CHARLES STRAKER'S SENTENCE.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 226, 20 December 1859, Page 2

CHARLES STRAKER'S SENTENCE.

' (JProm^ the Wellington Spectator,\ Dumber 1,4.) ■ NpWitbatfthe excit«)iien]b/|copßeqafenlt?;Updi|ilthp trialan.d.condemßatjon of the.^rakers Mi /in. some degree subsided, we ;"a'dyfej«t- to the^ cony .sideration of the painfal pbsiticin in whibli the verdiot of, the Jiiryi __ A calm and utfprejudiced reperiisal -of; tlie evidence leaves .the same impression on the mind as at tile first; that the Jury discharged^ their duty conscientiously, in strict xiccSYdancef tyith1 the proofs brought before them '; amf^thartlie1 s^u^enpa of £he Court, altbpugh severe, • ??a.s'_ no Qthjar: 'than under the pircum stances set forth could haive been" pxpi&e'teJ :'— a g7 e ~^ Aj-uuo had been committed,' and justice demanded" a hea^y penalty ?-»ilie_extension_of mercy proceeds from a higher quarter, and can only be looked for on -the intercession of the pivsuling Judge. Leaving the po'nts of law •nit of the (juestpu, Ayl^ich may, or may uofc, liohl good, wemustjf we stay the extreme sentence of the law being carried into effect, if we would save the criminal fiom a;j ignominious doom,-so far consider ihe evidence • >f the seveial witnesses as to shew from its one Mtled character, that there may at least .be a dquht whether a cprabiuation for evil has not elated; this^bavingheeu d,oqe, wbethw sq^e

j~.,.-. r --- :> .-..■- „. facts which were not brought .under the cognizance of the C/urt wsii<tn<tt liave operated to pale the stain of guilt Which at present « attaches to. the prisoner; but while syny.« pathizing with him in his fallen .state, we mu3t still keep withiu,view ~tbe-sufferings of th»«dead boy, and imagine iroV'Vcutely" e.ich ofV'ui;,*'* would'feel were rife same fate to befaP^one^s •' allied to ourselves. We must not forgetj^oe^ sides, Ijow prove the "mmd ia to-receive exaggerated statements under such, >, exojting . .*' , c circumstances. If we can assure ourselves, that- -' "apy doubt exists of premeditated murder, Jet1 us " unite as one man to endeavour to-avert-the ' ' awful sentence passed on Charles Straker. •* '' ' Coarse, brutal expressions, let Jt be remarked, are common-.with seafaring men of ]a certain . .. class, with those reared in.-such schools as the;. Stcakers*are 'reported to' h*ve jXfoktu th"ey^te-: /•"• Come habituated to a peculiarly repulsive style of language, and use it, not from' any intention to.«arry,out the threats which if frequently.. ' ' implies, but from a loose notion thaVit adds, weight to their authority. , So may .it Jiave \r . been with Charles Staaker. •• • .> " p In reviewing the evidence, we- have been f forcibly, struck' with,:the, absence "of any attempt v Iby the Counsel for the. .defence to elicit any- .'* thing which' could tend to shew the kind of • treatment which the boy Muir met with at the hands of the Crew ;—whether on >any occasion he l|ad been struck, or received any rough usage from them,'which might have gradually had-the effect of'incapacitatiug him from performing his duties? 'The Snaresbrook. left - * England on tha 29th May, and according to - the evidence of the witness Wilson', in speaking, of the general treatment Muir reoeived from • , the Master and Mate up to the Ist July, we gather, that in his opinion it was harsh, that '• they were stricter with him, than 'with the other apprentices, but no more.- On .the cross . examination of the passenger, George Frederick > Harris, he distinctly- states that Muir told him that he should ask the Captain to put l k him into, the long-boat on . account of' the , ■persecution he underwent in the half-deck. Is * J;here not, therefore here some grounds ■, for supposing that: the ill treatment which he met from the crew .and his fellow ap-. '*' prentices, from which he was so anxious -to-be ' - freed, might in its course Haye laid, the 1 founda- ~« tion of disease, which, acting probably on a-weak constitution, hadsrendered Jum inactive i and careless in his habits, eventually, bringing ■ down the displeasure of the Captain fchdTMate, < >- unconscious as they may have been of the possible cause of his inability to move, about with, his usual alacrity, and consequently assuming it ~ to be laziness? , Moreover we.have ( itfcom,the " witness, George Bell, the.cook of'the vessel, (the only one of the crew who appears to have , • shown the boy any compassion) who, states, ~ that tfif Muir did not leave,the 'half-djck, lie would, as he did not like to'see the .ill-usage i Waters subjected him to;",. Now where.wds the - boy Watei'3 on the trial, who, after all, may . have been the primary cause'of the ill-usage \ ."„ alluded to, of the fatal accident which. occurred '- * on the inclement night of the Ist July, -when- " Muir was ordered aloft to loose the mi'zen-peak?' -" . What evidence has been L brought, forward to . show that his then state of health was ,such as . to enable him to perform that duty,with safety? £". He fell" from the gaff, a height-of 35 feet,' acci- ' * dentally, it must be presumed ; and from the injuries which he then received., there is every . .' _ i probability that death was ultimately the conse- .- quence, but whether hastened rby tfa unfeeling treatment of the Mate, the Jury have - already decided.1 " The. "-conduct •of Charles' Straker towards the'boy was unquestionably brutal iriHHe extreme} but there'is no direct. , proof that this harshness was the cause of death;.. - there is no evidence that he conspired, to de; - - prive' the lad of his life ;—=-nothing reliable ; which would connect his behaviour with a' desire to get rid of him. After the accident, he j exercised the greatest cruelty towards Muir; but it is not shown that that treatment was the direct cause-of death, or that death would not have ensued from the accident, alone. Can Charles Straker, then, be branded, upon such' , testimony, as a wilful murderer ? No one will deny that he is deserving of severe punishment ~ for his1 heartless and ruthless conduct towards the poor; boy,; but that the heaviest penalty . > which the law can indict should be bjought ( upon his head admits of the gravest doubt, an<jl calls for merciful consideration Let us hope ; ; that the appeal which it is proposed to make on hjs behalf to IJis Excellency tb,e Governor "'. may be s,uccessfy],—thaf he may be respueoj from the fajte which a Remnant of the dark ages awards to crimfs of the deepest dye. There- is y.et a doubt of Charles Straker's entire complicity in the death of Muir;-and when such § / doubt'exists', as we hope for mercy ourselves <- hereafter, why should we doubt that the Royal Prerogative, will be exercised towards one placed in the awful position of the condemned criminal? Even now his sufferings must have ', passed their climax, —he' regards his days as ' • numbered,—and relies more upon the mercy of his Supreme. Master Jihan upon the relief- whigh ; he may experience in this transitory wprjtj. ,» But th.ere are ties which may yqt Mod his, thoughts tp carth ';—a widowed mother rplying upoir the exertions of her boys to sustain tb,e ' ] existence of herself ' and' younger oifspring ; , " shall they tod be shut out from hope.? Sliall she, by her sQn's death, be struck 'down, another ■■ victim >of a barbarous law which niches-that which an All-wise Creator has placed in roiir trust, —the life of a fellow-creature ? .With such a weight of misery resting upon that single ■ word, may we not hope that under the fault which exists in our minds of the gujltj pf Charles Siraker, in its extreme sense, that ijite * life of the culprit'may be'spaVecij -wliile the ne« cessitiea of the law.'aod the protection qf j^ r ; oiety, may be met and secured by a pujjiahnißnt ' wbioh, as- his Honor the Judge "so feelingly remarked ,in addressing. John Straker,'—on its ! termination will enable the unfortunate man > "to emerge again into the world a new man ' [ with a new heart, ready and anxious by con- - tinued acts of gentleness and forbearance to ' make all the reparatiou in his power for the sad-^-sad past," , ~,'', - s A copy qf tjie Memorial, widely is noiy |n : . couVse of signature in' tavbr q^ a $om;nTijtaVid]j ' of sentence, Will 1 be found in 'our 'ooldmni of ) this day's issue. It ably poihts' out' the '•< pro- : lhat the'testimpny adduced againit - CharlesStrakerisnot wholly re!«"-b!f ;'bvl^ta"*«su t both with suppression of the whole truth, and exaggeration of some of the facts"; —in which- . opinion we fully cflticqr; while at Mje».im*t}nw • we have a fipn reliance big Honor thfj ,' Judge, 'in hjs wisdo.n aii'd in 'his desire 'to pt^ : per justice with ijiercy, will be' ready to gnp« . port the prayer of the community, and by ■ , recommendation be the roeaiw of snatching from the eoafrld the victim which, it opff claim! .' it^own, "' , , •".;";

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