Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1808-07-25
SrlgEEgr GLnA vas convi0ed Of


/ 70 frequent in our county to fee ten
! Of our felIow-creatures convicted al
one court, for felonies Of fuch high
degrees Of criminality, presents TO the
philan-lropic mind 4 melancholy
! fpe6tacle Of human depravity. Since,
however, men will he 70 wicked and
70 fooii(h as to commit crimes againt
God and fociety, every friend to
order and good government mutt be
| pleafed to fee offences punilhed in
proportion to the degree Of criminal
;ty It is perhaps worthy Of notice,
that no man cfcaped who was tried
for felony, and no man was convict
ed without the mott clear and con-
cluGve evidence Of his guilt.
In the cafe Of I55ma5 Qua, it was
/ proved on the trial that the pritoDer,
with his family, lived in Hebron---
that fOme months previous to the
eighth of February aft, he was feen
purhing his wife with large flick
in his hand, and his wife crying
MURBER'-that on being ieen BY
a neighbor, he rslinquifhed the pur-
fuit, and at that time fufFered her TO
eicape that foon after he was heard
20 tell her that g if ihc did not obey
his commands, he would be the
death Of her"
1t was alto proved, that on the
9Th Of February, the prifoner and
\ his wife had both been abfent from
home the former 70 Argyle, and
the latter to Salem that he brought
home fome tea On the arrival of
his wife, ihe alIed him if lhe fhould
make tea, he gave her no anfwer -
on being Intercepted a fecond time,
he ltill remained Glent. Mrs. Qua
then went about preparing tea, aud
was baking fome bread in a pan be-
fore the Ere, when the prifCner went
.out Of doors (where his ION, lad
Of , or 10 years AZ age, was cutting
woody took up a flick about I feet
in length, and about the thickness Of
q mans writ, returned into the
houie, and as his wife was hoopiug
down to turn her bread, lie truck
her a blow with the flick on the back
hde Of her head lhe fell fenfelefs on
the floor, and remained 70 for half
an hour. AT this time there was no
perion prefent but their little daugh-
ter, between 7 and year, Of age.
After the pnloner had knocked down
his wife he offered her no aiiiltance
fhe revived, and with the allifance
of her little daughter got into bed
In the night he became delirious,
and then again the prifoner truck
her with lis fit. On the 10th and
nth Of February, the deceafed was
tiiitcd BY friend, when the prilon-
er at frf appeared tender and atten-
tive, but on her attempting TO rife,
while in raging delirium, he truck
her on the tanple, and knocked her
down he then drew her by che
hair OF her head from the bed on the
floor, kicked her, drew her out into
the fnow, threw her on the ground,
and repeated his kicks he then left
her, and lhe after fome time return
ed into the houfe--on her return in
to the houfe he was about offering
her further asule, but was prevented
BY neighbor who happened to call.
la the evening two perfons watched
with the deceafed, and the prifoner
came into the room where The Law
and appeared 10 make attempts 70
choak her, but was taken away by
one of the perlons who watched.
On The fourteenth fhe died, or
the fifteenth was buried, on the
twentieth was taken Up by order Of
the coroner, and an inqueh was held.
L alto appeared that after the funer-
al Of Mrs, Qua, the prifoner was
addrefed in the language Of confo-
latron-hc declared he was NOT for
ny that his wife was dead, and evin-
ced 10 regret on the location.
On the Taft day of court the judge
addreacd the prifoner in the mott
iolemn, ferrous and imPrefive man
ner he pointed out TO him the en-
ormity Of his crime, and exhorted
him 10 be diligenr in his applications
to the throne of mercy-fating to
him, that though the court could co