New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-10-12
NUMBER lss.

PfAsolEf uIeW Ine sword from his cane and
pressed it into the back Of Loring about foot.
Ihe wound was twelve inches below the left
shoulder, and FIVE inches from the backbone,
running forward and upward At the same
Time ne seized Loripg with his left hand and
| WORKED the instrument of death around in his
body, as II anxious to place beyond all healing
power the life Of his victim. The sword was
bent when drawn from the wound. Loring
| uttered the death cry, ssOhi / am stabbed 3
staggered step or two, fell, and in a few min
| utes was corpse. This prisoner drew the
weapon through his hand Some one cried ont
6 The man is stabbed The prisoner said
Oh! no never mind" He then vent down
stairs, and the book keeper asked him what he
had done. The prisoner said he did not know
that man had Knocked him down, and he had
stabbed him, he believed. Now, gentlemen, it
is certainly untrue that he had been knocked
down. / do not think from the examination !
have made Of this.evidenee, that he was struck
at all; but even If be were struck, it does not
vary this case one hair. He provoked the blow.
He said, " do not care damn for you or your
wife. !" He said, g You are a 1iar,'' and there
was provocation. There was no necessity for
his using the Instrument of death which he held
| IN his hand. He was armed, and had full
means OF defence. Loring stood before him an
| entirely unarmed man.
The rule OF the law in reference to this mat
ter, gentlemen, is very we'll settled in this State,
very we'll, indeed. 1t is laid down ia the case
Of Shorter vs.. The People, in the 2d of Comstock,
page 1873. i will read such of the marginal
| notes as bear upon it.
One who is without fault himself, when at
| tackled by another, may kill his assaiIant if
| the circumstances be such as to furnish reason
| able ground for apprehending a design to take
| away his life, or do him some great bodily harm
| and there Is also reasonable ground for believ-
| ing the danger imminent that such design would
| be accomplished. But this principle will not
| justify one in returning blows with dangerous
| weapon, when he is struck with the naked hand,
and there is no reason to apprehend a design 10
! do him great bodily harm nor will it Justify
homicide, when the combat can be avoided, or
| where, after it is commenced, the party can
withdraw from from it in safety before he kills
| his adversary''
Now, gentlemen, upon this rule, say we
shall show to you that the prisoner was in fault,
for he provoked the contest; Loring's course
| was q course of expostulation, and the pris-
| oner's course course in prosecution of quar-
| rel. Then again, gentlemen, there was no
circumstance furnishing reasonable ground for
apprehending design on the part Of Loring to
| take away his life, or to do him some great
bodily harm. He might have walked away.
When Loring expostnlated, he might have gone,
without answering word to that expostulation
And, again, there were persons in the hall
| W1y WIZ SUulu Hht0 tutSTltTeu, anu VINO W0Qlu
have interfered, and among them an officer
Now, again, gentlemen, upon this rule of law
| there was no reasonable ground for believing
1 'the danger imminent that such design would
| be accomplished because of those persons who
| were present, as have stated. And, again, he
| could have avoided that conflict. Hecould have
withdrawn in safety, without killing his adyer-
sary. He did neither. He heaped insult upon
| insult; and, upon the cause of quarrel which
/ ma0a IN fa oc or, forni1ior uy.fh {taa
dence in this case, entirely by his own act, he
put man, with whom he had no previous ac-
quaintance whatever, remorselessly to death
| Now, gentlemen, to resume the narrative
after the deceased had been killed, the prisoner
took his sword d-cane to q closet and threw it
4 among some sweepings. That ends tho general
| outline of this case independent Of circumstan-
ces of detail, which, doubtless, will be disclosed
| to you by witnesses as they appear upon the
stand. The prisoner appears here by very
| learned and very respectable members of the
bar. The prisoner himself, am told, is very
respectfully connected. There are many things
therefore, which may properly be taken inte
consideration by you in this case. shall ash
you to exercise your Judgment inquisitiyely
| attention to the evidence shall ask you to
aid me in the only purpose have in vieW--the
/ doing of justice, without any sort of regard
| whatever to the position in life which the pris-
| oner may occupy. The laws in this State are
supposed to supply the place Of arms. All of us
| go unarmed through the streets in safety. HI
| who undertakes to carry concealed weapons
/ violates the law, and he who undertakes to use
| them assumes most fearful responsibility and
/ in my judgment, as | stand here now, the evil
dence in this case not yet having been disclosed
i l am compelled to say, and say it with pain
| think the prisoner at the bar has incurred ths
responsibility Of murder do not see that the
| act is in any respect short Of that. / know
4 Gentlemen of the Jury, it was not one of those
1 murders long considered before hand ; not ont
| the result of long deliberation not such as the
! murder by Crowningshield, for q few paltry
/ pieces of silver; not such a murder as perpetra
| ted by Macbeth, for the purposes of ambition
but sudden murder like that of Cain, or lik.
that of another person who was recently triee
in a State not far remoyed--a brutal and tyran
| nical murder--a murder committed in uttel
Disregard Of all right, OF all law, Of all justice
and all magnanimity.
| Mr.. Shepard said he purposed, in the frs
place, to get the diagrams before the jury
in ord.r that they might understand thu
position that would be alluded to in the evi
dence
Mr.. Whiting also presented a diagram, mad,
out for the defence, which, after some discus
sion, s ~
/ Mr.. Shepard agreed to use, though he consid
cred it imperfect in some respects.
i Mrs Cornelia Loring was sent for and con
Quoted into Court, attired in deep mourning
with a long Grape veil reaching to the ground
She was sworn and examined by Mr.. Shepard
My place of residence is in California was il
the City Of New York on the I'd Of August last
/ was the wife of Major Loring, deceased (; W
were stopping at the st. Nicholas Hotel on tn
night Of the 1st, and morning of the ID 0
August. s.5s.
| Question. At what time did Major Lorinl
awake ON the morning Of the I'd of August
Answer. About five minutes before iy
O'Clock. - ~
Q. Did any thing occur Immediately afte
that which attracted your attention J
A. About ten minutes after he awoke, ther
was a ringing of bell, which was situated i'm
mediately beside my door; it was bell with {
hammer I can not distinctly say how high fron
the floor it was
@. How many times was it rung? A. Abou
ten or fifteen times, | imagine, at first; meal
strokes of the bell.
@. Did Major Loring do any thing at tn
time' A. He merely got up and went to tn
door.
@. What did he say and dos
Il Objected to by Mr. Whiting
Mr.. Shepard. Then I'll divide it; what did
Mr.. o'Conor objected, and SAID it was pro
posed by the question to show what may hay
been said by the deceased to third party
when the prisoner may or may not have bee
| nresent The fact that he was rresant shnnl