ANECDOTE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume X, Issue 581, 18 November 1880, Page 1 (Supplement)

ANECDOTE OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.

When within two miles of Nyakoombura, h'urrjiiig on to avoid nightfall, and find shelter from a threatening storm of lightning and rain, Ave came suddenly on a pony, which had been sent on some hours in advance, standing over the lifeless body of my old horse-keeper, which lay stretched at full length on the back, and swimming in blood. The tempest commenced, and darkness closed on us as we were examining the locality of.the catastrophe. We compelled the unwilling attendants to convey the body to the rest-house; and there, after minutely' examining the ghastly corpse, we caused it to be interred. There was a mortal "wound • : —a stab—entering above and inside'the left collar-bone, and passing (as we found by ■ probing with 'a small cane) right down through the heart. The deceased was a very short man; and from the nature and position of the wound, my two friends andi myself, in the absence of all information,; formed an opinion that he had been wilfully.: murdered by means of a long and very sharp, instrument. The mouth of the pony had been rubbed with blood, and also its foot, and then pressed down upon the white jacket worn by the deceased, for the purpose of making it appear that the horse had bitten or kicked the unfortunate man. These circumstances, as well as the direction of the wound, showed design, not accident; and I was well aware thai; the pony was much attached to the deceased, who iisually slept in the stall beside him. For eight days no circumstance transpired that could throw any light on the subject of the supposed murder; but I then obtained proof that a confidential Lascoreen (court messenger), who had charge of ray baggage, and also the grass-cutter, had been seen very near, actually at the spot, proceeding, apparently amicably in company with the deceased, about the very .time;, when lys .death must '; have occurred. I had already taken the statements of this. Lascoreen .and the grass- ■[ cutter, which now turned-out to be false ; and numerous connecting links in the chain" of circumstantial evidence induced nic to commit them both for trial for the murder. Before they were sent off, the Lascoreen expressed a Avish to make a second statement ; and then detailed what afterwards proved to be the truth, although at the time it appeared.absurd and incredible.

The Lascoreen's statement was to this effect :—That, contrary to his orders, he had allowed the deceased to purchase some arrack as a present for his acquaintances in the neighbourhood of Nyakoombura, in which place ho had formerly lived as servant to the postholder. The arrack was carried in a longnecked French bottle, tied in a handkerchief and slung from his wrist : in passing a narrow part of the path, the bottle striking against a rock, was broken in such a manner, that all that remained was the bottom, still containing a little arrack, and attached to it a piece of the glass, like a spike, the whole height of the bottle. This spike had sharp edj;es, a sharp point, and altogether resembled a Malay crig. The deceased continued to lead the pony with the remains of the bottle still slung on his left ami, until ue. arrived where tliere was a hole or step in the road of nearly two feet deep, formed by water in the rainy season flowing ;iloug the path, and falling over the root of a tree. On this root the deceased stumbled, and .pitching head forem-st into the hole, fell on the spike of the bottle. He instantly pulled himself up, fell back, and expired. The Lascwreen proceeded—'Afraid and flurried, and recollecting that, contrary to your orders, I had allowed him to purchase arrack,. and that I might thus be blamed for: his death, I desired the.grass-cutter to deny all knowledge cf the manner of the deceased's death—to say that he was some distance before us, and that, on coming up, we found him dead. I then took the broken bottle and handkerchief, and threw them as far as 1 could into the jungle. After this 1 became sick, and faiuted; and it must have been at this time that the grass-cutter marked the pony's mouth, and placed the animal's hoof over the wound, and upon the jacket of the deceased. I had hardly recovered my recollection when the gentlemen came up.' At the time of hearing this statement, I was thirty miles from the place, but immediately despatched persons to examine the surrounding jungle ; arid these returned bringing the. long slender little weapon unbroken, though it had been thrown to a considerable distance. Ilain had fallen in torrents since the event occurred, yet the blood could still be traced in the curved side of the glass, which exactly corresponded to the cut made in the jacket of the deceased at the time he receive I his death-wound. In this case there were so many minor circumstances which bore strongly against the Lascoreen and grass-cutter, but which were all explained by the discovery of the handkerchief and glass dagger, that, had the latter not been found uninjured, (and its preservation may be considered "providential) the life of a valuable and long-tried servant would have beea iu the utmost jeopardy. So much importance did I attach to the conveyance of this extraordinary weapon, that 1 would not intrnst it to any one, and proceeded to Koudy, -where I personally delivered it to the judicial commissioner. After a careful examination of the case, the charge hitherto so strongly supported by a chain of evidence was abandoned, and the parties released. This adventure had a considerable effect on my after-conduct as a judge, and also on my opinion as regards the infliction of capital punishment in particular oases.