A PLEA OF INSANITY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 16 April 1907, Page 4

A PLEA OF INSANITY.

A WEST COAST MURDER CASE. V "H.R.R." writes to the Wellington 'Evening Post" : — The extraordinary developments in he sensatinonal Thaw trial at New fork reminded one of events which ook place on the West Coast of the South Island a great many years ago — ivents showing, however, that New Zealand procedure in at least one such :ase was more sensible than the wild md erratic methods adopted in the 3ity of Amazing Surprises. It was somewhere towards the midHe of the eighties that a miner, takng a stroll from his hut on a Sunlav morning, enjoying the note of the ■ jefl bird— the only Sabbath sound to i je heard in those parts — came upon the . lead body of a well known resident of the gully, lying across tho narrow ?oldfields track which led from the township to the gold workings. There | kpi'o no evidences of a struggle, but She back of the murdered man was found to be covered with many stabs, inflicted, as was afterwards ascertained, by a butcher's knife: He was one of three brothers named Gifford working in the gully, and the discovery cf the murder caused intense grief in camp in all the vicinity ,the Giffords being universally liked. Gilford, the victim, had called at a butcher's shop on his Way homo up the track, and had purchased some meat. Not long afterwards another resident of the gully had also called and purchased meat at the same butcher's shop, and subsequently a butcheVs knife was missed by the butcher. The name of the. second man was Donohue. He (Doflohue) had secretly taken the kaife away along with the meat, followed Gifford up the track, and struck him many times through the bScls with the deadly weapon. j As no motive for the crime present- j c"d .Itself, the police, for a time, were undecided and inactive. But public opinion has often a curious and unerring instinct in such cases— created, too, frequently by women. It became so strong and decided that the police without a trace of evidence — arrested Donohue., about whom nothing was known except that he was a reserved, sullen, industrious man^ who had lived in peace and quietness Hi tile little coni'munity for a considerable time. I As time advanced public feeling be-. ' came intense ; it became quite excited and indignant when a rumour spread ' around, on the morning of the trial, that the defence was to be a plea of | insanity. Up to the moment of his 1 arrest tho prisoner had been regarded !as a .more tliaii usually sensible man, 1 and the very idea of madness in his case had never occurred to ilnybody. However, the rumour proved to be c6rrect, and the iudge was so informed. ''Very well" said he; then the first thing to do is. to settle that point." He directed that ail ordinary jury should hear evidence as to the mental condition of the prisoner, and return a verdict as to his sanity or insanity. All these twelve jurymen happened to be miners, and a more striking or intelligent jury never was empanelled. In those days miner? were real men, thinking men, reading men, well-in-formed men. They heard the very conflicting evidence adduced.. All the official testimony— the evidence of medical men, of the gaoler, and of some of the warders — Went to show that the piisoner was mad. On tho other hand, the evidence of those people who knew the prisoner well and long — storekeepers, mates, neighbours, and so forth — went entirely towards proving that the accused was quite responsible for his actions. This conflict of opinion