The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1856-07-30
Curious Trials in India.

when MIR. Keado, Commissioners OF
Benares, was collector at Gorakpur, he
one day visited the Jail, and happened
to ask prisoner what he was there for
The man smiled, and aid"Murder." Reade
replied that murder was no joking mat
ter "Yes, but I am not guilty; and
what is more, the man is alive now"
There was something in the mans man.
ner which made Mr. Reade inquire par
ticularly into the case aud the story
told him was, chat the party supposed to
be murdered. who was barkandaz of
police, had had an intrigue with the wife
of the prisoner and his three brothers
laid plot to waylay him one night. and
give him good drubbing. They did so
accordingly, and tho policeman either
fell, or was thrown by them. into a river.
by the side of which they had been way
laying him. The man being missing,
and suspicion being strong against the
four brothers, it was agreed amongst
themselves that,as harvest time was near
the prisoner should take tho crime en-
tirelv on bis own shoulders, and so get
the others liberated. He did so admit.
ted the murder, and of course was found
guilty but probably on the score of the
corpse not being found was sentenced
only to imprisonment for life, and
pension was given to the family of the
murdered policeman. This story was
told with such vcrisimilitude, that Reade
made careful inquiry into the whole
and found every word of it true and
after much trouble discovered the po-
liceman hundreds Of miles off, acting as
peon OF the Court of Nagpore. glad to
think that his family. in the meantime.
had been well provided for at Gorakpur.
by pension from government for his
supposed death The rogue had no
doubt kept purposely out of tho way in
order to secure this provision for his
family
My own experience Of a famous case
at Tanna, taltics we'll with the above
story for there saw three prisoners
standing at tho bar who had given q
crcumstantial confession of murder,
and pointed out the very spot where the
bones of the murdered nan would be
found. These we're produced in court
and part Of the clothes and the cast
thread of the murdered man we're ipden-
tilted by his friends and relations Yet
the doctor, my intelligent friend, Dr.
Kirt-who accompanied Sir W. Harris
to Abyssina-on examining the bones
ascertained that they belonged to three
Or four different corpscs; and as this Incl.
deLt gave a sort of hitch to tho proceed
ings, and prolonged the trial. the result
was, that before it was over, the murder
ed man himself walked into court. and.
1t Is said, was seen to examine his own
bones with infinite curiosity. The story
which he told, and which accounted for
his remarkable disappearance from this
village on the night of the supposed
murder. was not the least remarkable
part Of the tale, and is good illustra-
tion Of Manners in the East" He had
been seen somewhat near the house of
the prisoners and he stated that he was
going homeward, he met four or five
Arab soldiers, who pressed him in their
train to carry bundle, and make him
acco mpany them for six weeks march
into the Interior ,somewh bey Poo.
ma. When they dismissed him, he was tax.
en- i'll of fever and laid some months sick
at village in the Ocean. When at last
four months absence, be got back to
his own village, he found that three of
his neighbors stood near chance of be.
ing hung, on their own confession, for
numbering him. So, like an honest fel.
low, he made his way to the criminal
court, which luckily for the prisoners,
was not above ten miles off 1t would
seem most probable that the confessions
in question had been extorted by the
violence oft subordinate native police.
Str Efskine Perry.