The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1870-05-31
of Circumstantial Evidence.
VNHE CONVICTION OF GEORGE

Il Vanderpool recalls to our recollec-
tion circumstance which illustrates the
unreliability of circumstantial evidence.
During the last century, in England,
man was hanged for numbering his ward
u niece. The evidence was conclusive
that he had chastised her frequently, and
only the day before her disappearance he
was heard correcting her in an out-build-
ing, and her voice was also heard piteous-
ly exclaiming, " Don't kill me, uncle don't
kill me !" The motive for the murder
was proven in the fact that according to
her fathers will on her death, her prop
erty was to go to the guardian, her uncle.
Three or four years after the assumed
murder, the niece returned and claimed
her property. 1t appeared that she had
run away and married, and came back to
demand her property on reaching her
majority. Parliament then interferred
with statute requiring the production
of the body to authorize the sentence of
death. This is now the general rule in
our criminal proceedings, but has not
always been adhered to. And itwa not
in the case we are about to narrate.
In 1910, when the State House at
Springfield, ILL.,, was being built, one Of
the stone-cutters engaged was a man
named Martin from New York city.
Martin was not of sound mind; at least
he was a monomaniac on one subject,
which was that there was no good money
except that of the old Metropolitan Bank,
New York Every Saturday night, when
the men were paid off, he was wont to go
around among them and buy up this
money, often giving as high as 10 per
cent, for it. He was known to have a
considerable sum of this money hid away
or about him.
During May, of the year above, he
and one Smith hired horse and wagon
to go to the Sangamon river, four miles
distant. At night Smith returned, but
not with Martin. When asked where
Martin was, he said he did not know.
Martin was soon missed-the ground
where they went was searched-and the
plainest evidence was presented that they
had quarrelled. The ground was tram
pied on the river bank and some Of Mar
tins clothes were found. 1t was also dis
covered that some drops Of blood were
dried on the sand, and that the buggy
had been drawn into the water. The
supposition was that Martin had been
murdered and his body carried into the
river. Search was made for days but no
body could be found. Meantime Smith
the assumed murderer, was arrested and
put in the old log Jail.
In few weeks the prisoner was regu-
larly arraigned in the Circuit Court on
the charge of murder. Abraham Lincoln
then rising into fame as lawyer, was
engaged for the defense. The produc-
duction of the body was not insisted upon
the evidence seemed as clear and conclu-
sive as though dozen persons had seen
the act of murder. The witnesses were
few, yet the evidence that there was both
the motive and the means was overwhelm-
ing. The marks of the struggle on the
river shore-the drops of dried blood on
the sand-the driving of the wagon into
the river, as if to throw the body into
the swift current-were circumstances
that only could be accounted for in con.
nection with the "deep damnation" Of
the taking off of poor Martin. The de-
fense could hardly make show of evil
dence, and the verdict of guilty seemed
a foregone conclusion.
Meantime the Sheriff of Tazewell coun,
ty had read in the Sangamon Journal q
description Of Martins person, and heard
that an insane man had appeared in Q
distant part of the country, without coat
or hat, and who could give no intelligent
account of himself. An inspiration
prompted the Sheriff to go and see him.
and he became satisfied that he was the
missing man. Having in his possession
still considerable amount of Metropoli
tan Bank money made the Sheriff morally
sure on the point, so he took the man il
charge and started with him for Spring
field. Arriving the last day of the tria
he lodged the man in Jail, and went into
the court room and saw Mr.. Lincoln. Mr.
Lincoln asked suspension Of proceed
ings, as he had an important witness tC