Polynesian., 1857-03-07
HONOLULU, H. l., MARCH Z, 1857.


wholly insufficient to convict or excupate pris
Oner.
We will take, as our first illustration, the cast
Of man named Munroe, tried at the Cumberland
spring assizes in 1855 for wilful murder. The
! fact of the murder having been committed by some
one, and the manner in which 1t was accomplish
ed, were both perfectly clear. The murdered mar
had been wayaid in a lonely spot; his throat haG
| been divided from ear to ear, and his body thrown
under hedge. The murderer, whoever he was
had doubtless committed the horrible act for the
sake of about thirty shIllngs, which the deceased
the paymaster of a colllery, had in his pocket al
the time.
CIrcumstantial evidence of the most intricate
character was produced against the prisoner He
had been seen in a field near the spot he had
| changed half sovereign shortly afterwards, and
had attempted TO disguise hnsef-so it was sug-
gested-by getting a blacksmith to cut off the
whole of his whiskers. These and many other
facts were deposed to. and occupied nearly two
days in the recital; still, in them, taken individ-
ualiy or collectively, there was nothing to warrant
conviction. But now came the evidence of the
microscope. A learned microscopic was called,
to whom there had been previously submitted pair
of corduroy trowsers and a razor, both known 10
have been in the possession Of the prisoner at the
time the murder, by whose hand soeyer committed,
took place. On these trowsers, after most care
ed several smal spots, the largest not being so
large a swan-shot; the microscope revealed to
him that these spots were human blood and, from
their peculiar shape and appearance, he stated con-
dently that they were formed by small streams of
blood spirting upward from the divided artery Of
living body. On examining around each of these
spots, he discovered traces of soap and evident
signs Of the spots having been attempted 10 be
washed out, while over one or two of them ink had
haa lIv IN ,ba Id oF 81
there was some rust; on the ivory handle, smear
of blood, which also turned out to be human. OF
course, vast number of questions were asked in
crOSs-eXamlnltlon, In order to test the credIbity
due to the assertion TINT these spots and stains
were human blood that assertion being grounded
on the delicate measurement of those minute bodies
called corpuscles globuies, which constitute the
cooring matter of blood. As to this, however, the
evidence Of the witness was altogether unshakrn
the corpusces found in human blood are each Of
them about the I-320O OF an inch in diameter, and
differ less IN size from those of any known
quadruped-those of the sheep being but 1000
of an inch of the dog, 1852; &c.
What could be said against such evidence as
this? Here was a razor rusted with bood-blood.
too, being on the handle; trowsers, with spots of
human blood upon them, which it had been at
tempted to eradicate by washing and covering
with INK Coupled with the other evidence in the
found, and the man was executed.
In the next case we will mention, the value of
the microscope as an agent in the detection of
crime was still more strlkingly shown, although,
from certain causes, the prisoner escaped the
punishment which no reasonable person could
doubt he Justly merited.
At the Chelmsford spring assizes, 1851, c.
H was put upon his trial for wilful murder.
The circumstantial evidence, by which 1t was at
L., .bo lie fbn
was even E:ore complicated than in the last case !;
but although, without the scientific evidence, 1t
was sufficient to raise against him grave suspl-
con, il would have been wholly Intellectual to con-
vict him of so heinous a charge as murder. The
victim in this case was IN old woman, living alone,
with considerable amount of money in her bed
chamber. A neighbOr calling upon her one morn
ing at eleven O'Clock. found the house shut up,
and no appearance of any body about. Being
alarmed she got through window into the dwell
linz, and ascending into the sleeping-room, found
the poor creature in her bed, quite dead the back
of her head having baen beaten IN no doubt BY
means of large hammer lying close by-and her
head nearly severed from her body. An alarm
was Immediately given an inquest was held, and
the police were soon IN active pursuit after the
murderer.
1t was not very long before suspicion fell upon
H. Footsteps had been noticed round the
boets he wore , the hammer found near the muir
dered woman's bed, was declared by a neighbor
to have been seen in his possession; little girl
had observed him coming from near the house on
the morning in question; but more than all, IN
brook about mile from the dwelling where the
murder was committed, was found cotton hand
kerchief, and tightly rolled up in 1t razor, COW
cred with blood, which was Identified as belonging
to the prisoner.
This razor, together with the handkerchief, was
conveyed Immediately to 4 clever mlcroscopist In
London, who, after examination, returned them
both with the intelligence, that the blood upon
them was certainly human. The case then SEEM
ed complete against the prisoner, and at the next
assizes he was placed upon his trial. One
question: however, had yet to be disposed or
Assuming that the razor and handkerchief belong
ell 70 the prisoner and that the blood upon them
was buman, how was it to be shown that they
were connected with this murder, they having
been found more than mile from the mousse IN
which II was committed? The microscope al
once gave A conclusive answer to this difficulty
pon the blade of the razor, when carefully exam
ined with a high power, there was found beside
the blood a few fbreS, which were distinctly
sworn tn as being mixture Of flax and cotton
the fibres of these two products beng perfectly
dIstinguIshable the one from the other Oy means
of ,b,, ,nicroscope-a fact we'll known to all who
take any interest in the purity OF hHt. On exai-
lining the murdered ,dy, it was discovered that
the INSTRUMENT with which the wound was made
had partially severed one of the strings Of the poor
woman s mis- ightcap, and that the material forming
that string was composed of mixture ot cotton
aud flax! more convincing proof OF the PRISON I
er's guilt could scarcely have been desired. mere
was. however, one remaining link-the identity OF
the handkerchief and razor. Only Two Pe"Pie
conld supply ,his-the father and sister OF the
nrsoner Before the magistrates the old man had
reluctantly admitted that both were his son s. but
when he saw his son before him in the dock, look
irg upon him with entreatlng eyes, as the arOltef
of life and death, the old man courage gave way
- bo Gould identify neither the /