The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-07-31

and are not held to be in contraven-
ton of the constitutional principle
(Art. z Const.) that the accused has
a right to meet his witnesses face to
face This constitutional ground Of
objection was the tenth point made
by defendant in his bin Of excep-
tons
Eleventh. The defendant requested
the Court to charge that sin order to
convict of either murder or man
slaughter under this indictment, the
jury must be satisfied by the evil
dence, beyond a reasonable doubt,
that the deceased was not onl Y shot
and wounded by defendant, but that
the medical and surgical attendants
of deceased were guilty of no neglect
or unskillful treatment of him but
for which he might have recovered.
If the fact Of his death did not result
wholly from the act of defendant,
apart from and unaided by any neg
lect or unskillfulness on the part Of
the medical attendants of deceased,
then such death is not TO be attri
buted to defendant and he should not
be convicted of either murder or
manslaughter.'
This was refused by the Court as
was also the next request which was,
UNLESS the jury are convinced be-
yond a reasonable doubt that the
death of deceased was in no way
attributable to any latent disease or
ailment contracted before, and apart
from the wounds mentioned IN the
indictment, they cannot convict de
PENDANT of anything more serious
than assault and battery herein"
1t was proper to refuse these re-
quests. Where the wound is adequate
to produce death the burden does
not rest upon the prosecution to
show that the medical and surgical
treatment of the deceased was skill
full and that his attendants were
guilty of no neglect or unskillful
treatment, or that the death was
wholly occasioned by the act Of de-
PENDANT and was in no way attribut-
able to neglect or unskillfulness of
his medical attendants or to any
latent disease or ailment contracted
before and apart from the wounds
mentioned in the Indictment. The
authorities say that sit is immaterial
whether the medical treatment was
proper or mistaken, If it was en-
ployed in good faith and with com
mon knowledge and skill. Thus
where the wound is adequate and
calculated to produce death, it Is
no excuse to show that had
proper caution and attention been
given recovery might have ensued,
for neglect or maltreatment will not
excuse, except in cases where doubt
exists as to the character of the
wound. Kerr Homicide, Sec. 81, and
Stephens Dig. Or. l.. 156. We do
not understand in this case there was
any proof Of neglect or unskIlfulness
in the treatment OF Huntsman's
wounds, one of which was certainly
necessarily fatal, or that there was
any proof that he had any latent
disease.
Twelfth. The Hawaiian jury rem
dered a written verdict in their own
language "Ua hewa ka mea hoo
piiia no ka lave ola ma ka degere 2"
which is translated "The defendant
is guilty of manslaughter in the
second degree" A motion in arrest
of Judgment was, before sentence,
made, founded upon the alleged
error in the verdict, and defendant
claimed that as the degree Of man
slaughter was not written out by the
jury, but was only indicated by the
figure o." the sentence should be
for the lowest or third degree of
manslaughter. There can be no
doubt that the jury intended to find
the defendant guilty of the second
degree of manslaughter, and if the
figure had been written out "elua"
it would not be properly read guilty
of manslaughter in the degree two"
but, as we have said above, guilty
of manslaughter in the second de-
degree" In the Hawaiian language
the adjective follows the noun which
it qualities.
We find no ground upon which to
grant a new trial, and override the
exceptions.
Acknowledgement Smith for prose
cution; @. W. Ashford for de-
PENDANT.
Honolulu, July "a, 1898.