A STORY OF BLOOD.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1688, 26 November 1861, Page 4

A STORY OF BLOOD.

At Chester Assizes, on Friday, Martin Doyle was indioted for wounding Jane Brogine, with intent. to murder her and to dp her grievous bodily harm. Of the mahy brutal cases for which this country is unfortunately so oonspicuous, this one exceeds almost any in atrocity that has been tried for many years. The unhappy prosecutrix was brought in and put upon the bench, and seemed in the most dreadful state, and hardly fit to give her evidence. Her face was seamed aud :_car--red in the most dreadful manner, and a perfect thrill of horror ran through the court at her appearance. . The case had proceeded a very short way When the poor creature was taken so ill and faint that she oould not continue her evidence until restoratives had been applied! and water poured over her head. A more shooking sight has seldom been seen, and the court, as usual on such occasions, was crowded with women of all grades, ladies as well as others. It appeared from the evidence that the unfortunate prosecutrix was a married woman,; but had been for about a year cohabiting with the prisoner, They were both tramping on the 30th of May,; on the road from Holmes. Chanel, intending to proceed to Newcastle in Staffordshire, Soon after passing through the LinleyLane toll-gate, they sat down to rest, and the prosecutrix complained of a he.adache.. The prisoner drew her head : ou his lap; and there she went to sleep. According to her statement she" slejit about an hour, and then she awoke and found the prisoner's hand on which his head was lying pressing against her head. She told him to take his hand oft, as it made her head ache with ihe weight of it, aud, moreover, her bonnet would be broken to pieces; He then got up and said he would go and see whether it had left off raining. In about three minutes the prisoner returned and threw a great stone at the right side of the unhappy woman's head, and 1 knooked her quite senseless. He then jumped on to her breast and tried to strangle her round the neok, and forced 1 her tongue out of her heajd. She implored him to spare her i i

[ life for God's sake, or to give her Vdifferi ent death. While she was praying for ! mercy the ruffian was battering her bead and face like an oyster-shell. She cried out, " Oh dear me; my eyes are out of my head." He replied that he neither oared for her eyes nor herself-*-He then got off her chest and said, "Now, you b , you are done." He then perceived tbat she still breathed and he oame back, got XX on her as before, and said, '« You b-^ — -, what are you not done yet ?'' He then 7 hammered away again until she was suffo-v; cated in her own blood.^— The prisoner •" said that he would not spare her life ; and > added, " Jane, say no mofe ; I intend to "? have your life. I oame for it and L will v have.it." He then7again hammered her 7; head, and, wheri she appeared! deadjheui said, "Now, b r^—r-^ you; you are done \ right;" He-then got off her ohestiandi went away, and the: wonian 'fainted.. l ' When, she oame to;again; : the poor 'ordav;!.* ture listened,, to try arid hear, whether the i! .ruffian was anywhere abofitibut she heardP nothing of him. She.heeard a car t* coming! ; by, and shouted {'Manilas loud as slte'l" „ could,— rThe man :didtfot hear her, and?« she crawled up the bank on her harids>« and knees, and the, man in the? cart took her. up.; ■ *'.■.■. •• •-'• • X"~'-" ; vx Xff \.> ' At the termination of the examination i = in chief of the prosecutrix/, who fainted frequently, and whose, moans of pain were perfectly heartrending,' the prisoner, who displayed the most oailous indifference, cross-examined her at great, length as to the origin of their; acquaintance, as to her leaving her .husband, &o,i but not ono word, as to. any .relevant matter. His Lordship, who displayed : the greatest patience, several times tried to, keep him ' to the real matter, but he <WenfcoriUn vtho/v most reckless manner, showing the great-" est levity, and> insulting the unhappy woman until at last she fainted dead away,, arid had to be taken out of court r '■'■"' x It appeared from- the evidence ;of the policeman who took, the prisoner iatp oustody that he said:— » You hayjß'n.o rieedf* to take hold of tiae. It Was l7thatl*dp-to ;> 7 it, grid I am ready to suffer, any thin g^or;^; it. The reason I did i. was that she ; saidyu if I did riot get work at Newcastle] ;she >v should turn again. We came 7 from <,<• Holmes. Chapel this morning, and in a' 7 hollow near a toll-bar, under a tree, 1 yf&_y sheltered from the rain.- We frad'tt ''\ sleep, and when we woke I w.entJritb\tKe'\ < road to see if it had done v&itimgiX'^X ) went, back again; and took, a stone with rae., I sat down. She.lay. hdrheadupon^ my knee to go to sleep; I commenoeol: ) beating her head with a stoiief as.lptigf as Xi I could, and I left.^eFfor;^^...:^;'.'^!!^ went to a brook to wash the blood off my] T hands. I then looked/ for a pond of watfr to drown myself. I did riot cafe X'*" what become of myself." The polibeman 9 went to the plaoe where the prisoner had £ done the deed, and found the place very bloody, a woman's- hair-comb, and three jt stones which were covered . with?, blood; <-y t [They were proceed in court, and were o great, sharp-edged, jagged stones, ■; fit to & fell an ox with.]. He took the stories to •:, where the:prisouer was in custody;. The ;> prisoner asked what he had there, aud XX asked to look at them. He- picked a 7 flattish sharp one out of the three, and 7 said that was the' stone he did it with, for while he was beatirig her on the head hej 7: cut his hand with the sharp edge of it. , q The surgeon; under whose oare the un-j 7 happy woman ;had;b*ee'n,* stated that he • 7. examined her immediately after' the occurrence, and found her in a state of '> exhaustion from excessive loss of blood, At that time he thought she Would, die; He found a great number of cuts and; bruises on her. head, fade, 'neck, and hands, and all those on ;the head went; through tbe entire, skin, all. the integu-| ments, and laid bare the bone. Therej were : 14 of these dreadful outs penetrating to the bone on the head, arid seven or, eight on the face. The lower jaw-bonei was factured.. The most serious wound; was one three inches long on the baok of the head, whioh had fraotured the! Skull.. ; 1 . ".; . -\ ' The prisoner cross-examined tnecloetoi! as to whether the prosecutrix had not"; disease upon her, and the, dootor said she, had. : The evidence is unfit; for publioa-' t tion. , v ? The prisoner addressed the jury at greatj length, and stated that she persuaded him! to go : . with her, saying that she wanted a; young man ; that her husband was so old she was ashamed to be seen, with him ji that she was^ always -pressing him to goj with her ;^ and thfl-^jgigo wrote i letters; begging him tp com^Ppher. 1 He hajl committed the c/imeV^He deliyered ihisi speech witii tbe utmost oodlnessj [and yery j considerable address.; 7 7 ' 7 7 | •£■[ The jury, after a few minutes'jdeliberatiori, found the prisoner" guilty of WOuiiif-j ing "with intent to mutdei." j•-- j-| The learned judge propeeded to p^ass 1 sentence.— He said— Martin Dpyle, yqkl have been guilty of the most atrooibusp;: crime I ever knew, ;. With the greateSt! y. deliberation you planned arid committed] :; the fearful aot for which your life is: now. 7^ • forfeited.: You : haye awfully injured, atidj '£ 5 i probably ?everi yet fatally, the wom^n Wijthl > "g whom yoji liv;ed as your wife, j With jheij «• "g head reclining on your lap youime'diatedf = f; this crime ; "fou inflicted 21 awful wounds p,S with those fearful instruments—the stones "o you pidked up for that purpose. I must' £ now do my duty, aud njy duty is to seni « tenoe you to, be haugecj by the neok until % you, be ; dead,Tand may the Lord havejl;.| mercy on your-'soul. | '" It is a very unusual thing to sentenoa > a prisoner to; death for attempted murder^ ■, death generally being merely recorded, \ but the atrodity of this oase-was suoh thai ■ it was impossible for the learned judge %6 7 follow any other qquvsq.'— English Papery

oontemplate are the same every where and are known to every body, and wbere ever they have been fostered, suoh societies have conferred great and direct advantages on those interested, and indirectly on the community at large. Regretting, as we very deeply do, that any attempt should have been made to thwart the formation of the Society by the introduction of political theories, we are sure we shall besiTconsult the interests of the province by passing over, as entirely out of place, the ill advised interruptions of Messrs. May and Toomath. We prefer rather to dwell with pleasure on an incidental remark made by his Honor the Superintendent, who was in the Chair, relative to the intentionof tbe Government to organise a thorough exploration of the Province. Nothing that has taken place for some time past will cause so much satisfaction as this determination. After having spoken to several members ot the Provincial Council, said his Honor, tne Government had resolved to apply to Sir Roderick Murchison, by the current mail, for the services of a thoroughly scientific and practically competent geologist, to explore the province, such explorations have taken place valuable results have followed — ihe carboniferous coal fields of Canterbury being the latest illustration. Whatever results may follow here; whether the discovery of mettallic or mineral wealth, or both, — it must meanwhile be a source of satisfaction to every individual in th-' province to know that the Government are taking ihe surest steps to accomplish the great desideratum— an efficiently scientific and complete examination of the geology of this province.