FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22,188&.

Otago Witness, Issue 1822, 22 October 1886, Page 21

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 188&.

There can be no two opinions as to the justice of the verdict of the jury against Thomas Hall and in favour of Margaret Houston. Unfortunately, the method of procedure established so strong a prejudice against both defendants before the case came up for trial before the Supreme Court that the rider exonerating Miss Houston from all taint oi suspicion is likely to be received with some hesitation by many persons who have not studied the evidence carefully: To such we would point out the weight attaching to the jury only having been seven minutes in returning their verdict and yet having found time to go out of their way to attach such a rider. This clearly shows that they were overwhelmingly convinced of her , absolute innocence, and unanimous in deeming this reparation due to her. If we start with the theory of her guilt, it is easy enough to find suspicious circumstances to fit in ; but there is not one of those circumstances which cannot be more probably explained upon the theory of her innocence, and the general surroundings fairly establish that innocence. Above all, there is the absence ,of adequate motive for so inhuman a crime, its inconsistency with the strong testimony to the excellence of her character, the probability that Hall planned the crime before he was acquainted with Miss Houston, and the utterly needless danger he would incur by having an accomplice. The thorough recogni-

tion. o£ her absolute innocence is so important to this lady that we wish we could spare space to go into the details of the suspicious circumstances against her; but they are more ably dealt with by the presiding Judge in his summing-up than we could deal with them ; and we would recommend a careful perusal of this portion of the summing-up to anybody who is at all inclined to question the " rider "to the verdict in Miss Houston's favour, and to construe " Not guilty " into " Not proven." It is to be hoped that the sentence of penal servitude for life will be carried out literally in Hall's case. If ever a man deserved the gallows he does. Rarely do we hear of a murder, as Mr Justice Johnston pointed out, attended with such a depth of moral guilt. A man of his stamp has no incentives to misconduct and every motive for good behaviour in prison ; nor is prison life likely to have any reformatory effect upon him. Society would not be safe with him loose ; he is a beast nf prey. When we consider that in all probability he married his wife for the purpose of poisoning her, certainly with some notion of doing so; that he went about his diabolical task with the utmost deliberation and no little cunning ; above all, when we remember the agonies which he saw his wife undergoing almost daily and the hypocrisy which he must continually have exercised, we must class him as one of the moss cruel and pitiless wretches that ever disgraced humanity. His education and social position aggravate his guilt ; he was brought up under every influence which could tend to soften his sensibilities and make him appreciate the full blackness of his crime. We regret to hear a great deal of foolish talk to the effect that he is a "moral idiot." Let this one reflection, taken from Sir James Fitzjones Stephen's comments upon the notorious Palmer case, suffice to dismiss this dangerous fallacy : — "I am tempted to make one other observation on Palmer's case. His career supplied one of the proofs of a fact which many kind-hearted people seem to doubt — namely, the fact that such a thing as atrocious wickedness is consistent with good education, perfect sanity, and everything, in a word, which deprives men of all excuse for crime. Palmer was respectably brought up; apart from his extravagance and vice, he might have lived comfortably enough. He was a model of physical health and strength, and was courageous, determined, and energetic. No one ever suggested that there was even a disposition towards madness m him ; yet he was as cruel, as treacherous, as greedy of money and pleasure, as brutally hardhearted and sensual a wretch as it is possible even to imagine. If he had been the lowest and most ignorant ruffian that ever sprang from a long line of criminal ancestors he could not have been worse than he was. He was by no means unlike Rush, Thurtell, and many other persons whom I have known. The fact that the world contains an appreciable number of wretches who ought to be exterminated without mercy when an opportunity occurs is not quite so generally understood as it ought to be, and many common ways of thinking and feeling virtually deny it." Every word of the above applies as well to Hall as to Palmer, and the wise reflections of the learned English judge are more to the point than any moralising we might be inclined to indulge in. It only remains to make a few comments on the circumstances of the most remarkable trial there has been in the [Oolony since the Jarvey poisoning case in 1864. The first must be one of unstinted praise of the acumen and courage shown by Dr Macintyre, to which Mrs Hall owes her life. The responsibility which he took upon himself was enormous, and it was eventually proved that he was mistakea in believing Miss Houston to be an accomplice ; but it was a not unnatural belief under the circumstances, and he took his steps with as much care as discrimination. The prejudice created against both prisoners was, as we have pointed out above, due to the operation of our criminal procedure ; but whether this fault is -overbalanced by its merits in comparison with the Scottish system we will not here argue. Certainly it has in this case done a grievous wrong to Miss Houston which no " rider ". can completely, or any-

thing like completely! repair. But it should be found out with whom the blame lies for the reports which have been published about antimony being found in Captain Cain's body — reports which we venture to think our contemporaries would have exercised a wiser discretion in not publishing, however excellent their authority. Coming to the actual proceedings at the trial, we are glad to note that with the exception of some foolish jocularity of Professor Black they were in every respect suitable to the gravity of the occasion. Sir Robert Stout conducted the case for the Crown with a fairness which adds to the laurels he has gained by oratory on other occasions. Mr Joynt appears to have made the best of a case which was throughout hopeless ; and it is pleasing to find on-3 of the ablest of our young New Zealanders winning his spurs by a defence which was so acute and discreet as that of Mr Hay, of whom more will certainly be heard. It would be impertinent for us to praise the manner in which Mr Justice Johnston conducted the trial ; but we doubt whether anything more solemn and more impressive, more justly severe and better calculated to uphold the majesty of the law than his charge to the prisoner Hall in passing sentence upon him has ever been heard within the walls of our courts. We fear that sensational trials of this kind are apt to have a demoralising effect upon the public; but if anything can make people feel that the Hall poisoning case has not been merely a " nine days' wonder," but a grave calamity, deeply to be regretted and bringing grievous sorrow upon many persons highly and worthily respected in the community, it will be the Judge's charge.