THE SCOTT MURDER CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 90, 18 April 1893, Page 5

THE SCOTT MURDER CASE.

(From the "Lyttelton* Times," April 13th.)

The Waikomiti conviction will give the police a certain amounb of satisfaction. They have during the lasb year or two made a remarkably bad record. They opened the period with the Chemis case, which they bungled so badly that the Executive did not consider ib right to advise the Governor to carry out the sentence of fche Court. Then there was the Lora Gorge tragedy, which is passing into oblivion without the discovery of any clue as to the murderer. The Pahiatua mystery remains a mystery still, and the Ekefcshuna murderer, whoever he may be, haa slipped through the hands of justice. The second Pahiatua mystery, the disappearance of Jacobsen, has jusb gone out of sight behind the curtain of a magisterial decision that no prima facie case has been established. These failures of the police show that ib is possible for many things to happen in New Zealand. A large number of people may be poisoned at a social gathering, and two of them may die without any kind of explanation as to how the thing happened. A man riding home may be Bhob dead near hie own door, and no sign may be found to convict his murderer. A labourer can be stabbed to death without anyone suffering any sort of penalty for the act. A bush-feller may disappear under highly suspicious circumstances, and no one obtain any information about his fate. These are uncomfortable reflections, with a very uncomfortable vista of suggestions. The Waikomiti conviction has come with a timely warning to the evil-disposed, who refrain from becoming evil-doers only because tbey fear punishment.

It was gruesome tragedy, devoid of a single extenuating circumstance. A settler named Thompson lived with his young wife, at Waikomiti, on his farm of forty acres. He was a hard-working, healthy, robust man, contented with his lot. Two years ago a young man named Scott came into the life of the Waikomiti household. About the middle of lasb year the robusb, hard-working [husband began fco have strange attacks of illnees. Iv September the attacks gob worse, in October bhey became very critical, and ultimately the man died. Scott, the last person to see him alive, gave out that he had committed suicide while in a despondent mood. The usual inquest was held, and the whole ghastly story came out. Scott had the sole charge ot Thompson during his last illneßß, living in the house, cooking the food, administering the medicines of hia own prescribing and resisting all suggestions to send for medical assistance. He bought poisons from various chemists in fictitious names. The neighbours saw bim at his work of devoted attendance upon his friend, but for some reason they thought it uncanny. Knowing the relations between the guest and the wife they had their suspicions. One of them wont so far as to hint to tho husband thab he was beine poisoned, and others recommended that a doctor should be called in ; but the murderer was lefb undisturbed. On the fatal night Scott galloped off to fche prescribing doctor, who hud never seen the patient, and told a tale of attempted suicide and mental worry, assuring him that ho had left his pafciono alive. The doctor wrnt with Scott to. Waikomiti, and found Thompson dead. It was not, according to the murderer's reporb, four hours since he was lefa alive, and yeb the body was stone cold. The neighbours aroused by Scotb made the same discovery two hours Sooner. Suspicion fell on Scotb. Strychnine was found in the body, and it was proved thab strychnine caused the death. The chain waa soon complete. The motive, the poison bought in false names, the poison in the body, the opportunities of the long attendance alone, all made up the story of one of tha most fiendish murders of our time.

There is a petition for the commutation of the prisoner's sonfcence. There always is in these cases. One ground, we observe,! which has been urged in some of the newspapers is that bhe presiding Judge unduly ; hampered the defence. The full reports of the trials—there were two—do not bear out this statement) in any way. Mr Justice Conolly, they show us, interfered frequently, and apparently tartly, with counsel on both Bides. The conduct of each side was protracted, and the' learned Judge was impartially impatient with them both. Bub though impatient, and demonstratively so—and, we may add, rightly so—he took care that neither side should have fco complain of the omission of the smallest shadow of the mosb immaterial point. The friends of the convicted man have nothing whatever to expect from any representations as to the behaviour of the Judge. Neither have they anything to hope for in the facts of the case; fche facts are Bet against tho convict hard and immovable as a wall. The chief reliance appears to be upon the mental condition of the murderer. No one afc the trial, excopt tho uncle of the murderer, deposed to having seen anything remarkable in Scotb'« manner or his actions ab Waikomiti. It certainly Beems quite an idiotic proceeding for a man who is wibhoub a cenb in bho world to murder another man in order to saddle himself with the burden of a wife. But if this is the only evidence of insanity it is, wo think, .hardly likely to be effective. The Executive will have to consider that and other similar points. It ought nob, however, to be difficult to decide as bo tho convict's position on one side or other of the line which divides conscious responsibility from unconscious irresponsibility. The Executive bas-a grave, mosb important, but not necessarily a difficult task to perform. The difficulty depends, of course, upon the facts which the defence can bring forward. The police havo completed their parb of fche terrible business, and they will, we repeat, derive a certain amounb of satisfaction from the result.