Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-06-02

ylctlOu. lou must lOOk IOI tiat cft-
dence which will remove q all reason
able doubt" If you can't tell sshetherit il
wasa case Of murder or suicide, then you
are to give him the benefit Of the doubt |;
but il the evidence drives the doubt
from your minds and places the crime
onlhim, why then you must find him
guilty. "a moral certainty Is not
like a mathematical certainty; it is not
like 2 and make 4, or the deinonsrra-
ton Of a proposition in Euclid, but Is
q certainty satisfactory to your minds
and consciences. Doubt may still be
there; because all human affairs are
matters Of doubt.
So Colonel Aylett went on explain
ing the legal phrases Of the instrnc-
tions, doing it clearly and tersely, and
therefore Interestingly. Occasionally
he fitted his explanations to the case in
hand. His enunciation was strong and
sonorous y; his carriage commanding !;
his periods well turned and trimmed,
and his style pleasing and effective.
GUILT MUST RE THE VERDICT
Continuing his remarks, Colonel
Aylett said: "Guilt, guilt, dark and
bloody guilt, gentlemen Of the jury,
must be your verdict, unless you can
find reasonable hypothesis for the In
nocence Of the prisoner" The case
rests on circumstantial evidence, and
in support of this sort of evidence he
cited the case Of Vanderpool out West,
and remarked that out of eleven hun
dred cases reported in which men were
hung on circumstantial evidence there
had only been found one case that an
innocent person had been made away
with. Families might strike for its
members and for family blood, and
the world should be charitable /; but
when you see the finger of evidence
pointing to the person, and to him
alone, there was but one conclusion,
and that was that he was guilty. Peo-
pie trusted every day to circumstantial
evidence. The rain that fell during the
night was not seen by those who slept
during its fall, and walked in the morn
ing to find the streets and cutters clean /;
but still we knew that the rain had
fallen. In fact, said the Colonel, We
act in life more on circumstantial than
we do on direct testimony. In every
day matters and in our intercourse with
the world we are guided by it to great
extent.
THE CHIEF HEADS.
There were two heads under which
this case ought to be considered. The
first was, " Has there been murder: =
the second. "Who was the murderer: "
Taking up the murder theory, the
speaker went on to tell Of the finding OF
the body in the reservoir by Mr.. Ly-
sander W. Rose. whom he alluded to
as "thst good old Virginia gentleman
making his daily visits around the
reservoir.
Next he referred to our faithful and
learned Coroner, who came out and
viewed the body on that bleak March
day, as it lay there cold, stiff, and
stark on the granite walk, and how.
after a partial inquest, the body was
sent to the almshouse for further in
yestigation.
Yes, gentlemen Of the jury, th'
poor woman was found there, Tn,
watch-key was found, and the track
were found leading from the hole in th'
fence to the reservoir"
A persisted THEORY.
When all these things were found on
the suicide theory perished. In fact
said the speaker, it never had any yitali
ty. The track seen was that of a man
and he had a woman in charge. and h'
ought to account for her. If that mar
was the prisoner, has he ever accounted
for the woman? Colonel Aylett review
ed what had been said by witnesse
about a desperate struggle betweeI
man and woman on the walkwa.
and pictured the scene. The new
of her death spread, and tn
world throbbed with sympathy 70
the poor unfortunate. No case il
the annals of time had ever racked an'
thrilled the people to greater extent
They arose and put into use measure
which had eliminated in the arrest o
the prisoner at the bar. Thus came tn
revelations Of the January visit, tn
Belle-Isle visit, and other matters, an
the
FINGER OF EVIDENCE
pointed to Thomas J. Cluyerius as tn
man. The suicide theory started, per
haps. with the remark to Conducto
Wright on the Chesapeake and Obi
train that she wished the train woul
run off and kill her. Was this remark
able. Even in chaste and holy low
this feeling prevailed with women i
her delicate condition, and was it pos
sible that a woman as timid as she wa
would ever have gone to locality S
lonely and jumped into a place like tn
reservoir, tearing the sleeve Of her Jel
sey in so doing?
Il am arguing to bearded men,
said Colonel Aylett-" men Of brains y
and he then told of the lack of waite
in the stomach and lungs in order
disprove suicide, and in this connectio
asked if it was probable that she woul
have disposed Of her satchel, ha
gloves. and cloak in the manner sh
did if suicide had been contemplated.
THE INSTINCTS OF HUMANITY.
The instincts of humanity make
woman love life when in the conditio
Of Fannie Madison. She was a mu
dered woman, and her death was a VII
lent one, and without parallel in tn
whole country,
Decoyed from Bath, used for vi
purposes, and then murdered. WI
did it? What did he do? Where
the finger-ring she wore ? Poss
bly, this contained language tn
would have pointed out who d
the deed. There was hand Of Prov
dence in this matter, and it pointt
to the prisoner. He evidently thoug
that the body would be thrown in Il
reservoir at a point just above Il
waste-pipe, and he hoped doubtle
. that she would never rise to the surfac
, but be drawn into the pipe. He couldn
, afford to take her through the stree