, 1869-04-23
Murder will Ont.

Every one remembers how remarkable was
the circumstantial evidence which convicted
Prof Webster of the murder of DR.. Park
man, in Boston, l849. He killed his VIC
tim to avoid paying a debt he Justly owed.
The country was lately astounded at rhe
mysterious assassination of uenersl Murray
Mcdonnell, State Senator Of Illinois, at Jack
sonvile, in that State. He was found dead
10 his Office, and the murderer was detected
by the following wonderful circumstantial
evidence
Gu Gen. McConnell's table, book for
calculating interest was lying open at the
pages which contain, on one side, the tables
for computing interest on S400, and, on the
other, on 5000 that person, iu uyOcrt~in,
ing interest, would naturally trace down the
column from the top, with the pencil, until
the correct point was reached; but on this
book was n pencl-mark made by a pencil
travelling up the page from the bottom to
the top; that this pencil mark commenced
very abruptly, was broad and heavy, and
made such an iudenture in the paper that
1t could be readily seen on the next leaf un
der it; that this peucilsmark was about half
an inch long, where there is evidence that
the lead Of the pencil was broken of, and
the mark continued for some distance by the
wood of the pencil that upon the floor,
beside the murdered man, was a pencil with
the point broken off,
These circumstances seemed TO Justify the
belief that the victim was computing interest
when be received the blow of the assassin.
Here, then, was the starting point. If com>
putting interest, what more natural than that
he was computing for some person And
who was that person? Very likely some
one against whom he had a note. Following
this Trail, the first effort was to ascertain
against whom the General had notes /; and
it was developed that, a short time before
his death, his sen George Mcconnell at his
dictation, had made out schedule Of all the
notes and papers of value in his possession.
A brief search among his papers suficed to
bring this to light. His notes were then
produced and scheduled, and note Of Will
liam A. Robinson was discovered to be mis-
sing; and what was more startling, it was a
note for precisely $780, which was the pre-
else figure at which the interest book lay
open. Nothing whatever had been removed
from the room litter the murder, and a search
was at once made for paper upon which
interest had been figured and LITTLE piece
Of paper, about two inches square, was found
on which, in the Generals own figures, was
calculated the interest on s40O from the day
the Robinson note was dated TO the day Of
the murder
This was deemed sufficient to justify the
detention of Robinson, who was at one placed
under arrest, ostensbly, however as a witt
ness, until further developments should take
place. When told that he was desired as a
witness, and that be was under arrest until
called, he wondered what they could want
of him but added, that he had been down
past the house tue time the murder must
have been committed.
Robinson was examined as a witness, and
Sis contradictions aud extraordinary manner
in which he explained how be paid the note
months previous, leave no doubt of his being
the guilty party, and murdered the deceased
to escape payment Galveston Dispatch.