Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-08-29

Not long since, Whlle coHFoi1o r :,
W. ia tT cierical friend on the subject OF
s al Z Sor murder which had then been JUS
on loc in Lowell, Mass, we naturally
oOliOGb drifted into a discussion Of the
eaoriss of the case as regarded the degree
g nr;n,inalitv connected with the homicide
u r q, that the Judge, in his final IN,
struction to the jury, really lett them Juss ,r
fed in bringing in no other verGlc G.. tli'n
hat If manslaughter. My friend Carton
smiled. and nodded, and remarked that
lbal reminded him of story, and ne went
on to tell it, rs follows:
Wars 400. when Carlton was young
man, fresh from college, ne, IN coinpahy
18th a fellow student, found himself IN IL
Vermont stage-coach, numbering over mis-
and through deep wales, with tar more OF
Goreet and wildwood than of clearing and
hnman settlement, and with only his class
mnte and an aged, well-dressed gentleman
Gor companions. The old gentleman prov
ed to be Judge p, of Montpelier. at
The time one Of the presiding judges OF the
Snnreme Court of the State. Our two
students, with q habit natural To New Eng
land youth of education, held the popular
and well-known Judge in profound respect,
and he. in turn, treated them with pater-
nal kindness and affabiity.
Naturally the young men led the aged
iurist to tell of some of his experiences
upon the bench, and he was very free 10
enlighten them. At length, as the CONVEX
sation turned upon the especial subject OF
trial by jury, the judge, with a waking
smile, said lie would give to them II bit OF
his experience with certain jury in the
Connecticut River Valley.
In one of the river towns an extensive
work of improvement was going on, and II
large number of laborers had been hired
from the Canada side-mOst of them Cana
dian Frenchmen. One Saturday evening,
after the workmen had been paid
months wages, and after they had manag-
ed to possess themselves of ten-gallon
keg of rum, two of them fell into II dispute.
From q simple dispute they passed to
angry words, and then to words OF hot and
beIllcose fury. Then from words they
came to blows, and fierce battle was the
result. In the end one of them received
blow under the ear that caused his death.
The twain had been like brothers until
that fatal hour, and when the surviving
combatant saw what he had done, he was
in an agony beyond description. Ofcourse
he was apprehended, and us it was clearly
proved that he had killed his comrade, he
was indicted for murder.
Judge p presided ut the trial. The
evidence was clear and simple. with no
elements. When it came to
the charge of the judge he saw that the
twelve men in the jury.box-or most of
them, at least-had but one idea in their
heads, and that was, that human being
had been killed, and before them was the
killer; so he sought to impress upon their
understandings the difference between
murder and manslaughter. lie laid it
down Tor them as plainly rs he could, and
then sent them out to make up their ver-
dict.
At the end of half an hour the Jury re-
turned, and asked for further instruction
as to the difference between murder and
manslaughter. The judge explained to
the best Of his ability, and sent theu out
again.
This time they were out about three
quarters of an hour, and then they made
their appearance again; and the foreman,
speaking for all, informed the court that
they were still Il little in the dark with re-
gard to one Or two points, Would his
honor be kind enough to explain to them
the e1act difference between murder and
manslaughter, SO that they could not mis-
take it?
His honor did not hesitate, In language
warm from utter disgust he went over the
ground once more and wound up rs fol-
lows
"And now, gentlemen, it only remains
for me to instruct you that the case YOU
have at present in hand is one of unadult-
Grated, @nmtttgated and unn1jstahabie MAN
SLAUGHTER! Will you have the Kindness
to retire and find verdict
Certainly this was instruction not to be
misunderstood; and the intelligent ury
thereafter found a verdict of manslaughter
very quickly. And the good old Judge was
never blamed for having taken the bull by
the horns as he did on that occasion.-S.
G., Dr., IN ~ Y. Ledger.