The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-08-23
PIRATE, POlsONER, VILLAIN.

Lord si~lerbrooke's Defense of the Son q
aa English Peer.
The story that comes from San Franciec
Of piracy and murder in the South seas ha
\ remarkable resemblance to one wit
which the late Lord Sherbrooke, then sim
ply Robert Lowe. had legal connection n
the time he was u lawyer in Australia, say
tbs New York Recorder. Lord sherbrook'
made n good deal Of money during his MIN
years at the Australian bar, but there il
only one forensic speech Of his at the Anti
podes that il worthy of comparison with
his oratorical ttiumphs in England. TIT
occasion was q sensational trial, the appall-
ing finale Of y lurid life.
One of the oldest and most respected oil
English families. whose head sits in The
means unfamiliar in the commons, had the
misfortune. in the early years of the cen-
fury. to be cursed with ason who developed
extraordinary criminal instincts in his very
hoyhood, He was sent to sea. and had
risen to the position Of a commander in
berry, was tried at the Old Bailey and trans
ported to Australia under a sentence Of
fourteen years. On landing III Sydney,
Smith, as we shall call him, was p omptly
liberated on tickst~of-leave, and then he
gave full play TO his criminal instincts,
committing nearly every crime in the cal
endar short of murder. ,
At length the colonial authorities re-
solved to send him to that lonely speck in
the Pacific. Norfolk Island. which was then
reserved for the worst and most incorfi2iblc
prisoners. He was accordingly placed IN
board q government brig in company with
some forty other irreclaimable criminals.
One night the brig was caught in a terrific
storm, and Smith" Notwithstanding that
hA TaG hRHvilv irNIlnh rontFiVph tn onk IN
deck. seize Il quantity of arsenic, and throw
the poison into the ships cooking utensils.
Next day every aoul on board. save Smith"
and nine other desperadoes whom he had
taken into his condolences, were seized with
pains and became absolutely
took possession of the
brig. and ruthlessly threw over
board alike the dying and the dead, not
even sparing their fellow-convicts, who, in
their irons, were brought up one by one
and cast into the sea. 'Smith" then as
sumed command of the brig and sailed
away for America. What a situation for
Unfortunately for himself, "Smith'
at a New Zealand port, where the
brig was recognized and recaptursd.
Brought back to Sydney. "Smith" turned
informer. alleging that his part in the pi-
ratical seizure was played under compul-
sion. So he saved his neck, while his nine
were hanged. On the urgent
of very influential people.
was given one more chance and
permitted to remain in Sydney as a laborer
in the government dockyard. But one
morning a poor widow WAS found lying in
her house, b~arbarously murdered with a
One finger had been severed and
taken away, the murderer in his haste be-
ing unable to pull the gold ring off. The
ring Wac soon aftsrward pawned fora small
sum, and from the pawnbrokers' desorip-
ton Smith" was promptly arrested as the
murderer. Robert Lowe was retained for
his defense. and the facts of the prisoners
quilt being conclusive, he relied solely on
the plea of ~"instinotive criminality." sup
it in a speech Of marvellous power
Rnd psychological insight. But it WAS all of
no avail. Smith" was convicted and exc
This is only a bare and general
outline of an amazing criminal career
which. if written up in detail, might be
made as absorbing and exciting a romance
Of real life as Mr.. J. +. Hogan's popular
book, The Convict King