National Republican., 1874-05-09
AN OBSTINATE JUROR.

Alternate ridicule and obloquy have long been
the uncomfortable portion Of that one juryman Of
the else unanimous twelve who inexorably refuses
to agree with his exasperated associates on q ver
dict; but there may have been cases in which his
seeming peryersity has proved ultimately to be
the salvation Of justice, and q venerable English
Judge recently deceased, was wont to cite one In
stance in his earlier judicial experience when such
perversty led to an astounding discovery Of mis-
taken truth. --.
man who was on trial before this judge In the
court of common pleas, for tho murder OF neigh
boring Landlord, with whom he was known to have
been on bitterly unfriendly terms protested
actually with prayers and tears that he was
| wholly innocent of the dreadful crime, though
acknowledging his enmity to the dead man on ae-
count of some disputed boundary between their
properties, and that the clothing he wore and
afterward concealed on the day Of the tragedy
was deeply stained with human blood. As he
earnestly told. and reiterated his story, he was
taking morning walk, as was customary, across
the fields of q certain farm, when he stumbled
upon the body Of man, who was lying dead
amongst some corn, with two deep wounds in his
breast, apparently made by pitchfork near at
hand. Raising the PROSTATE figure to ascertain
If life yet remained, he was stained by the blood,
| and discovered that the victim was his own quar-
relsome neighbo-. Humanity at first impeled
him to give an alarm, but in another moment the
| thought Of his well-known differences with the
slain man filled him with cowardly fear of being
connected with the murder. The idea so increased
In its terror that he turned back to his home, re-
moved his discolored clothing, and hid It in the
barn, where the police afterwards found it.
But this story did not appear reasonable to the
court; and, despite the prisoners passionate per-
slstency in It and despairing cry that "God and
his conscience knew him to be wholly innocent
tho case went to the jury with apparently abso-
Lutte certainty Of instantaneous conviction.
Such, indeed, must have been the result but for
the dissent Of one juror, and he the foreman.
This man, man Of education, high social and
moral education, and large property, begged the
judge to permit the jury to retire for consultation
and then SO reasoned, pleaded and actually
prayed with his associates against their unani-
nous Judgment as to fairly weary them finally
into joining him in verdict of acquittal. But the
astounded Chief Justice Indignantly refused to
accept the verdict, and sent them back again and
again to their room, until at last he was obliged
to accept It. The unhappy men, eursing their
foreman were discharged in disgrace, "with the
blood of an unavenged murder left at their door"
though the prisoner, at his unexpected and SEEM
ingly miraculous release, fell upon his knees in
court, with the cry: "You see, my lord, that God
and q clear conscience can save the LOST
When the judge subsequently heard by what
means SO strange verdict had been effected, and
that the man responsible for 1t was beth
intelligent and Of high character, he obtained
conference with the obstinate juror and adjured
him to explain his incomprehensible conduct In
the matter. The late foreman exacted o pledge
of secrecy to last during his own lifetime and
then calmly told why he had labored so infiexibly
for the accused mans life. On the morning Of the
murder the man doomed to be killed, who was the
tithing man ofthe parish, called early to eollec-
tithes on the speakers corn, and wGs arbitrary
and violent in his manner as to provoke indignant
remonstrance. Becoming enraged, the 1.-THE
gather assaulted the other with q pitchfork
which he was carrying, and which belonged to 4
neighbor and in defense Of his life the assailed
man wrested the weapon away, and in so doing in
ficted wounds Of which the aggressOr fell dead
on his way home.
So the actual slayer was the coming foreman OF
the jury-a position he secured for himself at
great pains and expense, that he might save an
innocent man from dreadful punishment for a
crime which he had himself committed in self
defence.