the prisoner at the Club by one* S irah RawlinN, and that the prisoner left the Club shortly before one o'clock on Friday morning. He would also call Sarah Rawlings, to prove that she had de livered a note to Sebastian Brown for the prisoner, at the Melbourne Club, ut a quarter to twelve on Thursday night, and that at a few minute s past one o'clock on Friday morning she had conducted the prisoner to a slum off Little Bourke Street, and that he was there be tween one and two on Friday morn ing, the hour at which the murder was alleged to have taken place. This being his defence to the charge brought against the prisoner, he would call Albert Dendy. Albert Dendy, duly sworn sta ted I am a watchmaker, and carry on business in Fitzroy. I remember Thursday, the *2(»th of July last. On the evening of that day I called at Powlett Street, Fast Melbourne, to see my aunt, who is the landlady of the prisoner. She was out at the time 1 called, and I waited in the kitchen till her return. I looked at the kit hen clock to see if it was too late to wait, and then at my watch. I found that the clock was ten minutes fast, upon which I put it light, and regulated it properly. Calton : At what time did you put it right ' Witness : About eight o'clock. Calt'Ui: Between that time ami two in the morning, was it possible for tiit clock to gain ten minutes 1 Witness: No, it was not possible. Calton : Would it gain at all ' Witness: Not between eight and twooc'ock the time'w is not lo: ' r enough. Calt' ii Did you s,,i \. ur aunt that i igl.t Witm-ss ; Y>s. I waitied till she cann in. CV.b n A 2. 1d: 1 you till her \v.: had \ .;t the clock right ' W ;t:n - - \ Idil i, t j f, . _ . alia? -tit. a . 1 1 !. \.i w;i- -ti . hi: hi tl-e n 11 11 i t w. - t • : UI i > !,4 -1 " ' - v. -. i- n - Ai: . i i: hi. .... PRESS AND CAROLINIAN, NOVEMBER 15. ined, Felix Rolleston was called, and 'lc-posed as follows : lam an intimate fiiend to the prisoner. I have known him for six rears. and I never ww him wearing a ring during 1 that time. He has fre|uentiy told me he did not care for ring?, and would never wear them. In cross-examination : Crown Prosecutor: You have never -'-en the prisoner wearing a diamond ring? Witness : No, never. Crown Prosecutor: Have you er er seen any such ring in his posses sion * * Witness: No, I have seen him buvin r i*ill-■ - fcr ladies, but I never v o o saw him with ai y ring such as a gentleman would wear Crown Prosecutor: Not even a -(no ling ' Witness: No, not even a seal ting. Sarah Rawlins was tlien placed in t tie witne.-s box. am!, after having been sworn, deposed— I know the prisoner. I delivered a letter addressed to him at the Melbourne Club, at a quarter to twelve o'clock >n thursdav. -Oth Ju ly. J did not know what his name was. He met me shortly after one at the. corner of Russell and Bourke Stre ts, where I had been told to wait for him. I took him to my grandmother's place, in a lane off Tiitlie Bourke Street. There was a dying woman there, who had sent for him. He went in and saw her tor about twenty minutes, and then I took him back to the corner of Bourke and Russell Streets. I beard the three-quarters strike shortly after I left him. Crown Prosecutor: You are quite certain that the prisoner was the man you met on that night ? Witness: Quite certin, 1 s'elp me C,— Crown Prosecutor: And he met you a few minutes past one o'clock ? Wituess: Yes. bout live minutes -I 'eard the clock a-strikin' one just afore he came down the street, and when I leaves 'im agin, it were about twenty-five to two, cause it took me ten minits to git *ome, and I eard the clock go three-quarters, just as 1 gets to the door. Crown Prosecutor: How do you know it wa- exactly twenty-five to two when you left him ? Witness: Cause I sawyr the clocks I left 'im at the corner of Russell Street, and comes down Bourke Street, so I could see the Post Orffice clock as plain as day, an when I gets into Swanton Street. I looks at the Town. All premiscus like, and see the same time there. Crown Prosecutor: And you never lost Mght of the prisoner the whole time Witn ess : No. there was only one door by the room, an I was a-sittin >ut>idc it. when lit- comes out he fa.ls o\ er me. i rown Prosecutor: Were vou l i-lt »p ' * ti.t n directed Sel-a-tuii. 1 >!'( wi; to be caLe 1, who lej -t 1 - I know the prisoner. He is a n.h-t ro: the M* .V> ■ irn« C. •• I an. a waiter. I it.....m! 1 - - l.»y. - , 'tL J,.!y. tj ; t! it - *• • -a-t w;ti,e>- c .nif w;tl. a •* t: r ! tl.-' ;: 1- r.t: It v -ui ' it to Mr. Fitzgerald. He left the Club at about ten minutes to one. This closed tbe evidence for the defence, and after tbe Crown Prose cutor I ad made bis speech, in which be pointed out tbe strong evidence against tbe prisoner. Calton arose to address tbe jury. He was a fine speaker, and made a splendid de fence. Not a single point escaped him. and that brilliant piece of ora tory is still remembered and spoken of admiringly in tbe purlieus of Tem ple Court and Chancery Lane. He began by giving a vivid de scription of tbe circumstances of tbe murder—of tbe meeting of tbe mur derer and bis victim in Collins Street East—the cab diiving down to St. Kilda- -the getting out of the cab of tbe murderer after eoinm tting tbe crime— and the way in which he had secured himself against pursuit. Having thus enchained the attention of tbe jury b\ the graphic manner in which he described the crime, he pointed out that the evidence brought forward by the prosecution was purely circumstantial, and that they had utterly failed to identify the man who entered tbe cab with the prisoner in dock. The supposition that the prisoner and the man in the light coat being one and tbe same O O person, rested solely upon the evi deuce of tlie cabman Royston, who although not intoxicated, was, judg ing from bis own statements, not in a fit state to distinguish between the man who hailed the cab and the man who got in. The crime was committed by means of chloroform : therefore if the prisoner was guilty he must have purchased the chloro form in some shop, or obtained it from some friends. At all events, the prosecution had not brought forward a single piece of evidence to show how and where the chloro form was obtained. With regard to the glove belonging to the murdered man found in the prisoner's pocket, he picked it up off tbe ground at the time when he first met Whyte, when the deceased was lying drunk near the Scotch Church. Certainly there was no evidence to show that the prisoner had picked it up before the deceased entered the cab; but, 011 tbe other hand, there was no evi dence to show that it had been picked up in the cab. It was far more likely that the glove, and especially a white glove, would be picked up under the light of the lamp near the Scotch Church, where it was easily noticeable, than in the darkness of a cab, where there was very little 100111. and where it w mid be quite dark, as the blinds were drawn down. The cabman Royston, swore positively that tbe man who got out of his cab on the St. Kilda Roe. 1 wore a diamond ring on tlie forefin ger of his right hand, and the cab o c man Rankin, swore to the same tiling about tie man who got out at Powlett Street. Again-t this coal i be placed the evidence of one of the prisoner's most intimate friends one who had • een him almost daily for the last live years, and he had /.vi :n positively that the prisoner never was in the habit q( wearing rings. The cabman Rankin had also sworn that t::e man wL > enter* 1 1..- . s . | • ] d P t: S-reet. V ■. MI 5 rm . .! *w. ■ V. 1. 1 *1! lay i:. ; nin». • showed plainly that he entered the honse five minutes previouslv. and her evidence was further supported by that of the watchmaker. Dendy. Mrs. Sampson saw tbe hand of her kitchen clock point to five minutes to two. and. thinking it was ten min utes slow, told the detective the 1 •' ... ' prisoner did not enter the house till' 1 . five luiuute- pa.-t tw . which would just giye the mau who alighted from the cab. presuming him to have been the prisoner, sufficient time to walk up to his lodgings. The evidence of the watchmaker. Dendy. however, showed clearly that he had put the clock r ght at the hour of eight on Thursday night ; that it was impos sible for it to gain ten minutes be fore two on Frid iv morning, and, therefore, the time, five minutes to ! two. seen bv the landladv was the - correct one, and the prisoner was in the house five minutes before the other man alighted from the cab in Powlett Street. These points in themselves were sufficient to show that the prisoner was innocent, but the evidence f the woman Rawlins must prove conclusively to the jurv ■ that the prisoner was not the man who committed the crime. The wit ness Brown had proved that the wo. ! man Rawlins had delivered a letter to him. which he gave to the prison er i er, and that the prisoner left the Club, personally, to, keep the ap pointment spoken of in the letter, or, rather, the remains of it. had I ' been put in evidence. The woman Rawlins swore that tbe prisoner met her at the corner of Russell and Rourke Streets, and had gone with ; her to one of the back slums, there to see the writer of the letter. She i . also proved that at the time of the committal of the crime the prisoner was still in the back slum, by the bed of the dving woman, and, there | * 0 being only one door to the room, could not possibly have left without the witness seeing him. The wo -1 man Rawlins further proved that >he left the prisoner at the corner of Bourke and Russell Streets at twentv-five minutes to two o'clock, 1 # which was five minutes before Roys ton drove his'cab up to the St. Kil da Police Station, with the dead body inside. Finally, the woman Rawlins proved her words by stat ing she saw both the Post Office and l Town ITall clocks; and supposing the prisoner started from the cor ner of Bourke and Russell Streets, as she savs he did, he would reach 1 East Melbourne in twenty minutes, which made it five minutes to two on Friday morning, the time at I * which, according to the landlady's i statement, he entered the house. All the evi b nee given 1 y the differ ent witnesses agreed completely, and form* 1 a chain which showed ! the who!" of the -prisoner'- move ments at the time of the committal of the murder. Therefore, it was absolutely imj o-.-ible that the mur der c »:! I have b> en committed bv the man in the !>ek. The -tlong est piece ' f e\; Ten e Lrou :.t f>r » o war 1 by the } 10-ecution was ti at of the witness Hableton. who swore that the j Ms- ne r u-ed threat-against the life of the .]♦ cea-ed B t th" language w k - m* re!v the outcome of 1 1 a--. :.at- I::-} nature, an 1 v.a .. 't-.... i» :.t pj pi ',ve tai ci m.e t hive !>♦ 1. commit t# 1 bv the ] ri-f \ Ihe . Ui. • wLith t:.e j :i- n- 1 ! -1 w t! it f;f il.i :. Mid ti •- defence proved conclusively that tl # prisoner could not, and did not, com mit the murdtr. Finally, Calton wound up bis elaborated and exhaus tive speech, which lasted for over two hours, by a brilliant peroration, calling upon the jury to ba>e their verdict upon the plain facts of tlio ' case, and if they did so they could hardly fail in bringing in a verdict of "Not guilty." When Calton >at down a subdued murmur of applause was heard, which was instant 1 } - suppressed, and the judge began to sum up, which tie did strongly in favor of Fitzger ald. The jurv then retired, Rod im mediately there was a dead silence * in the crowded court—an unnatural silence, such as must have fallen on the blood-Toving Roman populace . when they saw tie Christian martyrs kneeling on the hot yellow sands of the arena, and watched the long, lithe forms of lion and panther creeping stealthily towards their prey. Tie hour being late the o t is had been lighted, and there was a sickly glare through the wide hall, which added to the singularity of .. the scene. Fitzgerald had been taken out of the court on the retir ing of the jury, but the spectators stared steadily at the emptv dock, : which seemed to enchain them by some indescribable fascination. They conversed among themselves only in whispers, until even the whispering ceased, and nothing could be heard but the steady tick ing of the clock, and now and then the quick-drawn breath of some tim id onlooker. Suddenly a woman, whose nerves were overstrung, shrieked, and the ci v rang wierdly through the crowded hall. She was i taken out, and again there was si i 'ence, every eye being now fixed on the door through which the jury would re-issue with the verdict of life or death. The hands of the clock moved slowly round—a quar ter--a half--three quarters—and then the hour sounded with a silve rs- ring which startled evervone. i * Madge, sitting with her hands tight- O O O ly clasped together, began to fear that her highly-strung nerves would give way. "My God." she muttered softly to herself: "will this suspense never end t" Just then the door opened, and the jury re-entered. The prisoner was again placed in the dock, and i the judge again resumed his seat, this time with the black cap in his pocket, as everyone guessed. The usual formalities were gone through, and when the foreman of the jury stood up everv neck was craned forward, and every ear was on the alert to catch the tfords that fell from his lij s. * The prisoner flushed a little, ami then grew pale as deatl,. giving a quick nervous glance at the quiet figure in black, of which he could just catch a glimpse. Then came in the verdict, sharp ami ru-cisive, "Not CJuiltv On hearing this i cheer went up from e\ery one* m the court, .-o strong was tin- empathy with IVfiati. r ; y ntim*! n. i Mii)Ki"K NofheM Jr. tie c'ir~. ■ n.etime*. a rearing 1 izz;i g -our. 1 ar«- caused bv catanh , that • excec ungiN disagreeable an 1 - O V' ry couiiiiou h»ea*e Loss of smell or hearing a'-> result from catarrh. H' ' I S.ii'-aj tili..a. the great bio* ■! J »r.• * r. ap( j-iar!\ succe.-sful le.ne ly for ti..- l.sea.-e. which it ;.! e- I v ] iinfy: • g the }.>• i If ; -i -fltT :. ;»t.nih. ti v 11 -d S Vii- •* s. .... t i ;;.t iicine.
Hickory Democrat (Hickory, N.C.)
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Nov. 15, 1888, edition 1
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