The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-03-16 00:00:00

DETAINED DURING HER MAJESTY'S
PLEASURE.

- _
At the Nottingham Assizes, John Buchan has been In-
dicted for the wilful murder of Reuben holies, at Notting-
ham, on the 20th of July last —The Deputy Clerk of Assize,
Mr. Arthur Coleridge, called the Judge's attention to the
Coroner's deposition, In which the charge was that the pro
loner "feloniously, wilfully, and maliciously did kill,"
omitting the word murder." ilis Lordship thought the
prisoner had better not be asked to plead to this deposition,
as it was clearly irregular. The prisoner, therefore, pleaded
to the indictment only.
The prisoner worked as a tailor in Nottingham, and
the deceased was a dyer. The prisoner's mother
carried on the business of a dyer, and the deceased had
lived with her for the last 18 years, working in the
business and living in the house. There was no sug-
gestion that the son disliked this, and it appeared
that his mother sometimes was called Mrs. Holmes,
and sometimes by her right name. On the 20th of
July, about half-past nine o'clock, Mrs. Buchan and
Holmes were in the shop, and she was speaking to
Holmes about the low, desponding state in which her
son was. He had lout his wife borne twelve months
before. He shortly afterwards came in, and Holmes
went for some beer for the prisoner's mother. The
mother spoke to her son about his state of mind, and
he began to cry. Holmes came in and tried to com-
fort him, saying he also had had losses. The prisoner
said his lather had lost more, and Holmes then said,
"Jacky, there is nothing worth lii in for," and the
prisoner replied, "No. there 'slut." The mother then
went out to get some snuff for the prisoner, and almost
immediately she heard two shots fired. The deceased
and the prisoner were found lying on the floor. The de-
ceased was shot through the back of the bead, and the
brainswere protruding. He never spoke again. The pri-
soner was shot in the mouth - a severe and dangerous
wound. One pistol was found in his pocket, and one on
the ground. There was also a large knife or dagger in his
pocket with a blade about half a foot long. There
were also four bullets in his pocket and a plain gold
wedding ring and brooch with his own likeness and his
wile's in it. The prisoner, when asked by the surgeon
and the police how he came to commit the act, pointed
to Holmes and said, "lie has made me what I am."
The surgeon stated, however, that he was at that time
in such a state as to render his remarks quite unworthy
of reliance, and there was no suggestion if any quarrel
at the time or of the two men being on bad terms; on
the contrary, they always appeared to be good friends.
A little boy of eight years of age was in the shop at
the time. He heard no words pass at all, and saw the
two shots fired.
Mrs. Buchan, the prisoner's mother, described the
prisoner as crying bitterly when she spoke to him be-
fore the shots were tired. For months before he was
going about in a restless manner, going to his wife's
grave, and "trailing his child one way and another."
He had five children, and was a sober, steady man.
He was too much attached to his wife, and was of a
very kind and affectionate disposition. He was in the
habit of getting up and walking about in the night and
(lightening the children. His wife was a good
managerese, and be had depended upon her very much.
He had complained of pains in the head, and said he
fanciedhe saw men lathe room, and saw beetles crawl-
ing upon the walls. He had at one time been in
much better circumstances, and said he was a gentle-
man's son. and "what a thing to think he was as he
was." The witness's brother had been in a lunatic
asylum for many years. Another brother had tried
to hang himself upon a staircase, and her husband's
cousin had shot himself.
Several witnesses spoke to the change in the de-
meanour of the prisoner since the death of his wife.
Mr. Henry Hind, the resident surgeon of the Not-
ting-ham Dispensary, who gave his evidence very clearly
stated that the wound upon Holmes could not have
been sellinflicted, while that upon the prisoner clearly
was so. He had not had an opportunity of forming
an opinion as to the prisoner's state of mind.
Mr. George Elder, a resident surgeon of the General
Hospital, had been asked by Mr. Johnston, the solicitor
for the proscution, to give evidence, and Mr. Johnston
had sent him some written questions; but he had de-
clined to answer them in writing, as he was under the
impression that if he did they would be used in court,
and he would have no opportunity of explaining them
Tin( *ace. He had received the prisoner on the
day of the murder, and said all he could possibly
say was that he was a remarkably taciturn and gloomy
man; but he answered questions in a perfectly rational
I manner, and seemed to appreciate his position and to
Ibe somewhat sorry for what he had done. In cross-
examination, it appeared that this witness had only
been in practice four years, arid had not at all directed
his attention to cues of insanity.
Three medical gentlemen were called for the prose-
cution, and the effect of their evidence was as follows:
—At the present time the prisonerwas suffering from
organic brain disease. The brain was softening, and
one strong symptom of this was an inarticulate manner
of speaking, and a tremulousness of the tongue. The
pupils of his eyes were unnaturally contracted. His
walk WM peculiar and his memory impaired. He had
become blind in one eye and was very deaf. He com-
plained of pains in the head and dizziness. He said he
had seen men in the room and beetles, moths, and
ugly things whirling about like a steam-engine. He
said" he felt as if he had gas in him, and he was
lifted up in a sort of brightness." He said "he was
the miserablest of men that could live."
The doctors were of opinion from the condirion in
which he now was, and from the evidence they had
beard in court, that the prisoner was at the time of the
murder suffering from a sudden instinctive impulse of
homicidal mania. This is not unusual in the early
stages of softening of the brain. Two of these gentle-
men, Dr. Stiff and Dr. Tate, were superintendent
physicians of the County Lunatic Asylum, and had
had great expesience. They were sent by the prose.
cution to examine the prisoner.
Mr. Buszard, for the defence, then called several
witnesses who had known the prisoner, and who P poke
to his desponding state of mind. Some had worked
with him, and had spoken to one another about the
state the prisoner appeared to be in.
Mr. Souter, a physician who had attended the pri-
soner's family for four years, stated that so marked a
change had come over the prisoner since the death of
his wife that he became alarmed, and thought it would
not be surprising it he committed suicide. He had
only attended him for four days, but had determined
to take precautions against the prisoner doing a mis-
chief. He had noticed the tremulousness of the tongue
a few weeks before the murder. fir
Mr. Buszard mired his Lordship if there was any
evidence to go to the jury.
His Lordship said it was a question for the jury to
decide.
Mr. Bunard then addressed the jury, and Mr. Cave
rerlied.
Hie Lordship, in summing up, said that the law pre-
ramiea a man to be of sound mind, and it is for him to
show that he is not sane. The question for them was
did he know the nature and quality of the act, and, if
so, did he know it was wrong.
The jury found a verdict of Not Guilty on the ground
of insanity, and the prisoner wars ordered to be detained
during Iler Majesty's pleasure.