The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1842-01-30

does not come within the degr>e Of murder; nor
either of the degrees Of manseiughter that have
named; and if II is an involuntary killing Of
| huma being, by any weapon, or by means neither
cruel nor unusual, and in the heat OF passion, then
it manslaughter in the fourth degree. If done
with Ratchet, thea, suppose, it 10 not disputed
over the law briefly, as understand il, and nope
you also understand 1t You have now to pass on
this matter If yon require any other information
on these points, the Court will be happy TO afford
| H. now must add few remarks on the facts Of
| the case.
| DISTRICT ArToRsEY-Before your honor does
40, will just call your attention to point, lest
| yon may have unintentionally committed error.
| II pe.son kills another by any act dangerous to
| human life, and in manner regardless of human
life though not with design to take life, that is
JUDoE KEsr--I said the jury must find it. SO,
il they think there was evidence OF premedi-
| tated desiga.
| DIsrRIcT ArroRNEY-Ifthe Court considered me
to say that took this out ofthe second degee
| of murder, they were mistaken. I'D, .if. . ,i.
Judge KENr-No, did not so understand you.
MrEMMErT-Ift this be the proper time, i would
/ now ask your honor to charge expressly in rela-
ton to that clause of the statute in regard to the
| words dangerous weapon" provided it be not
taken np at the commencement Of the ARRAY, it is
| Judge KENT consider that as applying only to
combats; and done for the purpose Of preventing
duelling. You right in your construct ion ii
with The weapons nature gave them, il il excass.
bic homicide But reduce it to writing il you
| please, Mr.. Emmett. :.
| Mr.. EMMErr-Yes, Sir.
| Judge KENT will now come to the facts in the
case Here the first question always asked in SON
sderng a criminal case OF this kind is unnecessary
| By the admission OF the opposite party. The 6rst
| committed p That is admitted. 1t is admitted
that Samuel Adams was killed by John c. Colt; ut
any rate the evidence is demonstrative and cannot
| be doubted. In the second place, which is the
thing in fact it is admitted that death re suited
! from the wounds inflicted. The only question is
the degreel Then, was it murder, or ghter
| justifiable homicide. Now, gentlemen, The oc-
currences in this cause by the sequence Of events
vast variety of the proof is placed out of view
| which detained as here many days Into the ex.
| periments of firing pistols, and various other
branches OF evidence, is not necessary to in.
| quire But, inasmuch as this has been made the
| subject of some controversy between the parties,
and also OF much remark, wish to say q word or
two, especially Is there has been some departure
| from the ordinary mode Of conducting trials. In
| the first place, we have had the experiments of
firing pistols in Court. And that 10 rather ir.
regular, and might not be very safe IL was
justified supposed, in the first place, because it
was soon seen, that the person placed the stand
was perfectly master OF his weapon, and the man.
ner in which he handled it. convinced nae there
could be danSerand Therefore allowed this de-
parture from perhaps the ordinary procedure in
Courts Of Justice Something has been said
,sfs JOHN gerCEins The T. u Of the
flesh from the tomb--presentng all its awful evil
dence. Let say for myself, that whilst retain
my seat here, shall preserve to the utmost of my
power that dignifed solemnity of procsdure-that
stad and modest demeanor that has heretofore dis.
tnguished alike English and American iudica.
tories. II is not often necessary to produce the
sad evidences of the crime-in their original
subsequently, when they come reeking with all
the deilements of the grave But, in this case, it
was thought necessary, because the surgeons did
not give so clear absorption Of the wounds in.
hicted and as twas necessary to adducs all the
testimony in cur power, I thought ocular demon
straton was preferable any other evidence Of the
nature Of the wounds and | think the result has
proved the correctness Of that view, l was also
ayerse 20 narrowing up the feelings of the
prisoner himself by that melanc holy exhibition:
nevertheless, it was the best evidence which the
nature Of the case required think so still. and
state this in justification of myself, especially as
understand it has been censured abroad. One
other species Of evidence was produced, which it
is my duty to tell yeu emphatically to lay out Of
view alude to that called "Colts is
difficult am aware, for Jury aCourt to exclude
from their consideration, evidence which is not
fore Them. The counsel for the defendant intro
duced it in such way, as rendered il, perhaps,
impossible for me to exclude it. He spoke Of il
alphabetically, and said he would use the 6rst
person, and present it part of his arsume mt;
and here do not speak in censure. The learned
counsel has been my companion and my friend; and
had appealed to his candOr, a lawyer, as to the
he meant to make Of it, he weuld have discard
ed it at once 1t in, nevertheless but still it is
not evidence. l am now speaking TO discriminate
ing men and know that you are capable Of dis.
tinguishing between that which is ad and
that which is roal. / am confident, that need say
nothing to your duty to exclude this as evil
dencs Youwill disregard it entirely, gentlemen,
so far as it goes to exculpate the prisoner. In
looking at the evidence, 1t is astonis hing how
mnch it is entirely and totally irrIle want
Aud really this case lies, in legal phrase, al
point for 20 ur consideration. The testimony Of the
murder or homicide-of finding the body-alI that
long chain of evidence which traced it to the
ship Kaiamazos, and thence to the dead house,
is regarded entirely irrelevant by the adms sons Of
the party that that is the body Of Samuel Adams.
Except in so far as it illustrates the character of
John G: Colt. So were alse all the experiments in
thought that that was the result Of a pistol
shot i do not indeed understand the Dis
trict Attorney as abandoning that ground-at
the .resnlt Of sch affair. 1t appears to me,
however, that the jary is authorized for a mo-
ment in entertaining that belief. We have first the
opinion OF Dr. Gilman, the person who speaking
from his recole ction, describes round circular
| hole, which he thought might have been produced
| by bullet; we have him second time stating
that ii was not his impression that it bullet,
and gave his reason that the depression of the bone
side and the abrasion the otherwas Of such
character as indicated that the ball. If II had bsen
| ball must have struck at such angle to have
glanced off. So DR.. Gilman retracts his first OPT
Mon And Drs. Mott and Rogers agree in opinion
that il was rot produced by pistol ball; and il
YOU adopt the legal maxim, that these men are TO
be trusted in their art beyond the opinion of lay
men; and if above all that, you turn ysur attention
here TO the evidence as it respects experiments in
fire arms, you may lay all the evidence on that
point out of the And so to that mass of evil
dence relative to the watch OF Adams which occu-
pied us day svis also taken away by the admis-
sion ofthe party that watch did belong to Samuel
Adams. Now, cutting off the vast mass oftestimony
The testimony of the two carmen, of the mate, the
| person who took the body, Of Mr.. ElwelI of De
| Ia in ploti cot ha 81
shot, of the Superin iendent of carts, the watch
case maker, the engraver, OF Platt & Brothers, and
several others connected with those branches Of
the case, you find yourself reduced to the small
compass Of whether II was effected by prsmedilated
design, came under the class Of ghter or
justiiabe or excusabie homicide. Now, gentle