The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-04-09
THE CASE OF L q

% NAN " NHS III
for Polua's reprieve met again on Saturday and
Monday, I'd and 4th insts. to hear the evidence
and suggestions of the petitioners. On Saturday
the proceedings commenced at 10. 80 for 10 a. m.
when the whole of the members of the Commit
tee were present. Mr.. W. o. Smith, Deputy
Attorney General was present.
Father Raymond was the first witness called.
He read a statemen of the reasons for his desire
that mercy should be extended to Polua. These
were o. the murdered woman had fiagrantly
provoked his anger (2) POlua was intoxicated
(3) the wound might not have been intended to
kill, as the woman lived two nights and a day
after the assault, a. Polua with the same knife
tried to commit suicide, (5) the great probability
of Polua's being in future a useful model of con-
duct among his fellow prisoners. Father Ray
mond then described his various interviews with
Polua since he had been in gaol, and the spiritual
advice he had given him. He believed that if
the man were allowed to live he would realize
the hope he had just expressed in regard to him.
He explained to the committee the grounds of
his belief that the man was not accountable for
his actions when he committed the murder and
said that he was now thoughtful and penitent
and not like most of his countrymen under
similar circumstances.
The Chairman asked Father Raymond to re-
IudlA uuIlHS lie progress OF Ine enquiry ana re-
marked that something had been said in the
papers published that day about the Committees
taking persons singly. He however did not see
how with the limited accommodation at their dis
posal they could do otherwise.
Rev. II. III. Parker, said that he had seen
Polua several times III gaol and related the
chief points III the history of his life, which he
had learnt from conversation with him. Polua,
did not tell him he had been insane, but & dark
ened in his mind" His impression, derived from
the conversations, was that the man was in the
full possession of his faculties when the murder
was committed. Being asked, if it were in his
opinion, fantastic - for a man about to commit
suicide to drape his house in Grape, etc, he
replied, that he should not say so-a Hawaiian
would do many things which a white man would
not.
DR.. McKibbin, had seen Polua on the previous
Thursday, at the request of the Committee.
He was accompanied by DR.. McGrew, He had
a long conversation with him, chiefly in
Hawaiian, but the man also spoke English when
speaking to DR.. McGrew. He had enquired as
to Polua's state, when he arrived at the gaol,
and whether it differed from his present condi-
ton. The answer was no." The man had no
head ache, no fever, rested well, fed well, slept
well. Enquiry of the man himself confirmed
these statements. DIR. McKibbin, had obtained
from Polua a history of his life, and especially
of the circumstances which led to the murder,
which he related to the committee. He should
say that the man was perfectly sane. To a
question put Dy the hon. MI. blSlOD, witness
replied, that he should say that Polua was sane
at the time he committed the murder, but was
laboring under a strong fit of passion, partly
from the drink he had taken, partly through
brooding on the matter, and partly on ac-
count of the taunts of the woman and of the
man she left him for.
DR.. McGrew, said he had accompanied the
last witness to the gaol. DR.. McKibbin's state
ment accorded with his recollection. He
believed the man to be of perfectly sound mind.
Hon. G. r. Bishop, having enquired what state
of mind he considered Polua to have been in at
the time of the murder, DIR. McGrew replied
that he took him to be a man slow to anger, but
very determined and hard to control when
angered. He had evidently thought the thing
over, bought the knife purpOsely and nerved
himself with drink. Polua, told him that a
peculiar feeling came over him here Qaying his
hand on his heart when jeered at by the woman
and her comrades. He did not consider suicide
a sign of insanity. There was nothing in the
case that to his mind indicated insanity.
DIR. Brodie had no reason to think, after
an examination of the man, that he is of unsound
mind. Could form no valuable opinion, upon
the talk of others, about the man. In reply to a
question by Judge McCully, he said that he
would not, from Polua's own narrative of the
affair, as related by DR.. McKibbin, necessarily
that the man was insane when he COM
mitted the murder.
DIR. Hoffman said he had seen and conversed
(both in English and Hawaiian) with PoIua
several times. The man was in good health
and not insane now or any time since he had
seen him. Having had for years to do with
prisoners and also with the Insane Asylum, he had
concluded that Sc homicidal mania did not pre-
vail among the natives. One trait of native
character was great dislike of being made to APP
pear ridiculous. The one passion beyond any
thing else in a native was jealousy. POlua had
told him he was under the influence of liquor
when he committed the murder.
DIR. Hyde had visited and conversed with
Polua many times. He was surprised to find a
man of his stamp committed for such an offence.
The only explanation he had ~proffered was
intoxication. He said he had contracted habits
of intoxication at Wailuku. In his present con-
duct there was no evidence of insanity.
Rev. A. O. Forbes had often seen and con-
versed with Polua as to his crime, the righteous
ness of his impending punishment and the state
of his mind. There was nothing to lead him to
the man insane. He seemed %penitent,
softened, subdued, his frame of mind had really
pleased the witness. When he signed the petit
ton he had been told that new evidence had
come out since the trial.
Cecil Brown related the circumstances of the
trial at which he had been present. He was of
opinion that no foreign counsel could have made
a better defence, as the circumstances came out,
than Nawahi and Kalua did. Kalua made a
good address to the jury,
John Rees made his statement in Hawaiian.
He said the sentiments of affection for a woman
and of jealousy were very strong in the Hawai-
ian race and dwelt on this fact in extenuation of
the crime.
Elama thought that Polua was crazy at the
time of the murder. If a woman leaves him. a
Hawaiian loses his senses and either commits
suicide or kills the woman, when it was other |
wise the love was not strong.
The Chairman addressing Hon. w. NJ. Gibson,
present, invited him as a member of the Privy
Council, to speak or to put any questions he
thought proper to the witnesses.
Kamio said that he thought Polua was a
good man but had been overpowered
by feeling. There was as good reason for
mitigation of his sentence as in the case of the
Mexican who had been reprieved.
A. S. Hartwell said that if it would be of any
assistance to the committee he would be glad to
prepare a resume of cases that had been decided
in the United States, as to the effect of suicide
in deciding whether there was insanity or not.
There had been a change of opinion on this
matter during the last ten years and there
were very strong decisions on both sides. The
W